“The Bishop made the bullets and I fired them,” – so were the words of Father Keogh, resident of Harden-Murrumburrah since 1972, resident Catholic Priest of the town until 2000, and continuing resident of Harden-Murrumburrah until his recent passing. Most significantly, he was at the frontline of action in securing state funding for non-government schools in Australia, starting from the 1960s.

From the permanent settlement of Australia by Europeans in 1788 onwards, there was an unfortunately bitter relationship, inherited from England, between Catholics and Protestants – this conflict included any possible provision of State Aid to non-government schools. Thank goodness most people in 2015 treat each other according to their worth as human beings, rather than stigmatising them according to which religion they belong. By 1960, pretty well all schools across Australia were facing a funding crisis in that unless Commonwealth funding was forthcoming, the education system could well have collapsed.

The situation of Catholic Schools was even more problematic: most politicians being what they are, the Liberal Party saw the Catholic vote as largely going to Labor (which it was doing), and the Labor Party saw no point in supporting State Aid to Catholic Schools because Catholics were, in the main, already voting Labor. In Goulburn, in 1962, Government health inspectors decreed that 3 additional toilets be installed at a Catholic Primary School – Goulburn’s Bishop John Cullinane replied with the assertion that there wasn’t any money to meet this requirement. The concept of a Catholic Schools’ strike was initiated: if there was no government funding for Catholic Schools, then Catholic students would present themselves at the Goulburn’s State Schools for the education to which, as citizens of Australia, they were entitled. Thus, the proverbial hit the fan. On 16 July 1962, Goulburn’s Catholic Schools shut their doors and, consequently, more than 1,000 Catholic students presented to enrol at the already overcrowded local State Schools.

Father Keogh put it this way: “We have tried for 80 years … to influence them [governments]. And we hope that … this action in Goulburn will help the people to see what we feel is a just claim and an evident one.” The strike was an effective leverage, as the State Schools had room for less than 50% of the Catholic students who applied to enrol; who was going to educate the more than 50% of Goulburn’s Catholic students who faced the prospect of indefinitely going without an education? The crisis became so heated that Brian Keating, parent and community leader, said, “We were told that if we didn’t stop this rot, this strike, we’d stop a bullet.” Public opinion, however, was on the side of the strike. The Goulburn strike lasted a week, but by then it had achieved its aim: the State Aid issue was at the forefront of political debate. In 1963, the NSW Labor Government promised funding for science labs at non-government schools. Due to the so-called ‘faceless men’ of the ALP’s federal executive torpedoing this decision, Prime Minister Menzies saw his chance and called a snap election, with State Aid for government and non-government schools being part of his Liberal Party’s agenda. Labor was resoundingly beaten in the 1963 Federal election. By 1967, all Australian States had Schools’ Aid legislation in the offing, and by the end of that year New South Wales and Victoria were providing funding to non-government schools. In 1972, Prime Minister Whitlam initiated the Federal Schools Commission and tripled federal funding for all government and non-government schools.

Francis (Frank) James Keogh was born in Goulburn in 1920, and reared in Taralga. He was the second eldest of four children, his siblings being Patrick, Bernie and Mary. Father passed away aged 95 on Sunday 6 December, 2015. He decided to become a Priest when he was in his youth and, after schooling at Taralga’s Sacred Heart School and at St Patrick’s College in Goulburn, he went on to 1 year of study at St Columba’s in Springwood, followed by 6 years of study at St Patrick’s Seminary at Manly. Father was ordained a Priest on 25 July 1946, by Bishop Terence McGuire, at Taralga. Father was 1 of 20 Priests ordained from his class and was the last of the group. He would have been the oldest Priest in the Canberra-Goulburn Archdiocese and maybe the oldest Catholic Priest in NSW. In 1996, Father, along with 4 of his seminarian classmates, travelled to the Vatican to celebrate their Golden Jubilees as ordained Priests, with Pope John Paul II. He always considered that the most rewarding part of his priestly life was the privilege of serving his parishes.

Father served as a Priest in the parishes of Bega, Murwillumbah, Canberra, Goulburn, Delegate and Braidwood prior to his time in Harden-Murrumburrah. Father described himself as an “above average” tennis player in his days of playing the game. When resident in Murwillumbah, he was once Champion Player in the Men’s Singles as well as one of the Champion Players in the Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. As a Catholic Priest of nearly 70 years, Father can be said to have been a man of the people, irrespective of their individual religious stance. He treated all-comers as human beings. He was indeed a forward thinker for a man of his vintage. When Father Keogh was Harden-Murrumburrah’s Parish Priest he used to, on a daily basis, visit the sick and infirm both in hospital and in their own homes, whether they were Catholic or not.

Father was always available to give the Last Rites to Catholics – the sacrament which Catholics receive as a preparation for meeting their God at their time of death. Father reluctantly retired as Harden-Murrumburrah’s Parish Priest at the age of 80, in 2000. After Father’s retirement, it was arranged for him to relocate to a retirement facility in Canberra. Many townspeople attended a farewell lunch, at the Country Club, which might now be termed a Clayton’s lunch – the farewell lunch you’re having when you’re not really having a farewell lunch. A little while after this lunch, a parishioner asked Father if he really wanted to leave Harden-Murrumburrah. He said, “No”. Father Keogh became a resident of Harden-Murrumburrah’s Southern Cross Free Masons Village, prior to his current residency in Harden-Murrumburrah’s Southern Cross St Lawrence Apartments. Father had been on the Board of St Lawrence’s for many years.

One person who must be mentioned here, for her unwavering support of Father Keogh, is Marlene Stewart – Marlene has been responsible for arranging Father’s being able to remain in Harden-Murrumburrah, and for his overall care since he stated that he didn’t wish to relocate from the town. Father said, “I like Harden and I was happy to stay here.” Father Keogh’s remaining in Harden-Murrumburrah is also attributable to the assistance of Kevin Croker, Secretary of the Clergy Retirement Foundation. Kevin has stated that Father Keogh has been much-loved and respected by the people of Harden-Murrumburrah and district. Father Keogh was honoured with the naming of Keogh Hall in 2000, at Murrumburrah’s Trinity Primary School, in tribute to the close relationship he had with the School over 28 years. A bursary is awarded each year by Trinity School, in Father Keogh’s name, to a Year 6 student who exemplifies Christian values in conjunction with making the effort judged best with their studies. Up until his death Father celebrated Mass each day and visited St Clement’s Monastery at Galong on Sundays for lunch with his fellow Religious. Father always enjoyed his own company whilst listening to classical music and viewing news and documentaries on television.

Father enjoyed good health, even though in 2010 his pacemaker decided to stop pacing. However, a helicopter trip to Canberra saw him bounce back better that ever. He kept in contact with his nieces and nephews who visited him on a regular basis. Father Frank Keogh was farewelled by over twenty religious, members of his family and former parishioners on Friday last. Archbishop Christopher Prowse officiated at a concelebrated Mass to celebrate Father’s life. He was interred at the Taralga Stonequarry cemetery. Father, in times of great strife and tribulation in the Church, you were a beacon of what a Priest should really be: indeed a stalwart of your faith, but also a genuine human being, a man of humility and a great example of how to live one’s life. You were indeed, as you would have put it yourself, still “a country Priest just doing his job”.