Fr Denis O’Dee

Whilst not strictly a pioneer Priest, Fr Denis O’Dee, deserves a special mention since his pastorate at Heathcote spanned almost 40 years., from 1897 to 1936¹. A native of Ennis in County Clare Ireland, he was born in 1866, ordained in 1889 and soon thereafter emigrated to Australia. His first two parishes in Australia were Shepparton and Yarrawonga.
It was during his pastorate at Heathcote that the new church was erected and so many other improvements made. One was the coming of the Presentation Sisters whose Convent he provided in 1926 and whose school was also erected under his guidance. In the early years he administered no less than six churches in the parish – St Laurence’s Redesdale, Sacred Heart Toolleen, St Mary’s Knowsley, Sacred Heart Costerfield, St Mary’s Tooborac, and St Augustine’s Graytown. With the exception of Costerfield and Graytown, all of these churches are covered in this book.

In the early days he travelled by horse and buggy and was an accomplished horseman. His horses were always well groomed and his buggy highly polished. As for his pastimes, he was an excellent rifle shot , being a member of the Heathcote Rifle Club and a member of the Kyneton Gun Club, where he competed under the name of ‘Campaspe’. He was also a breeder of pointer dogs for hunting and an excellent judge of horses. He had a special walking stick which could be extended and used to measure the height (in hands) of a horse.
Not surprisingly, he showed little interest in learning to drive a motor car when these arrived in the district. Later in life, he would use a hire car to get to his various ‘outside’ churches.

Very much like Dr Backhaus, who had ministered in the general area all those years before him, Fr. O’Dee was well-liked by Heathcote residents of other faiths or, indeed, of no faith. He took a keen interest in the secular affairs of the town and, especially in the sporting activities.

Towards the end of his life he suffered from severe hearing loss and for someone so affable and fond of conversation, this was a great burden to bear. Upon his death in 1936, the whole of the district mourned his passing, not just Catholics. He is buried in the church which he was instrumental in building.
As a tribute to his ministry at Heathcote, the former Convent built under Fr O’Dee’s guidance in 1926, was converted into ‘The O’Dee Centre’ in the 1970s. The Centre was made available for the accommodation of school groups, community groups, family reunions and other such gatherings where large numbers of people needed to be accommodated. it has since become a huge success.

1. Information on Fr Denis O’Dee comes from McKenzie McHarg and Traynor, 1997. The Catholic Parish of Heathcote – a history. Privately published. ↩︎