Andrew O'Keefe (died 1904) was a construction engineer in

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...

, in southeastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He built several railways and a weir. The

O'Keefe Rail Trail The O'Keefe Rail Trail is a rail trail connecting Bendigo with Heathcote. The sandy gravel trail runs along a former branch line on the Melbourne-Sydney rail line. It previously ran from Bendigo to Axedale but works completed in 2015 extended t ...

is named after him. O'Keefe's parents immigrated from Ireland in 1854 due to famine, bringing him and his sister Mary. He worked on several construction projects, before tendering for and building the 28-mile Heathcote to Sandhurst railway line, which was completed in July 1888. The line was part of the Wandong to Bendigo line, and arose as part of Railway Construction Act No 821, since dubbed the "Octopus Act". It ran until 1958, when lack of passenger or freight demand saw it taken out of service. O'Keefe's other projects included the Eaglehawk to Bendigo tram line,

Laanecoorie Weir Laanecoorie Weir or Laanecoorie Reservoir, is a water storage for irrigation and domestic purposes on the Loddon River, near the towns of Laanecoorie, Victoria and Eddington, Victoria. It was constructed by contractor Andrew O'Keefe (engineer ...

and part of the Great Southern Railway from

Korumburra Korumburra is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. It is located on the South Gippsland Highway, south-east of Melbourne, in the South Gippsland Shire local government area. At the Korumburra had an urban population of 3,639. Surroun ...

Toora Toora is a small farming town in Victoria, Australia whose main industry is dairy farming. It is located at the top of Corner Inlet opposite Wilsons Promontory National Park. In the the population was 681. History The Post Office opened on ...

. He died in 1904, leaving ten children.

Sources

*''O'Keefe Rail Trail'', City of Greater Bendigo, 2000. 1904 deaths Australian engineers Year of birth missing {{Australia-engineer-stub