Tony O’Keeffe passed away on the 12th August 2023 at age 84.
Tony had been a long time Rifle Shooter from at least the early 1960s with Rockdale, then Port Jackson (foundation Member) and in later years, the Grafton Rifle Club. Tony also had a strong interest in UIT Shooting and was a member of the Pittwater UIT Club.
Tony was a fine shot and had a number of wins in competition including the 1985 Anzac Day Shoot and the 1989 Festival of Sydney shoot which he won by a centre from John Ashton.
He won the Rockdale Club Championship in 1967 against some of the biggest names in shooting at the time and featured in their 1962-63 and 1964-65 A Grade MDRCU Grade Teams as well as Rockdale’s 1965-66 Champion Club win.
In 1986 Tony set a record at UIT, scoring 588.15 using an Angel with a multiple times re-crowned Maddco barrel that had fired around 9000 rounds. He was regarded as an excellent wind coach and was very analytical in his approach to shooting. At one time he coached the U25 Team and a “vs the Rest” Team in Canberra.
In State representative competition, Tony was assigned “Baggy Blue” No. 385 with his first NSW Team being as Captain in 1992 and he was again Captain of the 1994 Team to Brisbane. In 1996 Tony was Coach of the NSW Team in Darwin. A cousin Garry O’Keeffe also represented NSW in Teams however they did not shoot in a team together.
In the early 1990s Tony also travelled to New Zealand where he had some success in coaching.
He featured in winning BHP Mini Palma Teams held over 800, 900 and 1000 yards at Stockton Range.
In 1998, Tony O’Keeffe and Stan Golinski officiated to assist with the Kuala Lumpur 16th Commonwealth Games where Australia won 9 shooting Gold Medals.
He served as a councillor of the NSWRA for 13 years and was a great supporter of shooting and new shooters.
Tony held numerous positions in his various clubs and was an active member of the Grafton Club right up until his passing.
