Australian Dictionary of Biography entry: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/steele-owen-beevor-15521

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Fr Denis W. Martin, Priests of 1928, Brisbane, 2003, pp 103-105:
Mons. Owen Steele

Looking at the camera rather sheepishly from behind another Gympieite is a man who was later 'mentioned in despatches' for his bravery at Tobruk. It is Owen Beevor Steele.

He was born in Gympie, 25 years after Fr John Healy, in 1898, attended the convent school and local Christian Brothers college before moving on to the De La Salle College at Armidale. With Vince Cleary and Max Irvine, he went through Springwood and Manly although he was ordained in Sydney by Archbishop Kelly in November 1921.

Beaudesert was his first appointment before going as founding Parish Priest to the newly formed parish of Yeronga in 1925. Not long after the declaration of war in 1939, Fr Steele enlisted to become the first Catholic chaplain from Queensland to do so. He sailed with the AIF for overseas service in 1940.

At Tobruk and El Alamein, Chaplain Steele's services were described as 'gallant and distinguished', and he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. The 9th Division being relieved in 1943, Owen was returned to Australia.

Soon after, he was offered the parish of Beaudesert where he remained until 1975. The decorations and achievements continued: he was made a Life Member of the Rats of Tobruk, a Domestic Prelate and Monsignor in 1949, and awarded an MBE in 1958.

Mons. Steele was held in high esteem by all who came in contact with him, his parishioners above all. They knew his impish humour, his talent for story telling and his infallible memory for names and details. He was able to mix with the townsfolk as he was involved in the Hibernian Race Club and grazed his own paddocks of cattle.

Sometimes, however, he wanted other people's cattle. When, for example, he was seeking additional funding for some special project, he might be standing with a farmer admiring his dairy herd and say, 'That's a very good herd. You could surely spare me one or two and not miss them ...' It was a very effective technique, but the locals became wary of such remarks, knowing that a request was bound to follow.

An outstanding achievement was the establishment of Boystown on the old Plunkett property in 1961. It was operated by the De La Salle Brothers until scaled down in 2001.

Such were things during Mons. Steele's years at St Mary's, that each year he could travel interstate at Easter to celebrate with the surviving Rats of Tobruk and leave the parish safely in the care of his curates!

There are two publications recording his life, Padre of the Logan which commemorates the Golden Jubilee of his ordination, 1971, and his biography, Altars and Artillery, 1980.

In 1975 he returned to Canossa which was formerly the site of Duporth, a girls' school. When he was Parish Priest of Yeronga, he was very good to the Ursuline sisters there, one of whom later wrote, 'Fr Owen Steele was our Chaplain. He came from Yeronga each day to offer Mass in the Chapel, and he stayed to give religious instruction to the children. Only God knows the good Fr Steele did for Duporth and the sisters and children will always be grateful to him.'

Mons. Steele died at Canossa on 24th July 1981. The funeral proceeded from St Stephen's to Nudgee.

(Reproduced by permission of Fr Denis Martin.)