and bedroom. Observing the frayed cuff of the cardinal-elect's suit during a 1969 interview, a journalist reflected that it may have been the same one seen in similar condition by a colleague 22 years earlier. Although a scholar rather than a sportsman, he could talk knowledgeably about horse-racing, rugby, rowing, boxing and wrestling. He was also capable of forceful action when required: walking home late one night in Auckland, he buttoned his overcoat over his clerical collar and intervened decisively in an altercation between a lone policeman and three assailants in an unlit alley. McKeefry's lifelong interest in New Zealand history, and particularly the beginnings of the church in New Zealand, was reflected in his work arranging the Auckland diocesan archives and in editing Fishers of Men (1938), a selection of translations from the writings of Bishop Pompallier and his fellow missionaries. McKeefry's writing as a journalist was informed by listening to late-night news broadcasts on shortwave radio. As a bishop he retained the habit of reading, working, or conversing late into the night – sometimes to the consternation of friends, who could match neither his limited need for sleep nor his exceptionally retentive memory. Death On 18 November 1973, while making arrangements by telephone at the presbytery for the accommodation of a convalescent priest whom he had just visited, McKeefry died suddenly, a cigarette smouldering between his fingers. He was buried in Karori cemetery after a funeral attended by numerous civic and ecclesiastical dignitaries and amidst copious tributes from within and beyond his own church. He was succeeded by Reginald Delargey. Sources Peter Thomas Cardinal McKeefry, Catholic Hierarchy (Retrieved 12 February 2011) 1899 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in New Zealand People educated at Trinity Catholic College, Dunedin New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand cardinals Participants in the Second Vatican Council Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Holy Cross College, New Zealand alumni Pontifical Urban University alumni Place of death missing People from Greymouth Burials at Karori Cemetery Roman Catholic archbishops of Wellington 20th-century cardinals New Zealand Roman Catholic archbishops