He worked for the Victorian colonial and state governments for almost 50 years, first as an assistant librarian at the Supreme Court in Melbourne, and later as a parliamentary draughtsman.

[1] He was a child prodigy who read Milton's Paradise Lost at age 8[1] and was a student at Grenville College, Ballarat.

In his private capacity, he was, at various times, a member of the Theosophical Society, Charles Strong's Australian Church and Frederick Sinclaire's Free Religious Fellowship.

O'Dowd's partner Marie Pitt was also a notable poet and socialist; they had a home at 155 Clark Street, Northcote.

He declared a wish to be buried according to Unitarian traditions, but when he died, in St Vincent's Hospital, his family insisted on a Catholic funeral, the faith into which he was born.