 O'Hara was an inspiring teacher, and many of his pupils have since held distinguished positions in the universities of Australia.O'Hara published his first volume of poems, "Songs of the South", in 1891.This was followed by "Songs of the South, Second Series", in 1895, "Lyrics of Nature" (1899), "A Book of Sonnets" (1902), "Odes and Lyrics" (1906), "Calypso and other Poems" (1912), "The Poems of John Bernard O'Hara, A Selection" (1918), "At Eventide" (1922), and "Sonnets and Rondels" (1925).