Annie O'Keefe was a Dutch subject born in the Netherlands East Indies and one of 15,000 people who were evacuated to Australia from nearby countries during World War II and given sanctuary.

She arrived in Australia in September 1942 and settled in the outer Melbourne community of Bonbeach.

She married an Australian, believing that the marriage would also allow her to remain, but the government issued a deportation order for Annie and her children in January 1949.

This was because she had not formally been given the status of a prohibited immigrant when she was allowed to enter Australia with a certificate of exemption, so the expiration of the certificate did not make her liable to deportation as a prohibited immigrant.

[3] The action in the High Court was the first successful legal challenge to the White Australia Policy.