2014/01/01 by Sean Brawley · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Australian History and Society #Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy #African history and culture studies
paper · doi:10.1080/14490854.2014.11668503
openalex publication_date 2014/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
In 1949 the White Australia Policy was put on trial in the High Court of Australia in the matter O’Keefe v Calwell; popularly known as the ‘O’Keefe Deportation Case’. Drawn from archival research, this article examines the legal arguments that both sides brought to the court. The case raised a number of issues that went far beyond narrow legal and technical arguments. Under what circumstances could a foreign-born non-European individual call Australia home? The answer to this question was seen to hold not only the fate of one Indonesian family but the White Australia Policy and also Australia’s entire postwar migration program.This article has been peer-reviewed.