“UNUSUAL AERIAL SIGHTINGS” A SEARCH THROUGH THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S RECORDS SYSTEMS Compiled by Keith Basterfield On behalf of the Australian UFO Research Association [email protected] © 2011 UAS FILES LOCATED IN THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S RECORDS SYSTEMS Table of contents Table of contents ................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................. 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Nomenclature ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Government agencies with files on UAS ........................................................................................... 6 Questions ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Former Department of Supply 1952-1972 ........................................................................................ 6 File search ........................................................................................................................ 7 Missing from the first file ................................................................................................. 9 Second file ....................................................................................................................... 9 Missing from this second file .......................................................................................... 10 Third file ........................................................................................................................ 11 What did “the powers that be” think caused these observations? ................................... 13 Project Moon Dust? ....................................................................................................... 14 Scientific, Technical & Astronomical Research Society (STARS) .................................... 15 More Department of Supply UFO papers on other Government files ........................... 15 Missing at the moment ................................................................................................... 17 The former Department of Civil Aviation 1952-1973 and the current Department of Transport and Regional Services 1973-2005 .................................................................................. 17 The Department of Civil Aviation .................................................................................. 17 The Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTRS) ..................................... 21 The former Department of Territories 1959-1965 ........................................................................ 23 The former Department of External Affairs 1954 ......................................................................... 28 Australian Security Intelligence Organisation 1952-1972 ............................................................. 28 Commonwealth Investigation Service ............................................................................ 28 ASIO ............................................................................................................................. 28 The main body of the file ............................................................................................... 30 The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 1952-1989 ................... 31 The early days ................................................................................................................ 31 Comments from elsewhere than this file ........................................................................ 33 Another CSIRO file ....................................................................................................... 33 An aside ......................................................................................................................... 33 Co-operation sought between Government Departments .............................................. 35 Enter Dr Michael J Duggin ............................................................................................ 35 Back to the second CSIRO UFO files ............................................................................ 37 The Department of Defence 1951-2007 .......................................................................................... 38 Royal Australian Navy .................................................................................................... 38 Australian Army ............................................................................................................. 38 The former Air Board/Department of Air/current RAAF ............................................. 39 Summary so far .............................................................................................................. 48 Pass the buck ................................................................................................................. 48 Keith Basterfield 2011 2 UAS FILES LOCATED IN THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S RECORDS SYSTEMS 1984 onwards ................................................................................................................. 49 The Joint Intelligence Bureau/Joint Intelligence Organisation........................................ 51 The Joint Intelligence Committee ................................................................................... 55 Other areas of the DOD since 1977 ............................................................................... 57 Post 1994 ....................................................................................................................... 57 Answers to the first two questions .................................................................................................... 58 A detour to the United Kingdom ...................................................................................................... 58 Answer to question three .................................................................................................................... 59 List of appendices ................................................................................................................................ 60 Australian UFO sightings caused by a secret USAF U-2 aircraft program ................................ 61 Moon Dust & Mystery Spheres ......................................................................................................... 65 The Project Interviews Harry Turner ............................................................................................... 69 Australian Federal Parliament questions and answers ................................................................... 76 Unidentified aircraft over Papua & New Guinea and the Drury film ........................................ 87 The Valentich disappearance and Government documents ......................................................... 89 What really happened at Westall, Victoria in 1966? ....................................................................... 91 The Office of the Minister For Defence.......................................................................................... 93 List of interesting uas cases found in government files............................................................... 100 The stars at woomera ........................................................................................................................ 112 References ........................................................................................................................................... 118 List of Government files where UFOs are mentioned…………………...…………….....123 Keith Basterfield 2011 3 UAS FILES LOCATED IN THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S RECORDS SYSTEMS Acknowledgments The author wishes to thank: All the members of the Australian UFO Research Association in Adelaide, who undertook work on the Australian UFO Network Disclosure Project to locate and examine Australian Government UAS files, between 2003 and 2008. In particular, Deb, Helen, Kathy, Alex, Bev, Colin, Dom, & Jeff Rob and Diane Frola of the Australian UFO Research Network who auspiced the Australian UFO Research Network Disclosure Project and for publishing regular reports on its findings in their magazine and on their website Staff at various offices of the National Archives of Australia for their assistance in locating and clearing files. Keith Basterfield 2011 4 UAS FILES LOCATED IN THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S RECORDS SYSTEMS Introduction Between Jun 2003 and Jun 2008 a major search was undertaken to locate and examine Australian Government files relating to “Unusual Aerial Sightings” (otherwise known as “Unidentified Flying Objects” - UFOs.) Although the search was as thorough as possible, there is no doubt it is incomplete. To begin with, the electronic RecordSearch system of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) indexes only about 10% of their collection. Secondly, the search was undertaken using both the Archives Act and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, where the expense of the latter precluded broad spectrum requests such as “for all