419 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
419 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN GOVTS INVOLVMENT IN UFOs FILE: UFO1769
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Study of Australian Gov't involvement in UFO's.
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DATE OF UPLOAD: June 15, 1989
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ORIGIN OF UPLOAD: ParaNet Omega, Australian Bureau
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CONTRIBUTED BY: Bob Fletcher
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(C) Copyright 1989 ParaNet Information Service
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All Rights Reserved.
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THIS FILE WAS PREPARED BY PARANET ALPHA -- PARANET INFORMATION
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SERVICE
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PARANET INFORMATION SERVICE BBS
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PARANET ALPHA
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DENVER, COLORADO
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NOTE: THESE FILES ARE NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE
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OF THE PARANET INFORMATION SERVICE NETWORK
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STUDY OF OFFICIAL AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT
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IN UFO CONTROVERSY
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A PROGRESS REPORT BY BILL CHALKER
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During 1982, I was able to:
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a. Examine the majority of the extent UFO files held by the Royal
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Australian Air Force (RAAF).
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b. Examine the entirety of the extent UFO files held by the Dept. of
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Aviation.
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c. Initiate discussions with a defence scientist privy to the
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official files and the inner working of governmental policies and
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approaches to the UFO subject.
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d. Initiate enquiries with other Australian agencies and individuals
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re UFO file holdings.
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e. Undertake enquiries with overseas government departments re UFO
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file holdings (in particular, the Ministries of Defence in the
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U.K. and the USAF re Project Blue Book, the latter, in relation
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to Australian cases).
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f. Undertake discussions with the Department of Aviation/Bureau of
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Air Safety investigation on the Valentich affair, and
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g. publish some of the results of my enquiries.
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THE RAAF FILES:
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The RAAF files held by the Directorate of Air Force Intelligence
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(DAFI) were examined over four separate visits to the Department of
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Defence Russell Offices in Canberra during 1982 - namely, January 11-
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14, May 7 June 4 and October 8.
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A total of 56 files were examined. They fell into categories:
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1. "Unidentified Flying Objects - Reports of Sightings" - 47 files
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covering the period 1955-1982. Three files covering the period
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around 1973/74 have yet to be examined.
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2. "UFO's - Enquiries from Members of the Public and Flying Saucer
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Organisations" - 7 files covering the period 1966-1981 and
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3. "Investigation of Flying Saucers - Policy" - 2 files covering the
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period 1953-1969. The current "policy" file has not yet been
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made available.
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THE DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION FILES
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The DOA files held by the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation were
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examined on November 19th 1982 during a visit to their Melbourne
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office. Four files were examined and their contents included:
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1. Previously "secret" papers related to the famous Drury film
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affair. (1)
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2. Details about early reports from 1952-1968.
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3. Early RAAF documents and reports (copies) no longer available in
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the RAAF files, due to the original files, ostensibly, being
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destroyed during the Department of Air (now Department of Defence
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- Air Force) move from Melbourne to Canberra in the early
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sixties.
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4. Papers relating to the controversial Bouganville Reef event of
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1965, which appear to confirm that the Department of Civil
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Aviation (DCA) had no knowledge of it, at least at the level of
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DCA-Director-General in Melbourne.
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DISCUSSIONS WITH DEFENCE SCIENTIST
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Detailed discussions have been undertaken with a retired scientist who
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has worked in the Defence Scientific and Technical Intelligence (DSTI)
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section of the Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB now joint Intelligence
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Organization - J10). The scientist, in a civilian capacity, had
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access to the RAAF/DAFI UFO files in 1954 and later, as JIB "liaison"
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to DAFI, had access to the DAFI files during the late sixties. He
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was in a unique position to examine the files and observe the policies
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and approaches of government agencies (DAFI,JIB etc.) to the UFO
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question. Further to my discussions with him by phone and letter, I
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was able to meet him personally during May 1983. I have found his
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information extremely informative and it has served to compliment and
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supplement data I have amassed from other sources. A detailed
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picture of the history of official involvement in the UFO controversy,
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in Australia, can at last be discerned.
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OTHER AUSTRALIAN AGENCIES AND INDIVIDUALS
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Upon my request, on July 13, 1982, the Director of Naval Intelligence
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(DNI) declassified documents relating to the famous radar-visual Sea
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Fury incident of August 31, 1954. These included written statements
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by the Sea Fury pilot and the Nowra Naval Air Station radar operator
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and a previously "confidential" memorandum from DNI to DAFI. (3)
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In correspondence with R.H. Mathams, former Director of Scientific
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Intelligence (JIB/J10) and author of the book: "Sub Rosa - Memoirs of
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an Australian Intelligence Analyst", he indicated to me that, "DSTI
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had only a marginal interest in UFO's; our analytical resources were
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limited and I had to take the position that we could not afford to
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become too involved in investigation of UFO sightings until we had
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reasonable grounds for believing that they were of foreign - as
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opposed to alien - origin. We relied on DAFI to make the initial
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investigations and, at times assisted in the interpretation of the
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resulting data". Mr. Mathams is not the defence scientist mentioned
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earlier. Other agencies and individuals have either been contacted,
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replied, or are in the process of being contacted. I do not, at this
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stage, propose to possibly jeopardise results, with premature
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disclosures of current and future lines of enquiries.
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OVERSEAS ENQUIRIES
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Enquiries with some overseas government department have borne fruit.
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The Ministry of Defence (MOD), Defence Secretariat, Division 8, of the
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United Kingdom indicated:
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a. MOD's records on UFO's go back to 1962. Most of the material is
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reports of individual sightings by members of the public, passed
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on to us via ATC centres, police, RAF stations, etc. As an
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indication of the size of our holdings, we received 2250
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sightings between 1978 and 1981.
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b. MOD investigated UFO sightings solely to determine whether they
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indicate anything of defence interest. No attempt is made to
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find a positive identification for every object seen. We have,
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therefore, no category of 'unexplained sightings...'.
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A reply from New Zealand authorities confirmed that there appears to
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be little organised effort to investigate UFO's there. No
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comprehensive records are maintained. From the National Archives and
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Records Service, Washington, D.C., USA, where the USAF Project
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Bluebook files are held, I have received copies of documentation held
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on some Australian cases. I have also on order microfilm copies of a
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comprehensive Bluebook index and all photographic holdings. (4) I
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have also been in contact with a number of overseas civilian
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researchers who have been assisting me in my enquiries.
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THE VALENTICH AFFAIR
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On May 26, 1982, the Department of Transport (now Aviation) released
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to me their Aircraft Accident Investigation Summary Report on the
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disappearance of VH-DSJ and its pilot, Frederick Valentich. It would
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appear that this document was made available only to parties having a
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bona fide interest in the incident. It would appear that, via my
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correspondence with the Department, they were satisfied that my
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interest, despite it being from a 'ufological' point of view, was
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never-the-less bona fide. I am aware that the same report has been
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denied to other parties, whom on the face of it, appeared to have had
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a bona fide interest. (5)
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During my November 19, 1982 visit to the Bureau of Air Safety
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Investigation, I had the opportunity to discuss the Valentich Affair
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with Mr. A.R. Woodward, a Director of the Bureau. He referred to the
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files on the case, he had in front of him, to answer some of my
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questions, however, access to these files was denied to me, on the
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basis that all "air accident investigation files were privileged
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information. It was evident that they were only treating the affair
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as an accident/incident pertaining to air safety investigation. More
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recently, when I questioned him on the alleged discovery of the
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aircraft, VH-DSJ, on Cape Otway, by divers, Mr. Woodward indicated
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that no action was planned by the Department of Aviation. In the
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event that VH-DSJ was actually salvaged, the Department would
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confiscate the aircraft in view of it being the subject of an aircraft
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accident investigation. Dr. Richard Haines has provided me with an
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advanced complimentary copy of his 'Journal of UFO Studies' paper;
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"Results of Sound Spectrum Analysis of the Metallic Noises of a Tape
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recorded Radio Transmission between Cessna VH;DSJ and the Flight
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Service of Melbourne, Australia". (6)
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PUBLICATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS
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I have been able to publish part of the results of my research into
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official Australian government involvement in the UFO controversy.
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1-2 "UFO's and the Royal Australian Air Force - the inside story" in
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the UFO Research Australia Newsletter (UFORAN), Vol.3 Nos 2,3,
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and 4 (March-April, May-June and July-August, 1982) and MUFON UFO
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Journal No. 175 (Sept. 1982) and No. 176 (Oct 8) the latter in a
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slightly edited form.
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3-4 "UFO's; Australia's Secret Documents Revealed", in Omega -
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Science Digest, Dept-Oct, 1982 and the APRO Bulletin, Vol 30 No.
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10 (Oct 82) and Vol 30 No. 11 (Dec 8) as "Australian A.F. UFO
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Report Files".
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5. "The RAAF UFO Files", the Journal of the Australian Centre for
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UFO Studies, Vol 3, No 3 May/June 1982.
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6. "The RAAF FILES', UFORAN, Vol 3 No.4 July-August 1982.
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7. "Valentich Disappearance - The Official Verdict" ACUFOS Bulletin,
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July 1982.
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8. "UFO's - The Secret RAAF Files" by Ken Anderson, The Daily
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Telegraph (Syd) May 22 1982.
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9. "Air Force Files Examined - UFO Sightings Still a Mystery" by Tim
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Cribb, the (Sydney) Sun, December 1982.
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The British Flying Saucer Review (FSR) via Gordon Creighton have
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indicated an interest in publishing some of this material. UFO Nyt,
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the Scandinavian publication have also been given permission to
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publish material. The Orbis multiple part publication "The
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Unexplained" may also be briefly referring to this research with an
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article by Jenny Randles in the near future. I will continue to
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release the results of my research as time permits.
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I have made some limited copies of some documents available to those
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individuals with bona fide interests, e.g. Nebo area events of 1964
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and 1965 and a possible "landing" near Mandurana in 1978 to UFO
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research (FNQ); 1957 radar visual event in Tasmania and 1960 USAF
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aircraft encounter near Cressy to TUFOIC: Groote Eylandt (1964) 'EM'
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event, radar-visual event at Kalamunda (1969) etc. to UFOR (WA) and
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various 'aircraft/UFO encounters' to Dr. Richard Haines, who is
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specialising in such cases. (7,8,9,10,11,12). In view of the fact
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that I have signed a DAFI document undertaking to preserve
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confidentiality I have to maintain strict control of the RAAF
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documents released to me. As time permits documents will be released
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with confidential details (names etc.) deleted.
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SPECIAL AREAS OF STUDY
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During my reviews and research of official files several particular
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areas of study have received additional attention. These include:
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1. The case for and against official 'cover-ups' of UFO DATA: More
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than twenty individual accounts from civilian sources allegedly
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indicative of 'cover-up' activities were are being examined. I
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hope to report on my findings soon.
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2. The Drury Film Affair: most of the original documentation is now
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secured. Frames from the film are in my possession, however,
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they are of poor quality. Mr. Drury has been contacted and was
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most helpful with my enquiries. A report on my investigations
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will be made available when completed.
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3. Reports by military personnel. Reports by service personnel
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have been collected together and a report will be made available
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when completed.
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4. Reports from aircraft: Such cases have been isolated and are to
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be added to an expanded catalogue in conjunction with Keith
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Basterfield's revision of his existing document on this theme.
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5. Official policies to UFO's: A number of official documents
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relating to policy have been secured. The evaluation of
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official policy re UFO's in Australia from 1950 through to 1983
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is fairly clear. I will be reporting on this in due course.
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6. Summarising and indexing official file holdings. Preliminary
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general indexes are already being worked on which will cover the
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period 1950 to 1983.
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7. Search for missing files: While it appears that I have been able
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to examine the majority of RAAF/DAFI file holdings, a few
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individual file parts remain to be located and examined. These
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include:
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a. Three sighting file parts covering reports during about 1973
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and 1974. Major cases known to be in them have already been
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secured (e.g. UFO over North West Cape and a physical trace
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event near Nebo).
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b. The "current" policy file.
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c. The original DAFI files prior to 1955. There is official
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evidence that these may have been destroyed during the move
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of Defence from Melbourne to Canberra in the early 1960's.
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Fortunately, a previously secret report written in 1954, and
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made available to me, summarises much of the DAFI files of
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the period 1950-1954. As already mentioned, early DCA UFO
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files I examined also hold copies of a number of reports and
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documents from these missing DAFI files of the early 1950's.
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Other files are being searched for, however, it is thought that, in
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some cases, the "missing" files may have been recovered as new file
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series (or the earlier parts of more recent file series). Following
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the erratic history of official UFO files has sometimes been daunting.
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I am confident that I have established a fairly thorough understanding
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of the DAFI UFO files, so much so that the DAFI intelligence liaison
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officer I have worked with during 1982 was once moved to tell me that
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I knew the DAFI UFO files better than he did, in fact better than
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anyone in the Department of Defence. This can in part be seen as a
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reflection of the significance DAFI/RAAF may now appear to give to UFO
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reports.
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CONCLUSION: As someone who has taken a special interest in the degree
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of official involvement in UFO investigation in Australia, for more
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than a decade now, I have personally been amazed at the extent of the
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material I have been allowed to become privy to in just one short
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year, namely 1982.
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We have gone from a confused and vague picture of clandestine official
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involvement to a detailed understanding basedon directly officially
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sanctioned file reviews by a civilian researcher.
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In closing I will say that I will be working very hard at making
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available to each and all the full extent of what I have learnt during
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this study and the benefit of a much closer relationship with the
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RAAF.
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REFERENCES AND NOTES:
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1. The Drury Film Affair refers to an incident during 1953 wherein
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Mr. T. Drury, Deputy Director of DCA in Papua, took a movie film
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of a daylight object which exited a cloud at high speed, climbing
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at about 45 degrees and disappeared. The film was examined by
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RAAF and USAF, however, it appears the film itself subsequently
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disappeared. The affair has now been one mainstay o the claim
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made by many civilian researchers that there is an official
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"cover-up".
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2. The Bouganville Reef event involved the alleged photographing of
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a UFO by a pilot of a DC6 aircraft. It has been alleged that
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evidence about the case, including the film, has been confiscated
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by DCA officials and subsequently covered up. The classified
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papers I examined consisted largely of internal communications
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between the Queensland Regional Director of DCA and the Director
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General of DCA which appears to conform a lack of knowledge about
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the event, at least at the level of Directors of DCA.
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3. The Sea Fury incident involved a naval pilot flying over the
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Goulbourn area of New South Wales, encountering two unidentified
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light, the presence of which were confirmed by ground radar.
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4. In particular the classic Drury affair of 1953 and the Willow
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Grove close encounter of 1963, wherein farmer Charles Brew had a
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very explicit sighting of a UFO on his property. The incident
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featured animal reactions and apparently related headaches for
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Mr. Brew.
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5. See AFUFOS Bulletin, July 1982. The 'Aircraft Accident
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Investigation Summary Report' makes no definite conclusions as to
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cause but indicated 'the reason for the disappearance of the
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aircraft has not been determined'.
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6. See also, for example, "Valentich - Bass Strait (Australia)
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Affair" in R.D. Story's "The Encyclopaedia of UFO's", Doubleday,
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1980 and New English Library, 1980, and "The Devil's Meridian" by
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Kevin Killey and Gary Lester (Lester-Townsend, 1980).
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7. These events refer to an unusual ground mark and an apparently
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unrelated UFO sighting at the same location.
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8. An extraordinary phenomenon ostensibly had landed in a cane field
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east of Mandurana, Queensland. It was witnessed by four people
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for three hours.
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9. This event occurred on August 27, 1957 and involved radar
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tracking of a fast moving object by Met Radar at Hobart, after
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being alerted via a visual sighting at Launceston ATC.
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10. On November 15, 1960, a USAF JV57 aircraft operating out of East
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Sale RAAF base encountered a UFO at a closing rate in excess of
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800 knots.
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11. In this case a light source approached a ship of Groote Eylandt
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on January 23, 1964. It came within 6ft of the ship,
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underwater, and was described as "a ghostly white light, in the
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centre was a shadow which rotated in a clockwise direction
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causing the light to pulsate". The ship, a barge, was
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approached by the light at high speed. In total six patches of
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light were observed, varying in size from a mile across down to
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quite small. All were the same colour and all pulsated at 12
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pulsations for 9 seconds, then irregular, then back to 12 for 9
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seconds again. The compass swung out of control, but became
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worse as the light approached.
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12. ATC radar operator at Kalamunda, 1835 hours on May 23, received a
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strong stationary "paint", 300 degrees 9N miles from the airport.
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He had first observed the return whilst talking on the phone to a
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woman reporting an object "like a big streetlight" over
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Cloverdale at the time. The "paint" was of 36 seconds duration
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on the screen. An aircraft was about 4N miles SE of the UFO, but
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no visual sighting was made. The woman reported the object had
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departed to the North at tremendous speed and had disappeared
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from sight.
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13. "A report on Observations of UFO's from Aircraft Crew Members in
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Australia".
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**********************************************
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* THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo *
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