NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2003

ASIO files:

As mentioned in previous Newsletters, requests were made to ASIO, via the National Australia Archives, to search their files to see if they held any records on the following Australian UFO research groups:

Australian Flying Saucer Bureau; Australian Flying Saucer Club; Australian Flying Saucer Investigation Committee; Australian Flying Saucer Research Society; UFO Investigation Centre; Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society; Victorian UFO Research Society; Perth UFO Research Group; Queensland Flying Saucer Research Bureau; UFO Research Queensland.

Responses (one per group) have now been received from ASIO via the NAA, stating that: “A check of our indices has failed to locate any open or closed period records with respect to the above named subject.”

In addition, we asked if ASIO held any records on three Australian UFO researchers from the 1950’s. ASIO’s response was negative for two of these researchers. However, they are conducting a further search on the third researcher. We will bring you the outcome of this process.


Department of Supply files:

You will recall that some time ago we requested a number of files from the NAA Adelaide Office, the numbers and titles of which, we had located following an exhaustive search through paper lists of hundreds of WRE/DSTO/Department of Supply file titles/numbers. One Department of Supply file has come to light through this process which is of interest to us. File number SA 5644/2/1 was a Department of Supply file held by the Weapons Research Establishment at Salisbury in the 1960’s. The title of the file is “Unidentified Flying Objects.”

Items of interest include the fact that some Australian UFO sightings which came through the WRE ended up in the United States; and that at one stage there was a scientifically oriented UFO “club” of WRE staff members at Woomera. We are in the process of preparing a summary of the file contents, which we will bring you shortly.


RAAF file summaries and UFO reports listings:

Due to the volume of information contained in them, we have decided to place the existing, and any future, file summaries and UFO reports listings directly on to the Disclosure web site, rather than as attachments to this Newsletter. For those UFO groups with no e-mail service, we will continue to provide hard copies.

In addition to those summaries and UFO reports listings previously published in Newsletters, we have now also completed abstracting RAAF file A703 580/1/1 Part 4 for both summaries and UFO reports listings, and parts 4-8 for sightings. These will now be found at http://disclosure.freewebpage.org

Highlights of sightings part 4 are:

13 January 1965. At latitude 41 degrees South and longitude 167 degrees East, a Qantas aircraft crew sighted what appeared to be a formation of seven large “aircraft.” A second pilot also reported that at 166 degrees East longitude, on the Sydney to Wellington route, he had seen eleven blips on his radar
4 December 1964. At Daunia Homestead, near Nebo in Queensland, a man found a strip of scrub 600 yards wide and 4.5 miles long which appeared to have been subjected to extreme heat
15 February 1963. A Moe, Victoria, farmer saw an object descend from the sky, hover at low altitude then ascend. It was described as 25 feet diameter, 9 feet high and parts seemed to be rotating. A swishing or burbling sound was heard.

Highlights of sightings part 5 are:

19 January 1966. Tully Qld. An object, 25 feet long and 8-9 feet deep, was seen only 25 yards away. It rose into the air and receded into the distance. A circular area of swirled swamp grass was found
5 May 1966. Crew of HMAS Anzac reported seeing four closely grouped objects leaving trails of colour. No radar contact reported.

The highlight of sightings part 6 is:

14 August 1966. Kunnunurra WA. After bright lights approached him, a man sighted a “flying saucer”, oval in shape and silver in colour.

Highlights of sightings part 7 are:

30 December 1966. Pipon Island. Four groups of three objects in a “v” formation
21 January 1967. Kurri Kurri NSW. An object passed in front of a car, then climbed rapidly away. Very loud hum heard intermingled with “undecipherable voices”
30 March 1967. Peterborough SA. Three objects seen, including a 15-20 foot diameter disc which took off from the ground.

The highlight of sightings part 8 is:

5 July 1967 Murray Bridge SA. Five miles NNE of Murray Bridge on the Murray Bridge to Karoonda Road. It was a clear night with thick ground fog. Witness was driving a motor vehicle when he experienced interference on the car radio, which became a high pitched whine. He turned the radio off. Within 100-150 yards, the motor of the vehicle stopped by itself. The ignition was on but the warning lights on the dash came on. The ignition key was still in the on position. Looking up he saw a distinct break in the fog with stars visible. A “large dark shadow” was seen at a height of 20 feet. The shadow seemed 10 feet thick. Above this shadow was a greyish-blue glow. The top of the shadow appeared convex. He stoped the vehicle and got out to look but the shadow and light had gone. There was no sound. The object had vanished. The two banks of fog came together. The witness returned to the vehicle and tried the ignition and the motor worked. He switched on the radio and there was now no interference.


Early classified RAAF files:

On RAAF file number 554/1/30 we found a clue to the identifying number of earlier classified files, when a memo dated 24 October 1966 revealed that there were four files on the subject; namely 569/5/461; 2/25/1; 574/3/88 and 554/1/30. Three of these files were classified. A request was therefore submitted to the National Archives for assistance in locating these earlier files. The NAA response was that they had searched their listing of series A703 and A705 files, where you would reasonably expect to find these files listed, but could find no trace of the three files ever having been deposited with the Archives.


South Australian Police Special Branch inquiry:

The following is the text of a letter forwarded to the Commissioner of Police in South Australia, in August 2003.

“RE: ACCESS TO COPY OF A RECORD OF INTERVIEW

I am a member of a scientifically oriented organisation which is seeking to document South Australian reports of Unidentified Flying Objects.

Recently, I located a reference in the “Adelaide Advertiser” dated 10 July 1963 to an incident reported to have occurred on 28 June 1963 at Sandy Creek on the Lyndoch to Gawler, SA road, to a Williston man. The Advertiser article, sourced to “our Police roundsman” stated that “...reported the incident to the Weapons Research Establishment who arranged for him to be interviewed by a member of the CIB Special Branch.”

I am aware that under the South Australian Freedom of Information Act that the South Australian Police Force is an exempt agency under that Act “…in relation to information compiled by – (1) the former Special Branch…” This request is therefore made outside this Act. As this record of interview could not be considered of a criminal or intelligence nature, I would like to request a copy of this record of interview if the document still exists.”

The following reply was forwarded to us dated 21 November 2003:

I refer to your letter of 18 August 2003 in which you request access to a file held by the former Special branch relating to an alleged sighting of an unidentified flying object at Sandy Creek in June 1963.

Records from the former Special branch are now held within the Security Intelligence Section of the State Protective Security Branch. The Branch is exempt from the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 1991 and is also subject to Government Directions issued to the Commissioner of Police in 1999 pursuant to Section 6 of the Police Act 1998.

The Directions limit the circumstances under which the Security Intelligence Section can retain and disseminate information. Unfortunately, your request does not come within the criteria of Clause 3 (1) (iv) or clause 5 (3) (iv) of the Government Directions.

The original Government Directions came into effect in 1980 and are relevant to crimes or breaches of peace, terrorism, subversion, the safety of dignitaries and violent behaviour between or within community groups. If the sighting of an unidentified flying object was to occur today it would not be within the core business of the Security Intelligence Section.

Finally, records of the Special branch were culled in accordance with records destruction schedule and matters not relevant to the “Security of the State” would not have survived the culling process.”


Former member of the Navy reports an event:

An Adelaide man recently reported an event which occurred in the 1974-1976 timeframe in NSW, through a web site operated by researcher Brad Mildern. Contact has been made with the witness, and it is hoped to shortly interview the man to further document this event, which was not previously known to UFO researchers.

We welcome information which would assist the Project. Our contact details are: