Disclosure Australia (AURA) - No 09 - Jan 2004

Magazine Overview

This issue of DISCLOSURE AUSTRALIA, titled "NEWSLETTER NINE" and dated January 2004, is published by the Australian UFO Research Network and auspiced by the Australian UFO Research Association. It focuses on the topic of "Moon Dust & Mystery Spheres," exploring the phenomenon of unidentified spherical objects found in Australia, particularly during the 1960s, and their potential links to UFOs and government projects.

Moon Dust & Mystery Spheres

The article begins by noting that a number of "mystery spheres" were found in Australia during the 1960s, leading to speculation among UFO researchers about a possible connection to the UFO phenomenon. It references a 1964 article in the English magazine "Flying Saucer Review" that reported on the finding of such objects in New South Wales and South Australia in 1963. At that time, the Federal Minister of Supply, Allen Fairhall, stated that inquiries to American and Russian space agencies had failed to determine the origin of these spheres, fueling speculation.

Jumping forward to 1996, the article cites Bill Chalker's document, "UFOs Sub Rosa Down Under-The Australian Military & Government Role in the UFO Controversy." Chalker mentions that the Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO) maintains a secret "BOLIDE" file, which seems to operate on the premise that UFOs could involve the retrieval of Soviet hardware, thus providing useful intelligence. The JIO is described as having a "rapid intervention" capability to instigate ground searches for suspected "hardware" crashes, possibly through "special access" channels, similar to the US "Project Moondust."

What was Project Moondust?

To understand Project Moondust, the article refers to Jerry Clark's "The UFO Encyclopaedia." It states that in 1961, the U.S. Air Force established the classified Project Moon Dust to "locate, recover and deliver descended foreign space vehicles."

Did Australia participate in this Project?

The newsletter reveals that a file recently uncovered (Department of Supply file SA 5644/2/1) seemingly indicates Australian participation. A 1962 memo from the Controller WEA to the Superintendent Woomera mentioned that the "United States Embassy" informally sought WRE's assistance in obtaining information about sightings or downed fragments of space vehicles. This role aligns with Project Moon Dust, and the request to Australia was made a year after the project commenced. The file itself does not explicitly mention "Project Moon Dust," which is attributed to its classified nature.

Listing of known falls of space vehicle fragments

The article compiles a list of nine such objects found in Australia between 1963 and 1988, sourced from various publications and files:

• 8 Apr 1963: Bouilla Station, NSW. 5.5kg & 35.5cm diameter sphere. (Source: FSR 10(1):5. 1964)
• 28 Jun 1963: Mount Sturt Station, NSW. 8kg & 41cm diameter sphere. (Source: FSR 10(1):5. 1964)
• 12 Jul 1963: Muloorina, SA. 15cm diameter sphere. (Source: FSR 10(1):5. 1964)
• Sep 1965: Merkanooka, WA. Titanium sphere, 50cm diameter. (Source: Department of Supply file SA5644/3/1)
• Apr 1968: Mudgee, NSW. 29kg & 61cm diameter sphere. (Source: AFU Newsletter 46, July 2003)
• Mar 1968: Inkerman, Qld. 60cm diameter sphere, grey colour with 4 holes. (Source: RAAF file J63/25 5/40/AIR PART 1)
• Dec 1972: NSW. 3 spheres, 61cm diameter. (Source: UFORA Research Digest Issue 30:10)
• 17 Oct 1973: Mouroubra, WA. 51cm diameter sphere. (Source: UFORA Research Digest Issue 30:10)
• Jun 1988: Marble Bar, WA. Titanium 37cm diameter sphere. (Source: http://www.reentrynews.com)

"Sphere" files located

In December 2003, the authors located two additional files at the Adelaide office of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) relevant to their inquiry.

Department of Supply file SA5644/3/1

This file, titled "Joint Intelligence Bureau requests for an examination of a sphere found at Merkanooka WA," revealed that on 6 October 1965, the JIB asked the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) to examine a sphere. The ball reached WRE on 18 October 1965. A memo dated 1 April 1966 from the WRE stated that examinations showed the object was "certainly of USA origin and that it could be assumed to have formed part of a space vehicle." A subsequent memo dated 10 August 1966 from the Chief Scientist to the WRE requested the ball be forwarded to the Defence R & D Attache in Washington for NASA. A later report indicated the ball was found on 10 September 1965 and NASA determined it to be a fragment from the Gemini 5 spaceflight, specifically a Gemini 20 inch OAMS fuel tank used as a water tank.

Department of Supply file SA5644/3/2 Part 1

This file detailed the first three spheres listed in table 1:

• Bouilla ball: Discovered on 8 April 1963 by Jim McClure on Bouilla Station, near Broken Hill, NSW. It weighed 14 inches in diameter and 10lbs. It was delivered to WRE for examination and determined to be of American origin, eventually being returned to the USA. Later analysis indicated it was from a US Agena rocket used to launch test satellites.
• Johnson ball: Found on Mount Sturt Station, near Broken Hill, on 29 June 1963, and named after the finder, Colin Johnson. It weighed 18lbs and was located 50 miles from the Bouilla ball. This sphere was also determined to be American and returned. Later analysis indicated it was also from a US Agena rocket.
• Muloorina "ball": Found on 9 Jul 1963 by Tom Churches on Muloorina Station. It was a metal sphere, 6 inches in diameter, with a red rubber balloon attached. Examination indicated it was a hoax, with two halves taped together with "sticky tape." The article notes this find had not previously been revealed as a hoax.

Proposed explanations

Table 2 lists proposed explanations for these objects:

• Bouilla Station NSW: US Agena rocket stage used to launch USAF test satellites on 14 Dec 62 & 7 Jan 63. Re-entered in Jan 63.
• Mount Sturt Station NSW: Hoax.
• Muloorina SA: Hoax.
• Merkanooka WA: Water tank from Gemini 5 spaceflight.
• Mudgee NSW: Pressure vessel from Delta booster used to launch biosatellite II on 7 Sep 67.
• Inkerman Qld: Given to US Embassy Australia. No known results.
• NSW: Probably high pressure gas storage tank.
• Mouroubra WA: WRE says American satellite.
• Marble Bar WA: Probably from Soviet Foton 4 launched 14 Apr 88, re-entered 28 Apr 88.

If something fell today who would respond?

An Internet search reveals Australia has a plan titled "The Australian Contingency Plan for Space Re-entry debris." This plan, coordinated by Emergency Management Australia and supported by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, is designed to coordinate activities for recovering and neutralizing radiological threats from space debris over Australia.

Department of Supply file SA5644/2/1

This previously unknown Government file, located at the National Australia Archives, deals with UFOs and covers the years 1966-1974. Its title is "Unidentified Flying Objects." A summary of its 114 pages is available on the disclosure.freewebpage.org website.

Space vehicle fragments

The file refers to "space vehicle fragments" but contains no evidence of "crashed saucer" retrievals. In August 1962, the WRE established a procedure for "Identification of space vehicle fragments." A memo from the Controller WRE to Superintendent/Woomera stated that the US Embassy had sought assistance in identifying such fragments if a luminous object was observed or fragments recovered. WRE staff were asked to report occurrences, though the memo noted that "No special effort is justified in order to obtain these reports."

A memo dated 15 October 1967 showed this procedure was in operation between 1962 and 1967, with two reporting channels for UFO sightings:

1. Sightings at the ranges: Reported through a chain of command from Principal Officer/Ranges to the Department of Air.
2. All other sightings: Reported through Superintendent/American Projects Division to the US Embassy.

A memo dated 13 December 1967 questioned whether these processes were still in effect. It referenced a letter from the Department of Air advising RAAF responsibility for investigating UFO reports. The internal WRE memo recommended that future reports, except those from Woomera, be referred to the local RAAF base. The file contains papers up to 1974, but there is no record of whether these recommendations were followed.

STARS

The file also contains discussions about a "UFO club" at Woomera in the mid-1960s. A group called "Scientific, Technical and Astronomical Research Society" (STARS) was initiated in May 1966. The Superintendent Woomera set conditions for its formation, including prohibiting the disclosure of information originating in the area and any publicity through affiliated societies. The Superintendent also expressed concern about being inundated with requests for information if the club's existence became public. STARS designed its own UFO report forms, but the Superintendent discontinued their distribution, and the reporting system was stopped. By August 1967, STARS was reported as being "somewhat moribund."

UFO reports

The file contains a list of UFO reports:

• 1964: Yorke Peninsula SA. Object falling SW to NE with smoke haze and a fiery trail.
• Jul 1966: Victor Harbor SA. A 'star-like' object moved across the sky.
• 11 Feb 1967: Wollongong NSW. Very bright object in the sky.
• 27 Apr 1967: Woomera SA. Several staff reported an object close to a Skylark missile.
• 30 Jun 1967: Woomera SA. Numerous staff reported seeing a variety of objects through instruments.
• 20 Jul 1967: Karoonda SA. Silver object travelling at high speed.
• 6 Feb 1974: Sydney NSW. Photo of high altitude vapour trail.
• 26 Jun 1974: Alice Springs NT. No details given.

RAAF file summaries & catalogues

A summary of RAAF file A703 580/1/1 Part 7 has been completed and posted to the project website at http://disclosure.freewebpage.org. The site also contains summaries of Parts 1-4,7,9 &10, and catalogues of sightings from Parts 1-10.

Other Department of Supply files examined

The newsletter mentions inspecting a wide range of other Government files. Three examples are provided in Table 3, none of which contained useful material:

• SA5491/1/8: Summary of Australian Participation in Space Activities for the Minister of Supply.
• SA5491/1/1: Space Research (Policy). General policy and programmes.
• SA5648/8/5: Unauthorised flying/flights/entry into restricted airspace at DRCS Salisbury & Woomera prohibited zones.

Photographic evidence

On the NAA web-site, "Series notes for series D897 Unknown Objects-DSTO WRE[A-K 1948-1957]-Australian Archives" were located. These notes indicate the series contains approximately 4800 colour and black & white slides, with controlling records showing 6220 slides registered between 1947 and 1971. The whereabouts of 1400 missing slides are unknown. The series includes slides of Skylark launchers, Jindivik trials, Blue Streak movements, and some unidentified objects. However, a close examination of the hundreds of pictures listed in a register at the NAA revealed none of an unidentified or unknown nature.

RAAF Freedom of Information request

A request has been submitted to the RAAF under the Federal FOI Act (1982) for access to a substantial number of files. The intention is to physically view files in Adelaide before deciding which papers to purchase.

Contacting the Secretariat

Disclosure Australia welcomes information which would assist their project. Contact details are provided: DISCLOSURE AUSTRALIA, PO Box 783, Jimboomba 4280, e-mail: [email protected].

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring theme throughout this issue is the investigation into unexplained aerial phenomena and potential government cover-ups or involvement. The editorial stance appears to be one of diligent archival research, seeking to uncover and present factual information from government documents and credible sources. There is a clear focus on Australian cases and their connection to international projects and agencies, particularly those of the United States. The newsletter emphasizes the importance of official records and the systematic examination of files to shed light on these phenomena, while also acknowledging the limitations and gaps in the available information.