Investigations of Flying Saucers Policy

This document is an administrative file (File No. 554/1/30) from the Australian Department of Air, titled 'Investigations of Flying Saucers Policy.' It covers the period from approximately 1954 to 1967 and documents the evolution of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) policy regarding the investigation of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). The file contains correspondence between the Department of Air and various government and scientific bodies, including the CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Department of Civil Aviation, and the Weapons Research Establishment. The primary policy established during this period was the decentralization of UFO investigations. Rather than centralizing all reports, the Department of Air directed RAAF bases to conduct local investigations and liaise directly with regional authorities, such as the Bureau of Meteorology, to identify sightings as natural phenomena (e.g., meteors, planets, weather balloons, or aircraft). The file also includes correspondence with civilian organizations like the Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society and the Commonwealth Aerial Phenomena Investigation Organisation. The Department of Air consistently maintained that UFOs did not constitute a threat to national security and that most reports could be explained by natural causes. The file documents the Department's reluctance to engage in deep scientific research, often deferring to the U.S. Air Force's 'Project Blue Book' findings. Notable inclusions are reports and correspondence regarding the 1959 sightings in Boianai, Papua New Guinea, involving Reverend William B. Gill, which were treated with significant interest but ultimately categorized as natural phenomena. The file concludes with the administrative closure of the policy file in 1967.