CSIRO Registry File HM1/30: Miscellaneous Enquiries - UFOs

This document is a registry file (HM1/30) from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) concerning miscellaneous enquiries about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). The file contains correspondence spanning from the 1960s to the 1980s, documenting the organization's consistent policy regarding UFO reports. Throughout the correspondence, CSIRO officials, including S. Lattimore and various Ministers for Science and Technology, repeatedly informed members of the public that CSIRO did not conduct research on UFOs and was not tasked with collecting such information. Instead, the organization directed enquirers to the Department of Defence or the Department of Air (later the RAAF), which were identified as the official bodies responsible for investigating these phenomena. A significant portion of the file relates to a specific 1972 photograph taken by Mr. Norman Benstead at Lake Hume. The photograph, which received media attention, was investigated by a CSIRO scientist in a private capacity. The investigation concluded that the image was a double exposure caused by a film cassette being removed and replaced in an Instamatic-type camera, allowing the last frame to be exposed a second time. The file also includes correspondence from various individuals and organizations, such as the Unidentified Flying Objects Investigation Centre (UFOIC) and the Commonwealth Aerial Phenomena Investigation Organisation (C.A.P.I.O.), seeking information or collaboration. In each instance, CSIRO maintained its stance of non-involvement, emphasizing that its resources were committed to other scientific research and that it lacked the mandate to investigate UFO sightings.