Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Correspondence Regarding Flying Saucers

This document file contains a collection of correspondence from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia, spanning from 1952 to 1957, regarding public inquiries about 'flying saucers.' The file includes letters from private citizens reporting sightings, such as a 1957 report from B.A. McCarthy in Esperance, Western Australia, describing a luminous, egg-shaped object, and a 1952 report from E.R. May in Grenfell, New South Wales, describing a phosphorescent phenomenon. The CSIRO's standard response to these inquiries was to state that the organization possessed no special knowledge or expertise regarding these phenomena and to refer the correspondents to the Department of Civil Aviation. Internal correspondence between the Chairman of the CSIRO, Dr. I. Clunies Ross, and the Minister in Charge, R.G. Casey, reveals an attempt to provide a scientific framework for these reports, specifically by linking them to meteoric stream dates, a theory supported by Dr. Bowen. The file also documents a request from a Chicago Daily News correspondent seeking information for a global survey on the subject, which the CSIRO declined to assist with, citing a lack of credible reports in Australia. The documents reflect the Australian government's administrative approach to the UFO phenomenon during the 1950s, characterized by a lack of formal investigation and a tendency to dismiss or redirect public interest.