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Is Pine Gap
Australia's Area 51?
All of the below
information is 100% correct and verified to be so. The information
comes from a variety of sources, being personal interviews, media
reports and government reports. This information has taken some time
to compile and verify.
The history of Pine Gap below is written in chronogical order.
This page was first uploaded on November 6th, 1998.
Last up date - 7
November 1998
This page is an
expansion from the parent site located at
http://www.octa4.net.au/marlinw/
The parent site on my ISP has reached it's maximum allocated
space.
This page best
viewed with Netscape 3 or higher
CLICK
HERE FOR YOUR OWN FREE HOME PAGE
THE HISTORY OF PINE GAP
From the beginning to the present
SOMETIME IN THE
1960's
United States Government enters in to secret talks with the
Australian Government on the topic of constructing a Satellite Relay
Station somewhere in Australia's inland. USGS (United States
Geological Survey) begins to study geological maps and surveys of
inland Australia. In either 1964 or 1965, central Australia is
selected as the region to construct the facility. Request is made to
the Australian Government to provide suggested locations to construct
the facility. Proposed site is offered to the United States of a 25
acre piece of land owned by the Australian Air Force with the option
of expanding the land holdings. The site, located only 7 kilometres
from the town centre of Alice Springs, is inspected by U.S.
Government, but found unsuitable. U.S. Government decides on Alice
Springs environs as the site for the future facility.
MAY - NOVEMBER 1966
Land owners observe American drilling teams working on their
properties south west of Alice Springs.
DECEMBER 1966
December 16 - Anouncement made of a Joint Australian-American
facility to be constructed near Alice Springs, Northern Territory of
Australia. Project to be completed over 18 months. Land selected on
Temple Bar Station owned by Mr Jim BULLEN.
JANUARY 1967
Controversy begins when BULLEN is asked to volunteer his land to the
project. BULLEN is offered 52 cents an acre, take it or leave it.
BULLEN asks for fair compensation and an assurance that the facility
to be built is a wholly Australian operated facility and that no
military activity be performed at the proposed base.
(TO READ MORE ABOUT THE LAND DEAL, CLICK
HERE)
Australian Prime Minister Harold HOLT says there will be no
launching or firing from the proposed Pine Gap facility. Alice
Springs Member of the Northern Territory Government, Mr Charlie ORR,
criticises Australian Prime Minister Harold HOLT for his
"non-commital and misconstrued attitude" in relation to the
information releases from the Americans. Mr ORR also questions what
economic benefit there would be for Alice Springs to have this base
established.
FEBRUARY 1967
BULLEN continues to protest for fair compensation of the 900 acres of
land taken from him, for which he was paid a total payment of only
$470.
The facility is first given the pen name of "The Space Base".
It is anounced that local Alice Springs construction company, Nor-ter
Pty Ltd have signed a contract worth $51,485.69 to construct roads,
streets and guttering.
MARCH 1967
Mr Richard STALLINGS gives a talk to members of the Alice Springs
Rotary Club. Mr STALLINGS is named as "Senior US-Australian
Representative" of the facility. Mr STALLINGS anounces that there
would be "no serving military officers or men at the site". He
announced that construction of the buildings would be completed in 15
months and it would take a further 9 months to install the equipment.
He said that one of the radomes would be 100 feet in diameter. He
also stated that the facility would employ 25 Americans and about 60
Australians initially with further advancement employing a further
100 Australians. He stated that the facility would expand over the
years with most of the materials for the facility being
pre-fabricated in the United States.
APRIL 1967
Mr Charlie ORR voices his concerns of the proposed Facility. He lists
his concerns as fears that the cost of living and property rentals
may increase due to the 'military base'; concerns of the
Americanisation of Alice Springs,; imbalance to the ratio of gender
and single to married people of Alice Springs,; concerns over greater
demand for local schools in regard to overcrowding,; and his concerns
that the establishment of the facility was undemocratic since Alice
Springs residents were not consulted.
MAY 1967
Australian Commonweatlth Gazette reports that Mr Edwin J HATT of the
Austrlian Department of Supply is to be placed as Officer in Charge
of Security at the Defence Facility. His job title referred to as
Executive Officer and Representative of the Department of Defence. Mr
HATT was formerly in charge of security at the Woomera Rocket Testing
Range in South Australia.
Public anouncement for first time that there was already a secret
U.S. facility in central Australia, having been in existance since
the 1950's. Name and location of that facility remains secret.
Official name of the facility penned as "United States - Australia
Space Defence Research Facility."
Announcement made that the facility will be enclosed by a 50 mile
fence. Reported that fence is to prevent motor vehicle entry that
might cause radio interference with facility's equipment.
MEDIA RELEASE - "It will house two antenae, housed under plastic
radomes as protection against desert sand, dust and rain". Further
reported to the media by the Australian Government- "It is believed
that the facility will cost in excess of $8 million and will be
mainly staffed by Americans."
Mr Charlie ORR said "We have had the wool pulled over our eyes". His
comment came as a result of speculation that Alice Springs would
become a target in the event of a military conflict after it was
anounced that the facility would be associated with spy-in-the-sky
operations and was in fact a "defence facility".
LATE MAY - Construction halts when a general strike is called by
construction workers.
JUNE 1967
June 9 - Construction recommences after a general strike was called
by the construction workers when their Trade Union claimed that
workers were underpaid.
Mr Reg HARRIS, a prominent Alice Springs resident speaks out in
support of the defence facility. He stated that he discovered that
the facility was inject a lot of finance and economic benefit to the
town. He discovered 13 local companies were contracted to supply
goods, services and labor valued at over $250,000.
A survey of 300 Alice Springs residents revealed an "overwhelming
support for the facility".
Construction had slowed down further due to extensive flooding as a
result of torential rains. Proposed completion date has been
expanded. The completion time is now speculated to take a further18
months to 2 years.
JULY 1967
Mr Noel GEE, the general construction supervisor, discloses what was
supposed to be a secret. He reveals that there is extensive drilling
taking place at the facility. Mr GEE then rebutted his own comment
saying that his workers had drilled two water bores and that the
Facility would be self sufficient.
Mr GEE further anounces that the facility would have an unspecified
number of buildings constructed mainly of concrete block work with
little timber used.
The facility under construction is open to the media for one day.
Journalists saw numerous trucks and earth-moving equipment, tents and
a large trench set amidst the numerous roads and tracks around the
construction site.
The Information
below is brief and not fully verified,
and will be updated in the near future as I complete the
research.
1970 - Pine Gap becomes operational. COLLINS RADIO of Dallas, Texas
is the major company involved at the facility.
1974 - The Australian Government announces that Pine Gap is being
controlled by the C.I.A.
Unauthorised photographs and other information from inside the
facility are reported to have been sold to Russia.
1983 - Protest against Pine Gap leads to arrest of many
people
1985 - An unconfirmed report of an unidentified aircraft travelling
at erratic speeds buzzes a government employee and police officers,
100 kilometres west of Alice Springs.
1986 - Over 300 people arrested at a Pine Gap Protest Rally at the
gates of Pine Gap.
1988 - A local hot air Balloon pilot is forced to down his balloon
when wind currents caused him to drift over Pine Gap land holdings.
There were several tourist on board at that time. There are
unconfirmed reports of minor injuries
1989 - Pine Gap is de-classified. Security is reduced and much of
Pine Gap's operations become public knowledge. Pine Gap receives the
name change to Joint Defence Space Research Facility Pine
Gap
1991 - U.S. Newspapers report that Pine Gap is instrumental in the
tracking of Iraq's SCUD Missiles and the guidance and trajectory of
the the U.S. PATRIOT Missiles. Also reports that Satellite Imagery
from Pine Gap was monitoring the troop movements and other miltary
activity of Iraq.
1996 - Rumours begin to speculate when witnesses allege to have seen
a triangular shaped aircraft crash or land rapidly at an area west of
Pine Gap. A local man looking for the alleged site reports he is
stopped and expelled by Pine Gap Security staff. The alleged area of
land is on private property outside of Pine Gap's land holdings.
November 1996 - UFO hoax perpertrated by a local youth launching hot
air balloons. Rumours speculate UFO's until cause of lights in the
sky is discovered..
1997 - Further rumours begin to speculate when a woman and her son
claim they saw a blue glowing light rise and descend over Pine
Gap.
1998 - I established my Pine Gap Research Pages and posted them on
the Internet. As a result, some Pine Gap Executives don't talk to me
any more.
