Reports On “Saucers” Jam Phones

 Thursday, Jan. 7, 1954

Adelaide, South Australia, Advertiser

MELBOURNE. Jan. 6.

      Flying saucer reports today so blocked the telephone channels of the Civil Aviation Department's traffic control branch in Melbourne that the department had to ask the public for a "let-up."

      They followed an appeal by the department to forget their fear of ridicule and report unusual sights in the sky.

      In the past two days the reports were so numerous that the department had to qualify its appeal.

      It asked that all reports should be made in writing to its public relations section.

      The superintendent of air traffic control at Essendon (Mr. R M Seymour), said today "Airport traffic controllers are busy with matters of air safety.  They cannot handle as many reports as they received last night and today."

      An RAAF statesman said tonight the air force was "definitely interested" in flying saucer sightings.

      "We would be fools if we were not," he said.  "People are definitely seeing something, and we hope to find out what it is.

      "The RAAF has an open mind on saucers, and we have not rejected them as impossible, or accepted them as fact yet.  There is a high ranking opinion that saucers do exist, and you cannot shake it."

project 1947