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Project RAINFALL: The Secret History of Pine Gap
At the height of the Cold War the chief of one of Australia's spy agencies joined three CIA men at a remote site in central Australia to toast the success of a top secret project known in US intelligence circles as RAINFALL. The CIA listening station at Pine Gap was officially called the Joint Defence Space Research Facility, but it had nothing to do with research and was joint in name only: Australians were hired as cooks and janitors but the first spies were all American. The job of the satellites controlled from Pine Gap was to eavesdrop on Soviet missile tests. While government ministers denied that Australia was a nuclear target, bureaucrats in Canberra secretly planned for Armageddon in the suburbs of Alice Springs. No longer just a listening station, Pine Gap has metamorphosed into a key weapon in the Pentagon's war on terror, with Australians in frontline roles. Drawing on declassified documents in Australian and US archives, Tom Gilling's explosive new book tells, for the first time, the uncensored story of Australia's most secret place.
- GenresEspionageNonfiction
320 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 1, 2019
As an undertaking, it was always going to create conjecture, and Tom Gilling in his new book, Project Rainfall, The Secret History of Pine Gap, explains why in great detail. Based on impeccable research into already existing and newly declassified Australian and US documents, it is yet another work every Australian should read.
Not least in the book's frequently damning commentary is the manner in which Australian governments, not to say the Americans, lied - sometimes quite blatantly and at other times by planned omission - to the parliament and the people of Australia.
It all began with the purchase of land in a natural hollow on a grazing property called Pine Gap Valley, just 20km outside Alice Springs, for which the pastoralist was offered 52 cents an acre. An initial cost estimate for the base was $247,000. It would eventually cost billions.
Nowadays there is a higher level of Australian involvement in management and operation of Pine Gap but originally, despite it being a 'joint' operation, Australian personnel were limited to builders, gardeners, bakers and other similarly plebeian roles.
We were initially advised its purpose was as a Joint Defence Space Research Facility, but it was never this other than in name. Never intended to be operated by defence personnel from either nation, it was a spy centre set up for and to be operated by the CIA.
Tom Gilling takes us on an historic journey through an interesting period that began with a conservative government determined to show America what good and true friends we were. Despite Menzies being British to the bootstraps, he realised our future lay in a stronger relationship with our trans-Pacific ally. The partnership achieved its dubious zenith with Holt - "All the way with LBJ...!" - to be followed by the unpredictable Gorton, the irascible McMahon, and the great unknown Whitlam.
In 1967, in a bid to ease growing disquiet, Pine Gap's first chief assured locals the base would have no serving military officers. However, as the author highlights, "Pine Gap was a vital part of the Pentagon's global operations" protected by a string of Australian Prime Ministers, including Whitlam, "...even as he raged against the Nixon administration." It was and would remain a prime target in the event of war.
A book like Project Rainfall covers such a broad scope of matters it's impossible to cover it all in 600 words, so it seems only right to quote a Gilling passage, one that sends a chill down the reader's back:
"Behind the acronyms and military euphemisms lay an inescapable fact: Intelligence collected and analysed at Pine Gap was used in US combat missions, including drone strikes. If the US had the blood of innocent people on its hands, so did Australia."
Food for very deliberate thought by 25 million of us.
Not least in the book's frequently damning commentary is the manner in which Australian governments, not to say the Americans, lied - sometimes quite blatantly and at other times by planned omission - to the parliament and the people of Australia.
It all began with the purchase of land in a natural hollow on a grazing property called Pine Gap Valley, just 20km outside Alice Springs, for which the pastoralist was offered 52 cents an acre. An initial cost estimate for the base was $247,000. It would eventually cost billions.
Nowadays there is a higher level of Australian involvement in management and operation of Pine Gap but originally, despite it being a 'joint' operation, Australian personnel were limited to builders, gardeners, bakers and other similarly plebeian roles.
We were initially advised its purpose was as a Joint Defence Space Research Facility, but it was never this other than in name. Never intended to be operated by defence personnel from either nation, it was a spy centre set up for and to be operated by the CIA.
Tom Gilling takes us on an historic journey through an interesting period that began with a conservative government determined to show America what good and true friends we were. Despite Menzies being British to the bootstraps, he realised our future lay in a stronger relationship with our trans-Pacific ally. The partnership achieved its dubious zenith with Holt - "All the way with LBJ...!" - to be followed by the unpredictable Gorton, the irascible McMahon, and the great unknown Whitlam.
In 1967, in a bid to ease growing disquiet, Pine Gap's first chief assured locals the base would have no serving military officers. However, as the author highlights, "Pine Gap was a vital part of the Pentagon's global operations" protected by a string of Australian Prime Ministers, including Whitlam, "...even as he raged against the Nixon administration." It was and would remain a prime target in the event of war.
A book like Project Rainfall covers such a broad scope of matters it's impossible to cover it all in 600 words, so it seems only right to quote a Gilling passage, one that sends a chill down the reader's back:
"Behind the acronyms and military euphemisms lay an inescapable fact: Intelligence collected and analysed at Pine Gap was used in US combat missions, including drone strikes. If the US had the blood of innocent people on its hands, so did Australia."
Food for very deliberate thought by 25 million of us.
October 18, 2019
Pretty good. Haven't read Des(mond) Ball (dec. 2018)'s stuff yet but did buy one on Pine Gap way back in 2006 or so.
So not sure how this compares to the other books. Could have been reduced by 20% with less fluff.
So not sure how this compares to the other books. Could have been reduced by 20% with less fluff.
January 8, 2020
If you’re into Australian politics, want to know more about Australia/US relations & joint ventures, secrets, conspiracies, the truth & government cover ups & lies then this is a good place to start. Delving into the history of Pine Gap from the 50’s up until present day you’ll be surprised how much you don’t know about the machinations of government.
May 12, 2022
Pine Gap is the common name of a US satellite surveillance base in the centre of Australia which is jointly operated by both Australia and the United States. (For some value of "jointly".) The location in Central Australia was chosen to keep it away from prying Soviet spy ships. It has served a variety of satellites over the years, including Missions 7600 and 8300, and the Space-Based Infrared System.
This is a somewhat disappointing book. There is no detailed description of the activities and achievements of the CIA spy satellite station at Pine Gap in the heart of Australia. What it is is more of a literature search, bringing together works concerning the subject, both official and unofficial. In that sense it might be a useful addition to a library. There are no secrets revealed in the book, despite the title. The reader seeking to know more would be best advised to seek out the references.
Occasionally, the book wanders off topic, and sometimes thinks that even the most nutty conspiracy stories are worthy of mention (like the one about Harold Holt being kidnapped by a Chinese submarine).
This is a somewhat disappointing book. There is no detailed description of the activities and achievements of the CIA spy satellite station at Pine Gap in the heart of Australia. What it is is more of a literature search, bringing together works concerning the subject, both official and unofficial. In that sense it might be a useful addition to a library. There are no secrets revealed in the book, despite the title. The reader seeking to know more would be best advised to seek out the references.
Occasionally, the book wanders off topic, and sometimes thinks that even the most nutty conspiracy stories are worthy of mention (like the one about Harold Holt being kidnapped by a Chinese submarine).
March 20, 2020
This book is a solid history of the Pine Gap installation. It gives a chronological account and, probably because the details of the facility aren’t exactly public, does a particularly good job of putting context around the political and cultural environment in each period since it was established (and before).
I am always concerned when buying books like this that there will be a bias of the author that distracts from the history. The main bias of the author here is that the facility should be more open to the Australian military. This bias is not hidden, but it is rarely overpowering when reading the book and so I read this as a solid history that gave a new perspective on the cold power and US military policy.
There is a weird final chapter about aliens that is out of place and can be ignored. It doesn’t detract from the book overall.
I am always concerned when buying books like this that there will be a bias of the author that distracts from the history. The main bias of the author here is that the facility should be more open to the Australian military. This bias is not hidden, but it is rarely overpowering when reading the book and so I read this as a solid history that gave a new perspective on the cold power and US military policy.
There is a weird final chapter about aliens that is out of place and can be ignored. It doesn’t detract from the book overall.
April 26, 2020
Interesting history on a site that has been in the headlines for so long. Also interesting the Canberra political history behind it. The relationship between Gough Whitlam and Nixon was particularly interesting.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews