A History of Radar, unpublished transcript by Marjorie Barnard commissioned by CSIR 1946
Dear Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation,
I would like to have a copy of this 313-page manuscript and any related information. A copy of this report is listed under Marjorie Faith Barnard - Records at MS 016 in the Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. However, I have not had a response to two emails I sent to this library early this month.
Marjorie Barnard was Chief Librarian at the Radiophysics Division of the CSIR and was commissioned in 1946 by the CSIR to write 'One Secret Weapon': A History of Radar but it was never published. It was compiled from interviews and diaries, including notes used in the writing and represents an important primary resource.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Diana Wyndham
5 Little Alfred Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
Phone: (02) 99541217
Our ref: FOI2025/45
Dear Diana,
Thank you for your email to CSIRO’s Freedom of Information Team. Your
email has been received and will be actioned as appropriate.
If an FOI request is valid, a decision in response to the request is due
30 days after the request is received by CSIRO (Monday,28^th July, 2025,
noting the 30 day processing period falls on Sunday, 27^th July, 2025).
This timeframe can be extended under the FOI Act including where
third-party consultation is required. CSIRO notifies applicants when an
extension is required.
If an FOI request is not valid, the 30-day timeframe does not commence.
CSIRO contacts applicants to advise them of invalidity within 21 days of
receipt of the application.
Charges may be imposed for processing your request pursuant to section 29
of the FOI Act. These charges are calculated by reference to the time
spent processing a request, including time spent searching and retrieving
relevant documents, preparing any documents for release, consulting and
decision- making. In the event CSIRO decides that you are liable to pay a
charge for the processing of your request, you will be notified of a
preliminary charges assessment and you will have the opportunity to
contend that the charge should not be imposed or should be reduced.
We would be grateful if you could please confirm via reply email, whether
you would be prepared to exclude from the scope of your request any
personal information that identifies non-Executive CSIRO staff (such as
names, telephone numbers and email addresses). Such an exclusion would not
extend to the position titles or workplaces of relevant government agency
officers.
We look forward to hearing from you.
More information about accessing information held by CSIRO, including via
freedom of information, can be found at [1]Access to information - CSIRO.
Kind regards
CSIRO’s FOI Team
PLEASE NOTE
The information contained in this email may be confidential or privileged.
Any unauthorised use or disclosure is prohibited. If you have received
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Dear FOI,
Thank you for your response. I confirm via reply email, that I am prepared to exclude from the scope of your request any
personal information that identifies non-Executive CSIRO staff (such as
names, telephone numbers and email addresses). Such an exclusion would not
extend to the position titles or workplaces of relevant government agency
officers.
Yours sincerely,
Diana Wyndham
Dear Diana
We are currently undertaking the searches for your FOI request for “A
History of Radar”, unpublished by Majorie Barnard, and any related
information.
The searches have so far found what may be earlier drafts of the
manuscript, contained in several large folders of content written in very
thin paper. The copy of the manuscript was lodged with the National
Archives of Australia in 1993 and is no longer held by CSIRO.
Can you please let me know if you would like to obtain a copy of the
related information that CSIRO holds, noting that there will be charges
involved due to the time it will take to go through the papers to
ascertain if the material is relevant to your FOI request?
Kind regards,
Alex Briggs (she/her)
Senior Legal Counsel
Legal | CSIRO
[1][email address] | +61 3 9545 2061
CSIRO Darwin
The information contained in this email may be confidential or privileged.
Any unauthorised use or disclosure is prohibited. If you have received
this email in error, please delete it immediately and notify the sender by
return email. Thank you. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO does not
represent, warrant and/or guarantee that the integrity of this
communication has been maintained or that the communication is free of
errors, virus, interception or interference.
CSIRO Australia’s National Science Agency | [2]csiro.au
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 27 June 2025 10:38 AM
To: '[FOI #13335 email]'
<[FOI #13335 email]>
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - A History of Radar,
unpublished transcript by Marjorie Barnard commissioned by CSIR 1946
Our ref: FOI2025/45
Dear Diana,
Thank you for your email to CSIRO’s Freedom of Information Team. Your
email has been received and will be actioned as appropriate.
If an FOI request is valid, a decision in response to the request is due
30 days after the request is received by CSIRO (Monday,28^th July, 2025,
noting the 30 day processing period falls on Sunday, 27^th July, 2025).
This timeframe can be extended under the FOI Act including where
third-party consultation is required. CSIRO notifies applicants when an
extension is required.
If an FOI request is not valid, the 30-day timeframe does not commence.
CSIRO contacts applicants to advise them of invalidity within 21 days of
receipt of the application.
Charges may be imposed for processing your request pursuant to section 29
of the FOI Act. These charges are calculated by reference to the time
spent processing a request, including time spent searching and retrieving
relevant documents, preparing any documents for release, consulting and
decision- making. In the event CSIRO decides that you are liable to pay a
charge for the processing of your request, you will be notified of a
preliminary charges assessment and you will have the opportunity to
contend that the charge should not be imposed or should be reduced.
We would be grateful if you could please confirm via reply email, whether
you would be prepared to exclude from the scope of your request any
personal information that identifies non-Executive CSIRO staff (such as
names, telephone numbers and email addresses). Such an exclusion would not
extend to the position titles or workplaces of relevant government agency
officers.
We look forward to hearing from you.
More information about accessing information held by CSIRO, including via
freedom of information, can be found at [3]Access to information - CSIRO.
Kind regards
CSIRO’s FOI Team
PLEASE NOTE
The information contained in this email may be confidential or privileged.
Any unauthorised use or disclosure is prohibited. If you have received
this email in error, please delete it immediately and notify the sender by
return email. Thank you. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO does not
represent, warrant and/or guarantee that the integrity of this
communication has been maintained or that the communication is free of
errors, virus, interception or interference.
Dear Alex Briggs,
Thank you for your searches. I would like you to proceed with the search. How much is it likely to cost.
As an alternative, would it be possible to obtain a copy of the one listed below in the archives of the National Radio Astronomy Library. (I can send you a scanned copy of this listing if it would help).
EM 12.2: Marjorie Barnard
Copy of transcript of Barnard's 'One Single Weapon", CSIRO's requested but never published history of radar, related materials, and material on Barnard. Creator: Papers of W Miller Goss.
Yours sincerely,
Diana Wyndham
Dear Diana,
We are unable to request a copy of the manuscript from the National Radio Astronomy Library under the FOI Act as they are not part of CSIRO.
You can request a copy of the transcript from the National Archives of Australia through this link. The 'request copy' button is on the top right side of the item details. https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNR...
There is information on the NAA website regarding applications for open access documents and how long it is likely to take to process your application. https://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/our-serv...
Can you please confirm if you would like to continue with your FOI request? If so, I will prepare an estimate of charges for you.
Kind regards,
Alex Briggs (she/her)
Senior Legal Counsel
Legal | CSIRO
[email address] | +61 3 9545 2061
CSIRO Darwin
The information contained in this email may be confidential or privileged. Any unauthorised use or disclosure is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it immediately and notify the sender by return email. Thank you. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO does not represent, warrant and/or guarantee that the integrity of this communication has been maintained or that the communication is free of errors, virus, interception or interference.
CSIRO Australia’s National Science Agency | csiro.au
Dear Alex,
Thank you again for your quick and very helpful response.
I have managed to locate a copy in the NAA (C3830) and have requested the NAA to examine this document. I hope to be able to access it once NAA has examined the record.
If NAA grants me permission to access it, there will be no need for you to proceed with my FOI request. If the NAA refuse to give me access, I will contact you again.
Yours sincerely,
Diana Wyndham
Dear Daniel,
Thanks for your response. However, the SLNSW has a copy (at MLMSS -887) of Barnard (1946) Notes and narratives, 1940-1945, used in compiling 'One Single Weapon' - A history of Radar. I have accessed this document (and others in the Marjorie Barnard file) but they are not the final report, which is the document I want to access.
I have requested the National Archives of Australia for a copy of C3830 - "One Single Weapon" by Marjorie Barnard. It has not yet been examined and today I asked NAA to examine this. They have said they will do this and the due date for NAA's response is 7 November 2025.
Yours sincerely,
Diana Wyndham
Dear Diana,
We confirm that your request for FOI2025/45 has been withdrawn.
You are most welcome to submit an FOI request to CSIRO at any time.
Kind Regards
FOI Team
PLEASE NOTE
The information contained in this email may be confidential or privileged. Any unauthorised use or disclosure is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it immediately and notify the sender by return email. Thank you. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO does not represent, warrant and/or guarantee that the integrity of this communication has been maintained or that the communication is free of errors, virus, interception or interference.
Dear FOI,
Thanks again for your very helpful response. I have submitted a request for the National Archives of Australia to inspect the 'One Secret Weapon' document which will take them until November to do.
I hope that I will be then able to access it.
Yours sincerely,
Diana Wyndham
Dear FOI,
I will let you know when I have received a response from the National Archives (they promised a November deadline for examining the report) and have been able to examine or receive a copy of it.
Yours sincerely,
Diana Wyndham
Dear FOI,
Many thanks for your response to my second FOI request. I look forward to hearing from you once you have investigated.
Yours sincerely,
Diana Wyndham
Daniel S Day left an annotation ()
Dear Dr Wyndham,
Perhaps you have already pursued this avenue and, if you have, my apologies in advance for wasting your time.
If not, you may be interest to know that the State Library of NSW claims to be in possession of the manuscript for "One Single Weapon: a history of radar": https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/...
According to the State Library's records, the manuscript is distributed in two boxes, with a third box containing Marjorie Barnard's notes on the manuscript.
I noticed that you are based in Sydney, and thought it might be worth your while to catch the metro to Martin Place Station and walk over to the State Library to inspect the records.
I hope this message is of some value to you.
Faithfully,
DSD