The Anderson Report

Scientology is organized on a world-wide basis. Its "world", however, does not include communist countries, for Hubbard is very hostile to Communism.

Administrative international headquarters are at Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead, Sussex, England, where Hubbard resides with his present wife and family. The headquarters, it is said, undertake research, provide technical information, advice, and managerial services, publish research material and conduct special courses. The organization of scientology is somewhat complex, for the parent company appears to be a company incorporated in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A., on the 19th May, 1954, under the name of Hubbard Association of Scientologists International. There is also a company incorporated in England under the name of Hubbard Association of Scientologists International Limited.

The articles of incorporation of Hubbard Association of Scientologists International, i.e., the American company, disclose that the company is in the nature of a company limited by guarantee to an amount of indebtedness not exceeding 250,000 American dollars. The company is empowered among other things to have and enjoy all the powers and privileges granted by law to non-profit corporations organized under the laws of the State of Arizona; to conduct and carry on any and all scientific research and more particularly the dissemination and advancement of knowledge of the human mind in mental, psychosomatic, and allied fields; to conduct schools and classes; to establish clinics; to publish and have published books, articles, letters, papers, magazines, and other periodicals; and to do and perform any and all acts not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Arizona.

There are central organizations of scientology in London, Washington, Los Angeles, Auckland, Melbourne, Cape Town, Sydney, and Perth. There are what are called city offices in New York City, San Diego, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Johannesburg, Berlin, Paris, Adelaide, Detroit, Dallas and Twin Cities, and Toronto. Hubbard claims there are franchise holders or field auditors in various parts of most of the continents and in various levels of governments and armed services in several countries.

Highly efficient lines of communication are maintained between Hubbard's headquarters at Saint Hill and the central organizations. The central organization in Melbourne is in direct telex communication with Hubbard and it is understood that other organizations are similarly linked. An English company, Hubbard Communications Office (World Wide) Ltd., is the channel through which all written communications from Hubbard are despatched. The function of HCO (WW) Ltd., is described in HCO Infm. Lr. of the 18th February, 1964, in these terms: " HCO (W.W.) Ltd., is concerned with the Organizations of Scientology on a world wide basis. It deals with Ron's personal communications to and from the HCOs, Orgs and Field, and with the Franchise Holders. It sends out Ron's policies and technical data. It has its own direct line to the HCOs, Orgs and City Offices all over the world." It keeps a close supervisory eye on local scientologists to ensure conformity to a " proper standard of Scientology ethics".

There is an almost constant stream of communications flowing from Hubbard in England, via the HCO, to the various branches throughout the world. These communications contain instructions on a great variety of matters and are variously described as bulletins, policy letters, information letters, technical data, newsletters and the like.

The Hubbard Communications Office, commonly referred to as HCO, is a highly important part of the scientology organization, not only in Victoria but generally throughout the world. The sole proprietor of the business name in Victoria is Hubbard, and the local HCO secretary, in the name of Hubbard, wields great power. Though it has the same address as the HASI in Melbourne, the HCO is a distinct organization.

One witness, a former scientologist, described the HCO thus, " It is a police force which governs the HASI. It is Hubbard's own police force which governs the HASI organizations throughout the universe. It is separate from the HASI and it ensures that the policy of the HASI is carried out, and it has power to hire and fire members of the HASI. Whether it was on paper this way, I do not know ". Allowing for such prejudice as the witness might have had against scientology, he appears to have described fairly well what the evidence, both oral and contained in scientology documents, showed the HCO to be.

Though as a matter of formality the HASI and the HCO are separate legal entities and Hubbard is merely a director of the American company, he is nevertheless the executive or governing director and in fact exercises complete and autocratic control over each organization and all phases of their activities and all members, His name it is that the organizations bear; his "discoveries" and techniques they exploit and practise; his books are their literature; his prestige amongst scientologists is such that he felt the need to direct that students be instructed that he is merely a human being; persistently to disagree with him brings punishment ruthless and severe, no matter how highly placed the offender.

Organization in Victoria.

The organization, direction, and control of scientology in Victoria is effected through and by the American company, Hubbard Association of Scientologists International, which is registered in Victoria under the Companies Act as a foreign company, with its registered office at 157-159 Spring Street, Melbourne.

The English company, Hubbard Association of Scientologists International Limited (formerly Hubbard Association of Scientologists Limited), is also registered in Victoria as a foreign company with its registered office at 157-159 Spring Street, Melbourne. This company appears to have been inactive in Victoria at all relevant times.

During the course of the Inquiry a company, Hubbard Association of Scientologists International (Victoria) Pty. Ltd., was incorporated in Victoria on the 6th February, 1964, with its registered ofEce at 157-159 Spring-street, Melbourne The apparent intention was that this company should take over the duties and functions of the American company but, so far as the Board is aware, it had not done so at the time the evidence was concluded.

It seems, therefore, that at all material times, of three companies bearing Hubbard's name, it has been only the American company which has been functioning.

There are, however, several registered business names which are associated with the Melbourne HASI. The businesses or firms to which these names refer are in some cases inactive. At the time of the Inquiry at least the following business names were registered with their addresses as 157 and /or 159 Spring Street, Melbourne, though some may now have become de-registered pursuant to the operation of the Business Names Act 1962:

Melbourne Test Centre, proprietor, Peter Rogers Williams;

Test Bureau of Australia, proprietor, Peter Rogers Williams;

Academy of Personal Efficiency, proprietor, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard;

Hubbard Guidance Centre, proprietor, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard;

Academy of Scientology, proprietor, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard;

Hubbard Communications Office, proprietor, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard.

Williams was the continental director of the HASI for Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, and in that capacity he had general supervision of the offices of the HASI in those areas. Scientology appears to be active in Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne. At the stage when the Board heard evidence, the HASI was not flourishing in Sydney; this was mainly due to the activities of one, Marcus Tooley, formerly a leading scientologist, who had broken away from the HASI and had set up in business on his own account, practising what he called "Dynamic Psychology" in the same premises and with the same business name, "The American College," as he had earlier used when a loyal scientologist. He took most of the HASI business with him, and, in the language of scientology, he had become a "squirrel". Scientology is active in New Zealand and has been since the early 1950's. "Oceania," it seems, is intended to describe "the northern islands," but its precise meaning in scientology is not material as there are no branches there at the present.

In Victoria, the HASI headquarters are at 157-159 Spring Street, Melbourne, and until some undefined date in 1964, the HASI also occupied premises at 2 Coates Lane, Melbourne, where the Academy of Scientology was conducted. The officer in charge of the Melbourne HASI is the Association Secretary (Assoc. Sec.) who was Gogerly at the beginning of 1964, but, in a subsequent reorganization, Williams assumed that office.

The Melbourne HASI, which is organized and conducted along lines indicated by Hubbard, is divided into two sections, the Technical Division with Tampion as Technical Director, and the Administrative Division of which Gogerly was formerly in charge. Each of these Divisions are further subdivided. The Technical Division is concerned, as its name

suggests, with the practical side and deals with the training of students and the conducting of auditing. It is divided into two subdivisions, one of which deals with the courses conducted at the HASI. The elementary courses are conducted in the Department of Personal Efficiency of which Peter Gallop was the director, and the more advanced courses are conducted in the Academy of which Mrs. Tampion was the director.

Also in the Technical Division is the Hubbard Guidance Centre (generally referred to as "HGC") which was under the control of Ross Turnbull; this centre deals with preliminary assessments of preclears, professional auditing, and co-auditing.

The Administrative Division, as its name implies, deals with registration and correspondence, accounts, and materials.

To lend stature to the positions which various staff members hold, titles are freely distributed. Thus there are Directors of the various divisions and subdivisions, such as the Director of Processing, Director of Government Relations, Registrar, Letter Registrar, &c.

A highly complex and elaborate office system involving a tremendous amount of clerical labour is in operation. Files are commenced, it would seem, on every person of whose name and address the HASI can make a note. Thereafter, these persons are regular recipients of letters from various members of the staff, inviting and urging the addressees to come in to the scientology fold. This system of frequent letter writing is one of the "procurement" methods directed by Hubbard to be used as a means of eventually luring interested people into the HASI to undergo processing or training.

Once a person has embarked on a course of processing or training the most detailed records are kept concerning him. Report forms, containing even the most trivial details, are kept in respect of each session, and memoranda on every conceivable subject are filed away. Almost every communication is in writing, even complaints as to favouritism in tea making, and reprimands by a junior officer to a senior staff member for being late.

On the first day of the hearing the Board received as a bulk exhibit over 35 filing cabinets, as well as a large quantity of other files. These were left in the custody of Williams on his personal undertaking to produce them as required. Thereafter, counsel assisting the Board and the Board secretary had access to the files whenever required. These files, containing as they do every detail of every auditing session of every preclear, reveal a most alarming feature of scientology, namely, the tremendous power which the HASI is in a position to exercise over its preclears, for they contain the record of intimate disclosures made by thousands of preclears at a time when normal inhibitions and restraints were suspended and they were revealing their most secret hopes and fears, their shame and grief and guilt. This alarming aspect is dealt with in Chapter 24.

The system in operation involves sending to Hubbard in England each week a report on the processing of every preclear. These reports are retained by Hubbard in England and constitute a further disturbing feature of scientology.

At the time of the Inquiry there were two "district offices" functioning in Victoria. They were the Australian College of Personnel Efficiency at Geclong, of which Eric Bruce Lake, and his wife, June Margaret Lake, were the proprictors; and the Melbourne College of Personal Efficiency at Hawthorn, of which Peter Francis Gillham and his wife, Yvonne Doreen Gillham, were the proprietors.

Last updated 21 February 1997

This is a mirror of the HTML maintained by Martin Poulter (plmlp@mail.bris.ac.uk)