An alleged May 10th, 1968, meeting in…

An alleged May 10th, 1968, meeting in Hawaii between Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, William Colby (the head of CIA covert operations in Southeast Asia) and Gerald Parsky (deputy to ex- CIA/ex-FBI Hughes organization man Robert Maheu) is the germination of a new Australian company called Australasian and Pacific Holdings, Limited.

Travelodge Management Ltd. allegedly works through the Chase-Manhattan and Schroder banks to link the new company to the US.

In mid-July of 1968, Hunt’s Placid Oil Company and several other major oil companies—Gulf Oil, Shell (US), British Petroleum, Standard Oil of California (Chevron), Mobil, and Atlantic-Richfield Corporation (Arco)—begin exploring for oil in the Great South Basin.

Hunt reportedly funds 45.5% of the exploration costs.

On October 12, 1968, Placid Oil and the other exploration companies confirm a new oil source comparable to Alaska’s North Slope, with gas reserves estimated at 30 to 150 times larger than the Kapuni Field.

Australia’s minister for the army, Malcolm Fraser, becomes minister for education and science in 1968.