The Westall Flying Saucer Incident in Australia

The Westall Flying Saucer incident represents one of the best perhaps thebest of the category of UFO sightings described as daylight, mass-witness, school-based sightings and landings. And it all happened in Westall, in what was then the City of Oakleigh, but which is now the City of Kingston. 

It was the Wednesday before Easter: April 6, 1966. Westall was, and is, a small community – a neighbourhood – within the larger suburb of Clayton South, 21 kilometres from the CBD of Melbourne. This was just ten years after the very successful Melbourne Olympics, but somehow the celebratory and optimistic vive of that time had given way to a certain torpor, as Australia – even with the tyranny of distance – felt keenly the ever-present threats of the Cold War, and sank ever deeper into the mire of the Viet Nam War. 

So, on this Wednesday in April, with the first school term about to finish the following afternoon, followed by two weeks of school holidays, it's a fair bet that the students, and teachers, were focussed on their imminent vacations. At about 10:15 that morning, however, two groups of students were involved in Physical Education classes on the school’s playing field, where the kids learnt and played cricket, hockey and football. 

One of the teachers, Miss Jeanette Muir, from New Zealand, was probably the first adult to notice the object, alerted to it by the cries – and shrieks – of her students. As the object had made no sound as it approached the school oval, it was right overhead when it was spotted. For several minutes about fifty Form 1 and Form 3 students, and their two teachers, watched as this silver/white, shiny, metallic-looking flying object, about the size of one or two cars, and shaped like an upside down bowl, flew low over their heads. It flew so low - as low as the tops of nearby gum trees and football goal posts - many students thought it was readying to land, or feared an imminent impact with the ground. 

Some of the students reacted with panic, and many became distraught. Miss Muir and another male teacher attempted to gather the students and shepherd them back towards the safety of the school buildings. The sight of this strange craft was overwhelming for many. It had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, but it seemed to be flying and hovering with intent, as if it was under control, indeed as if it was a vehicle with something inside. 

Mystifying for those watching, however, was the fact that it was clearly not an aircraft or a balloon: there were no windows; no visible engines or propellers; no wings or fins; no flashing navigational lights; no markings, or letters or numbers of any kind; no ropes or strings. Its shape was clear, its lack of sound obvious, but both incongruous; it was flying, not floating. For others, something else was startling: there seemed to be one, perhaps two other objects just like it, but further up in the sky, keeping their distance.

Read the rest. Nothing super exciting happened but the sighting was covered up heavily by the authorities. Overall it's just a great classic UFO case.