Rare Audio on Westall UFO Encounter Released by Australian Ufologists

Queensland UFO Sightings and Research (QUFOSR) released a video to their YouTube page last Sunday that contains audio of ufologist James E. McDonald discussing the Westall UFO encounter after having interviewed Andrew Greenwood--a science teacher who was one of its witnesses.

The audio is believed to be rare, and this may be its first appearance on YouTube, according to QUFOSR.

The Westall UFO encounter was the sighting of an unidentified flying object by more than 200 students and teachers at two Victorian State schools. The event occurred on April 6th, 1966 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia at approximately 11 a.m., and lasted about 20 minutes. The object reportedly descended into a nearby wild grass field before then ascending in a north-westerly direction over the suburb of Clayton South.

The object was described as either a silver-green or grey, purple-hued saucer about twice the size of a family car. It was said by some eyewitnesses to have been pursued by five aircraft, which surrounded the craft as it sped away--although no commercial, private, or Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft reported anything unusual in the area.

Despite the Australian Skeptics insistence that the object was a nylon target drogue--a fabric target towed by a single plane for others to use as target practice, and utilized by the RAAF from 1960 until the late 1970s--witnesses insisted that what they saw was something far stranger.

The recording quality makes the audio difficult to understand, so QUFOSR included the following notes:

• Science master, two other staff and 300 kids watched a UFO maneuver over the school.
• 5 planes tried to intercept the UFO.
• Science master was in the same club as McDonald's brother-in-law, a bizarre coincidence. Because of this connection McDonald invited the Science teacher over and discussed in depth what he witnessed.
• Believes it wasn't the officials who squashed the sighting, it was the head master. He was so scared he refused to go into school yard even after it was back in the sky.
• When the Royal Australian Air Force tried to contact the headmaster he told them 'go jump in a lake.'
• Children ran into science masters room hysterical so he went to look himself.
• Couldn't see UFO at first but saw other children looking towards the north-east.
• When he joined the children he saw the UFO hovering just above power lines.
• Science master described the object as a bright silver object, size of a tire with a 'bar/rod' into the air.
• At this point he noted a light plane moving towards it about 1000 ft up, 2000 ft from where he was standing.
• Now joined by more children and the physical education teacher they watched.
• The light plane supposedly called in other planes and 4 converged on object with this light plane.
• Science master says most amazing flight maneuvering he ever seen in his life commenced, planes were doing everything possible to approach the object. Amazed there was no collision.
• Every time planes got near the object it would slowly accelerate, then rapidly accelerate away from the planes and then stop again. Every time they chased it would do the same.
• This continued for 20 minutes, by this stage 360 people (children, staff) were watching.
• The thing shot away in seconds (I don't know if I heard that correctly, so sorry).
• The headmaster then come out and demanded everyone to return to their classes at once and gave the school a lecture. He told the students they would be punished if they discussed it and told staff they'd lose their jobs if they did.
• Science master has 3 degrees, was not stupid. He was very annoyed with the headmaster.
• When asking the PE teacher to describe what she saw in detail she wouldn't say anything.
• One of the older children confirmed the full story and accurately described the object. When going to re-ask the student she was no long there, she had gone home and wouldn't discuss it again.

The Westall UFO encounter remains a mystery.