WESTALL UFO AUSTRALIA

It was a long time ago Shane. I think the Pines were where Brady Ave is now, beyond that there are factories of some sort. All that building up happened after I left the area. Looking at Google Earth it all seems so different.
Perhaps it was The Grange as you say, and as I said, I was not there, although I did go there after school as everywhere was abuzz with the excitement of it all, and I remember seeing quite a few planes circling, although I did not view the actual landing site.
As kids, my friends and I played a lot in the area, there was a landfill or something like it, a lot of sand, and some sort of pond, and we would sail 44's and do other stupid stuff that we wouldn't let our own kids do now.
I did mention it to sis this morning and she said that she did not see the ufo, only the circle left behind in the grass, which she said was quite large. "We all trooped over there for a look". She said that Mr. Greenwood was fat, and wore sunglasses in class, and threw chalk at unruly students! :-)
Anyway, sis has the link to this thread and will likely look at it tonight some time. :-)

Thanks for the video link, just spotted my sis in a school photo in part 3! :-)

Nice to hear back from you Mortal - thanks for that.

If it helps you - and your sister - here is a link to a very detailed 1966 aerial photo of Westall. You should be able to zoom in (at least once) if needed. It's so detailed you can see cars in car parks and streets. Perhaps you can use it to indicate to me where the landing place was.

[link to f1.grp.yahoofs.com] Westall excerpt.jpg

This photo is also on the Facebook and Yahoo Groups pages.

Did you ever hear of anyone taking photos of the circle at The Pines?

Cheers,

Shane.

Would you know when the screening is on at Byron Film Festival? We live not far from there and would like to go, I've looked at the Byron site and it's not listed.

Thanks Mortal,

You're obviously a wiz with using images on computers - that was great. Thank you for marking the aerial photo that way. There's also an unmarked one in the Files section - third in the list - which is good for witnesses to look at as it doesn't suggest things to them like the marked one, further down in the list, can do. But that was really useful.

So, your sister's name is Jeanette, is that right - going by the class photo? I wonder if she recalls a student called Tanya who was also in Form 1 in 1966, and a witness?

As for the Byron Bay Film Festival, they are announcing the screening line-up on Friday, apparently.

By the way, some students do recall a landing in an area west of the high school - so my earlier queries were partly around the term "The Pines" and seeking clarification about that. If you and your sister do have memories relating to that western area, then do please feel free to elaborate on those - and don't let me talk you out of it!!

Cheers,

Shane.

I did not spot the unmarked aerial photo, otherwise I would have marked that one instead. You are correct, it is Jeanette. Is Tanya in any of the school photos? Thanks for the info on the screenings, we will probably go. :-)

I have removed the files from mediafire now that you have them.

Tanya doesn't appear in the class photos as she had left the school before they were taken.

Just in relation to the area you marked on the aerial photo, that spot was a market garden in 1966 - you can see the furrows if you are able to zoom in enough on the photo. Does your sister recall the circle being in a market garden field? I know it is hard to remember after all these years, but any further information you can provide will be most helpful.

Is your sister still intending to contact me? And, any thoughts about photos being taken? Did any other members of your family (parents?) or friends (neighbours?) visit the location of the circle? And, what became of the circle, I wonder?

Cheers...and forgive all the questions.

Shane.

Jenny is kinda busy right now, she's looking at the Facebook site, and maybe she will get in touch later.
I do not know of any photos, and we both left the area in our early teens and haven't been back since.
As for the area I marked being a market garden, Jenny thinks it was actually some sort of a paddock with grass planted in it, she remembers having to go over a fence to see the circle, so it was not actually within The Pines, it was a clear area alongside.
I will email you know anyway with some additional details.

I'm interested in looking at your picture showing the landing area. I have family smack bang in the middle of Brady Ave. They've been there since the early days.

I smell bullshit by a certain poster..

Shane I have sent you email with additional info that I will not disclose on a public forum.
I hope we have been of some help to you, your quest for information is in my opinion admirable, especially after all the years that have passed. It is really a fascinating case. I have joined the Westall Yahoo group amd no doubt Jenny has signed onto the Facebook group. Will you be at Byron for the screening? It would be good to meet.

No mate, I'm sorry it doesn't. It was so long ago now.
I left Clayton South not long after turning fifteen, and I did not finish third year at the tech school. I got out as soon as I could.
My sister and I did not have a very happy childhood, and we have tried hard to forget it. It is what binds us, what we have shared. It's another story, and not for here anyway.

Sorry Shane, I missed out on this by one generation. It's my grandfather that lives right in the middle of Brady Ave. My father, his two brothers and sister all grew up in the area and would have been school age at the time of the incident.

I'll be seeing my father this Friday, I'll see if he has any stories to tell me. If there's anything to tell, I'll be sure to let you know.

No problems, thanks for the reply. The school and approx time frame matched with my fathers / uncles so it caught my attention.

Sorry Shane, I missed out on this by one generation. It's my grandfather that lives right in the middle of Brady Ave. My father, his two brothers and sister all grew up in the area and would have been school age at the time of the incident.

I'll be seeing my father this Friday, I'll see if he has any stories to tell me. If there's anything to tell, I'll be sure to let you know.


Thanks Zod...yes, please do have a chat to your father, and if he, or your uncles and aunt recall anything at all, I would love to hear back from you.

Were they students at Westall High School or Westall State School in 1966, do you know? (If so, I can send them an invitation to the get-together to mark the 45th anniversary of the flying saucer incident, being held at Westall Primary School in April.)

Cheers,

Shane.

Actually I meant soccer ground. :-) How I saw a tennis court is beyond me. We lived on Clayton Rd, close to Murdock Street. There was large area of vacant land next door, now occupied by houses. The house still stands. I have emailed you a placemark.

Sorry Shane, I missed out on this by one generation. It's my grandfather that lives right in the middle of Brady Ave. My father, his two brothers and sister all grew up in the area and would have been school age at the time of the incident.

I'll be seeing my father this Friday, I'll see if he has any stories to tell me. If there's anything to tell, I'll be sure to let you know.


Thanks Zod...yes, please do have a chat to your father, and if he, or your uncles and aunt recall anything at all, I would love to hear back from you.

Were they students at Westall High School or Westall State School in 1966, do you know? (If so, I can send them an invitation to the get-together to mark the 45th anniversary of the flying saucer incident, being held at Westall Primary School in April.)

Cheers,

Shane.


It's been many years since the last time childhood schools entered discussion so I'll need to check who went where and get back to you. I think my aunt went to Westall High, and I know I'd heard mention of Clayton Tech at some time.

My grandfather was a teacher at the time, it may have been at Westall Primary for a period but I'll need to confirm, he's alive and well, I'm sure he'd make an interesting visitor at your little get-together in April.

For a close look at what the area is like today, check out nearmap, far more detail than google maps and update alot more often, though you can still look at previous snapshots.

This is zoomed on Westall High to start you in the right area.
[link to www.nearmap.com]

I'd like to see a 1966 map with all of the possible landing sites marked by the witnesses.
In the documentary, witnesses recall a tractor being driven around the perimeter of the field, on guard-duty perhaps. Other witnesses recall running there from the school, it cannot have been far, passing through pine trees and then crossing a fence to gain access to the open field where the craft had landed.

The reference to Pines is perhaps what has confused many people, the area was thick with pine trees in those days, I remember there being a carpet of pine needles everywhere. So when witnesses talk about pines, did others confuse that with the area that was known as 'The Pines?'

So, what is known is that there was an open field where the craft apparently landed, with long grass at least a foot or more in height (was it a planted crop or was it wild grass?), and the grass had been flattened into a circle.

There must have been some sort of access road nearby, as the reports state that trucks and an ambulance arrived within 20 minutes. There was a boundary fence of some sort around the field, and alongside this fence there were pine trees. The witnesses report running through the pine trees to get to the site.

I can only think of four possible sites, all close to the area now known as 'The Grange'.

One possible site is now a soccer ground, another is now occupied by a factory at the end of the Westall side of Osbourne Ave.

Another site is now occupied by what appears to be some sort of quarry or landfill. It is now bounded by the factory site to the north, the soccer ground and 'The Grange Reserve' to the east.
The 1966 aerial photos show a cluster of buildings amongst a few trees, surrounded by an open area. Is this where the tractor came from?

There must have been easy access for the children, would they have crossed a market garden? I doubt it.

Finally, the fourth site could be within the area now bounded by Westall Rd, Glenmorgan Close and Osbourne Avenue.
This was a large area, used by the school for cross-country running. There were open areas, with boundary fences, and pine trees. Directly south of the school, and it does have vehicle access. Was it also known as 'The Grange'?

I have noticed that Alex's annotations to one of the aerial maps marks the area now known as 'The Grange Reserve' as The Pines. He has marked 'The Grange' as being further east, bounded by Westall Rd.

I would think that the actual landing site, if ever confirmed, would have been built on by now.

Mortal,

Thank you for your post regarding the landing location(s) for the 1966 Westall Flying Saucer Incident...your comments are both astute and very helpful.

The precise location of the landing(s) at The Grange are not known (by me, at least). About four locations can be identified as likely, according to witness accounts, and probably allowing for more than one landing by perhaps more than one flying saucer! There is also a landing location — attested to by several witnesses — over the western boundary fence of Westall High School, where Brady Avenue is now, about halfway between Rosebank Avenue and Fairbank Road. Brady Avenue was not there in 1966 - it was a paddock at that time.

As for The Grange landing locations, the most commonly attested ones are:

1. Near 136 Osborne Avenue, Clayton South, where The Grange Reserve is now. Some people place it in the paddock - still there today - between the street and the entrance to the heathland reserve; some people place it closer to the entrance to the heathland reserve, on one or the other side of the gate/fence that is there today. Some others put it in other nearby areas, such as where the soccer ground is now, or inside what it is now the heathland reserve.
2. Near Monash Drive, Clayton South, between Ricki Court and Fury Court, where houses are now. This area was open, grassy paddocks at the time. The ruins of an old house, surrounded by a cypress windbreak were nearby - some people called this Mario's place.
3. West of The Grange Reserve, and south-west of the soccer ground, where a land-fill is now. This was a grassy paddock, and was on the property of the farm owned by a Mr Gerlach.

I am still working at pinpointing with more accuracy the location of the circle(s), but this is mostly dependant upon the memories of witnesses.

Most Westall students have referred to The Pines as the area at the western end of The Grange property which stretched from Westall Road in the east to the Gerlach farm (where the landfill is now) in the west. Remnants of those pine trees are still there today, and make up the core of the present-day Grange Reserve (which includes the adjacent heathland reserve). There was another copse of pines that surrounded the ruins of the original Richmond Grange house - which gave its name to this property - at a spot close to Westall Road, near where Murchison Crescent and Spring Valley Drive intersect today. Those pines surrounded the house (gone by 1966) and the drive leading to it from Westall Road. This is clearly visible in the 1966 aerial photo.

If you have a look at the Westall Yahoo Groups web site you will see there are a lot of posts there (as well as photos, maps etc) concerned with trying to work out where the circles were, see: [link to tech.groups.yahoo.com]

I hope this helps...and do please let me know if you find out any more yourself about this.

Regards,

Shane.

As for access to The Grange - where the circle was - some people have said they ran down the dirt track from Fairbank Road to The Pines - past the house ruins with the cypress wind break. Others say they went down Osborne Avenue, which was dirt beyond Culshaw Avenue, having gone down Culshaw or Worsley Avenue first. Some just remember running through paddocks on the southern side of Fairbank Road. These dirt tracks also provided vehicular access. Other access tracks led in from Westall Road, closer to the old Richmond Grange ruins...an area that was being used as a motorcross racing track in those days.

The reference to an ambulance is to an ambulance attending to a student at Westall High School, not down at The Grange.

A fire crew from Springvale Fire Station, and a Civil Defence Organisation crew from Oakleigh Depot, did attend at The Grange however. Many witnesses have reported seeing police and military people at the location of the circle, and at the high school.

Cheers,

Shane.

I have created and uploaded new map, using the 66 aerial photo and a Google Earth map overlayed on top with a 50% transparency.
The possible sites you have described to me have been outlined.

Thanks Mortal,

That looks great - you've done a fine job there.

I think it is interesting how everyone that says they were there, and viewed the landing site, have different memories as to where it was.