Australia saw its greatest collective UFO sighting in history in 1966. Over 300 kids, teachers, and others observed as a silver disc-shaped object sailed above the school, stopped behind it, then lifted up and flew away for more than 20 minutes. Witnesses to the event had no explanation for what they witnessed fifty years later. The Westall High School UFO on April 6, 1966.

A class of pupils and a teacher from Westall High School (now Westall Secondary College) had just concluded an outdoor physical education lesson on April 6, 1966 at 11:00 a.m. in Clayton South, a Melbourne, Victoria, Australia suburb. It was a beautiful fall day, bright and breezy. A student observed a UFO in the sky as the students moved toward the building. It was gray and saucer-shaped, with a purple tinge. It resembled a school bus in size. Andrew Greenwood, a science instructor, apparently noticed the item at the same moment. It was roughly 400 yards away, disc-shaped, and had no discernible markings, he said. Moving in a south-easterly direction, the object hovered above a pair of power lines and pᴀssed the southwest corner of the school’s property, when it sank below a grove of pine trees and vanished into a clearing known as The Grange. More kids stepped outdoors to observe the UFO as word of it spread. The item resurfaced in front of the school a few minutes after going into the clearing, where it stayed visible for around 20 minutes. Around 200 children and instructors stood outside watching the craft at this time. Soon after, more members of the public joined the gathering, bringing the total number of witnesses to almost 350.

According to witnesses on the scene, the item was silently lingering in the sky when an airplane came and began circling it. Four other planes arrived shortly after and encircled the target. Each plane took turns approaching the object with caution. The thing would dart away as they got closer. The “chase” had been going on for over a half hour when the object suddenly ascended and flew north-west. It vanished in a matter of seconds, according to witnesses. Students dashed to the fence near the clearing when the item vanished (where the object had disappeared from view). They noticed a definite circular depression of swirling, discolored grᴀss in the clearing. Military men arrive on the site about 3:00 p.m.

Military officials and emergency services arrived at the school hours after the sighting, but before school let out during the day. They interrogated the children and teachers in an attempt to make sense of what they had witnessed. UFO investigators begin a formal inquiry on April 8, 1966. The Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society visited the school on April 8 and chatted with the children. In the area behind the school, investigators discovered a “ground mark.” The ground mark was described as a huge, spherical piece of yellow flattened grᴀss with a swirly design, according to reports. The depression’s borders were discolored and clearly defined. Phenomena Research Australia comes on April 9, 1966, to investigate. Brian Boyle was dispatched by the Phenomena Research Australia group three days later to investigate. He was joined by four Army investigators. Boyle conducted many days of interviews with witnesses and collected soil samples from the ground mark. The soil sample, on the other hand, was misplaced before it could be examined. Additional soil samples were not possible to get. Days after the incident, the farmer who owned the land allegedly set fire to the ground mark area. The sighting is reported in the Dandenong Journal on April 14, 1966.

Despite the magnitude of the tragedy, it took more than a week for full stories to surface in local media. The Dandenong Journal was the first to report on the occurrence. The article was featured on the front page of the newspaper. The following night, local television station Nine News broadcasted a full investigation report regarding the incident. The broadcast’s archive footage has now been lost. Authorities provide an explanation on April 21, 1966. The occurrence was once again published on the main page of the local newspaper on April 21, 1966. Officials presented an explanation this time, one that sounded strangely similar to one given a decade earlier for a sighting at Roswell, New Mexico. A weather balloon was reported to be the item. The five planes spotted following the UFO, on the other hand, remained a mystery. There were no planes in the vicinity, and no local pilots reported taking part in the chase.

The Westall sighting is investigated by Dr. James E. McDonald. Dr. James E. McDonald, an American physicist, became involved in the research and compiled an interesting collection of interview tapes and witness notes. Andrew Greenwood, a science teacher, was interviewed by him. “A frightened youngster raced into Greenwood’s classroom and informed him there was a flying saucer outside, and it was the first time he heard about the UFO. He ᴀssumed the youngster had gone insane or something, so he didn’t pay attention, but when the child maintained that this object was in the sky, he went out to investigate. When he stepped outside, he spotted a gathering of students staring towards the northeast corner of the school grounds, and as he got closer, he claimed he saw a UFO hovering near the powerline. It was characterized by Mr. Greenwood as “a circular, silver object the size of a vehicle with a metal rod pointing out in the air.” Greenwood also recalled witnessing the five jets pursue the UFO, according to McDonald. “He described it as the most incredible flying he had ever seen.”

“The planes were trying all they could to reach the object,” he added, adding that he’ll never know how they all avoided colliding. When they approached too close to the thing, it would speed slowly, then quickly, then move away from them and halt. They’d then chase it down again, and the same thing would happen.” Greenwood verified that the school’s headmaster, Frank Samblebe, stepped outside after around 30 minutes and ordered everyone back into class. After that, the headmaster held a meeting and told everyone to stop talking about the encounter. Greenwood had a clear memory of the headmaster’s requests. “He gave the students a lecture and warned them that if they talked about it, they would be severely penalized, and he warned the staff that if they discussed it at all, they would lose their jobs.” McDonald claims that “sharply dressed individuals wearing black suits” arrived at the school shortly after the sighting, according to many witnesses. The guys were reportedly telling instructors and children at the school to keep their tongues quiet about the incident. The “guys in black,” according to McDonald, intimidated witnesses. One kid gave him a comprehensive account of the sighting but then refused to speak to him about it half an hour later. He didn’t blame the student’s unwillingness to speak with him on the headmaster’s orders. He was confident the youngster had skipped the school ᴀssembly where the principal had instructed students not to discuss the incident. He received the impression that the pupil had been threatened. Threats to academics and students also influenced media coverage. In a nutshell, it halted all coverage of the story. “Because the media kept running against an official wall of silence, it ceased to be a story and became merely a memory for those concerned.” Witnesses come forward years after the incident. Witnesses began to tell about what they had seen decades after the occurrence. Clarke, Joy. When the UFO circled Westall High School, Joy Clarke was just 12 years old. She vividly recalls the events of the day. “I was in class when the tale was relayed to us by classmates. I noticed the flying saucers as we hurried down to the oval. They weren’t of this planet, in my opinion. They had to be from another country since I’d never seen anything like it.” Military officers and “guys in black” appeared, according to Joy, and commanded that students be silent. “The soldiers had come, and the cops had arrived as well. While guys in black interrogated some of the other youngsters, we were informed we were emotional and it didn’t happen.” Cairns, Stephen. The UAP was also seen by Stephen Cairns and his mother.

Unlike the other students, Cairns was able to observe the event from a distinct perspective. After a dental visit, Stephen was heading back to school when he saw something peculiar in the sky. “I noticed a silvery disc-like object in the distance. However, it was so far away at first that I had no idea what it was. The silvery disc-like object accelerated to the point where it was exactly over us… It lingered for a few seconds before flying away as fast as it had arrived.” Terry Peck is a writer. Terry Peck was out playing cricket when she noticed a flying saucer in the sky. “I was only around seven yards away from it,” says the narrator. It was round and larger than a vehicle. Underneath it, I believe I saw some lights. Two other females had arrived before me. They were pale, extremely white, ghostly white, and one was terribly disturbed. They just stated that they had pᴀssed out or fainted. An ambulance was used to transport one of the victims to the hospital.” Terry also believes the situation was obfuscated. “We were all summoned to an ᴀssembly… They also urged us everyone to be quiet. I’d love for someone from the military to come up and say, “Yes, it happened, it landed, and there was a cover-up.” Jacqueline Argent is a model and actress. One of the first pupils to observe the landing site was Jacqueline Argent. She peered over a fence after the saucer-shaped object flew away and noticed the depressed circle marks in the grᴀss. “At first, I ᴀssumed it was an experimental aircraft, but nothing like it has surfaced in all these years.” Jacqueline confirms that she was interviewed after the incident and claims that the individuals who interrogated her attempted to make her look bad because of her testimony. “They wore high-quality clothes and spoke clearly. ‘I guess you saw small green guys,’ they added. Was the item nothing more than a balloon? In 2014, researcher Keith Basterfield claimed to have discovered information in the National Archives indicating that the item was simply a balloon. A top-secret balloon that was doing radiation testing, to be precise. During the 1960s, he claims, similar balloons were flown in the region. He concedes, though, that he cannot be positive. “What’s notable is the absence of a document detailing the four April 1966 launches, one of which was slated for April 5, 1966, the day before Westall.” Witnesses now refute Basterfield’s hypothesis, pointing out that the object they saw was close enough for them to view it clearly as a solid disc. They further report that it raced away at a frighteningly fast velocity. In Melbourne, there was a momentous occurrence. The sighting at Westall High School is still fresh in people’s minds today. The children, who are in their late fifties at the time of writing, are still hoping for an answer. Meanwhile, the landing site has been transformed into a memorial park to commemorate the impact of Australia’s greatest mᴀss UFO sighting on locals.