UFO Documentary - Australia (2009) - Westall 1966: A Suburban UFO Mystery

[mike]

Water is a significant factor imo
We seek it on the moon and mars

You can make hydrogen and oxygen from it, it makes up two thirds of our biological bodies.

It contains minerals

minerals found in fresh water most commonly include Calcium, sodium, potassium, copper manganese, iron and magnesium. Other minerals and the amounts of dissolved minerals will largely be determined by the local source water.

What this craft was doing with it is anyones guess

 

[Polterwurst]

Since the YouTube video in the first post doesn't seem to be accessible any more, I'll take the freedom to post some links that do work. I think the documentary with its many credible witness accounts should be seen by as many people as possible, if only to prove that documentaries about the subject can be done without the sensationalism, the shaky camera and quick cuts of "reality TV". Also, there is a very rare (I think) film document of Prof. James E. McDonald which I think is remarkable.

 

[Randall]

Since the YouTube video in the first post doesn't seem to be accessible any more, I'll take the freedom to post some links that do work. I think the documentary with its many credible witness accounts should be seen by as many people as possible, if only to prove that documentaries about the subject can be done without the sensationalism, the shaky camera and quick cuts of "reality TV". Also, there is a very rare (I think) film document of Prof. James E. McDonald which I think is remarkable.

So what might a skeptic claim? I have no proof it's not all a fake documentary designed to fool gullible ufologists. But here's what I think. I think it's a genuine documentary about real people who shared a common UFO experience, and I think it's an excellent story. Thank you so much for posting it, and I challenge our resident skeptics like @lancemoody to make a reasonable case that the story is either fake or that all these witnesses are fabricating or exaggerating their experiences to the point where we can no longer believe the story is of any value. I also hope that someday those who have confiscated evidence and know much more than the average civilian about UFOs will give back some of the evidence that has been taken and come forward. This would not be a crime. The real crime is stealing evidence from the public, never giving it back, discrediting them afterwards, and lying to us for years. Clear your conscience now if you can; before it's too late.To all the other witnesses out there who are reading this, know that you're not alone and don't be afraid to come forward.

 

[Randall]

Another well documented local case,many witness's including Police , animals freaking out ...

About the only explanation I can think of that might fit the description is a helicopter fitted with a water gatherer for fighting fires. They'll hover over a lake and take in water then fly off and drop it on a fire. In the video below we see a roughly spherical container attached to a helicopter. Imaging this at night where the helicopter is shining lights down on the container from above as it picks up water and zips back to the drop zone. From a distance helicopters aren't that loud, and if the lights were focused on the water container and not illuminating the helicopter itself, then from a distance at night, this would look a lot like what the witnesses describe. I realize this sounds like a stretch, but it's worth considering.

 

[boomerang]

Since the YouTube video in the first post doesn't seem to be accessible any more, I'll take the freedom to post some links that do work. I think the documentary with its many credible witness accounts should be seen by as many people as possible, if only to prove that documentaries about the subject can be done without the sensationalism, the shaky camera and quick cuts of "reality TV". Also, there is a very rare (I think) film document of Prof. James E. McDonald which I think is remarkable.

I was able to find the entire documentary on YouTube. Poor quality video notwithstanding--this is a Must-See about an incident of which I had never before heard. It's a prime example of what continues to drive this mystery: Utterly credible people on record as having seen utterly incredible things.

 

[Polterwurst]

Thank you so much for posting it.

This one goes to Trainedobserver. I wanted to link this thread from the Zimbabwe school kids one and noticed that the video in trained's first post doesn't work, so I looked for an alternative.

(...) I challenge our resident skeptics (...) to make a reasonable case that the story is either fake or that all these witnesses are fabricating or exaggerating their experiences to the point where we can no longer believe the story is of any value.

Uh-oh. The gauntlet is on the ground
I guess "reasonable" is the pivotal word here.

Man, could some mad scientist please invent a device to recreate what people have seen 50 years ago.... can't be that hard...

I also hope that someday those who have confiscated evidence and know much more than the average civilian about UFOs will give back some of the evidence that has been taken and come forward. This would not be a crime. The real crime is stealing evidence from the public, never giving it back, discrediting them afterwards, and lying to us for years.

signed. This documentary is one of the reasons I tend to over-react to obvious hoaxes and tall tales, because to me they put the final nail in the coffin of hope for what you said.

 

[Randall]

Uh-oh. The gauntlet is on the ground I guess "reasonable" is the pivotal word here.

Exactly. Skeptics sometimes claim to be reasonable when they're not.

Man, could some mad scientist please invent a device to recreate what people have seen 50 years ago.... can't be that hard...

There's something about the phrase "mad scientist" that just feels right isn't there? I mean, nobody says, "I wish some mad gardener would invent a better tomato?"

This documentary is one of the reasons I tend to over-react to obvious hoaxes and tall tales, because to me they put the final nail in the coffin of hope for what you said.

It's nice to know some people still care about the real deal .

 

[Polterwurst]

There's something about the phrase "mad scientist" that just feels right isn't there? I mean, nobody says, "I wish some mad gardener would invent a better tomato?"

Nah, it's just that no one out of the pulp-fiction mad scientist field would get the idea of creating a machine that would recreate images that appeared on a retina 50 years ago AND be able to pull it off. Improving the tomato on the other hand is very likely to be accomplished by a scientist or gardener who is quite sane.

It's nice to know some people still care about the real deal .

You're welcome and the feeling is mutual.

I think, though, many people here are of the same opinion but are already past the point where I am in this right now. They just don't act out on it any more. Which is probably what I should be doing.

After all, there was a time twenty years ago when I would probably have reacted dismissively, maybe agressively to claims I now more or less accept as being possible.

 

[Psychedelic_Alchemist]

I quite enjoyed the Westall documentary. Some fairly compelling evidence, although nothing conclusive.

 

[Jeff Crowell]

I'm in that phase of this game where I'm embittered and pretty skeptical about the paranormal in general. Then I watch something like this. I'm sorry but I cannot get over the idea of 200 people seeing something like this, children and adults, seeing a disc in the sky performing rapid, "incredible" maneuvers and it being a weather balloon or some other conventional craft that was 'mistaken' as a UFO. Sure, no physical evidence since it was confiscated by the Aussie government, but really, would 200 people come together and make something up like this? Could 200 people mis-identify a weather balloon? Argue "no credible hard evidence" all you like but watching and listening to the witnesses they had on this documentary is pretty damn compelling to me. It shuts the skeptic side of me up really quick.

With all the skeptical arguments of "mass psychosis" or "mass impressionism" included, how the f**k do you just explain this away, for 200 people along with the confiscation of evidence? And if it's a hoax, someone shelled out a LOT of money to these people to be Oscar-winningly convincing when relating their stories.

Excellent account. Thanks for sharing.

 

[trainedobserver]

“Something is seen, but one doesn't know what.”
Carl Jung, Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Sky.

 

[Jeff Crowell]

“Something is seen, but one doesn't know what.”
Carl Jung, Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Sky.

Well, it must be something totally normal, then. After all, what's more logically plausible, that something completely non-human, irrational, or even "alien" is what these people are seeing; or is it something normal and rational that they're just mistaking for something non-human, irrational, or alien?

Probably just a weather balloon, then. That makes more sense, and keeps within the realm of my paradigm. "Mystery solved" as they say.

 

[trainedobserver]

Well, I'm fine with "doesn't know."

 

[Jeff Crowell]

Well, I'm fine with "doesn't know."

Unacceptable!!!!!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

 

[trainedobserver]

Unacceptable!!!!!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

I'll report to the agonizer booth immediately.

 

[trainedobserver]

"Turned side on, then it disappeared." Sounds like Ray's beam ship.

"That's the key, they responded so rapidly." Sounds like a terrestrial project that was being tracked and supported by ground personnel.

 

[Psychedelic_Alchemist]

"Turned side on, then it disappeared." Sounds like Ray's beam ship.

"That's the key, they responded so rapidly." Sounds like a terrestrial project that was being tracked and supported by ground personnel.

Or they responded so rapidly because they realized they had an anomalous object on their hands and wanted to get a good look at it, shoot it down etc.

 

[Tyger]

Or they responded so rapidly because they realized they had an anomalous object on their hands and wanted to get a good look at it, shoot it down etc.

"Turned side on, then it disappeared." Sounds like Ray's beam ship.

"That's the key, they responded so rapidly." Sounds like a terrestrial project that was being tracked and supported by ground personnel.

These points popped out at me, too. Responded too rapidly - trying to recover something?

But unlike others, I am not actually impressed with this 'documentary'. We never get a clear sense of a time-line. It's a very 'sensational' presentation. The description of the children running about does not create confidence - rather a mass 'out-of-control' situation. Children are not trained observers of phenomena - they would be more keyed into the emotional drama of the moment. Very suggestible.

The strange mention of a girl who was unconscious, taken away and never returned to school - what? Really? A name in hand and this wasn't tracked down?

Anyway, very unsatisfying film. The most I would say is that the incident seems to suggest a military experimental craft gone awry. I wouldn't take the object's reported maneuvers too literally - like the disappearance.

That's how I see it for now. Would love to see a written report of the time-line, as I said. But regardless, I go with a military experimental craft that went awry.

 

[Stagger Lee]

sure it's a sensational presentation. That doesn't change the multiple witness sighting of at least one disk. Children may not be trained observers, but they are too often not given enough credit in these type of reports('94 Zimbabwe) Sure it's possible Australia was testing some new craft near a school in '66- but in my opinion it's highly unlikely. The description of the object and behavior, not to mention location- test craft just doesn't make alot of sense.

 

[trainedobserver]

Most of what we have are unknowns and assumptions about what it could have been and why it would have shown up there. It is impossible to tell if this was an unintentional or an intentional display.

It is not outside of the military mindset to expose and involve unsuspecting citizens in dangerous and illegal research. It could also be a case of secret research of some private group or corporation. We don't have enough to go on.