06-05-2010, 01:06 PM
News Friday, May 21 by Captain
There's a real Australian UFO mystery coming to SCI FI Channel Australia.
You may think that tales of UFOs are a load of wallaby droppings, but give this new doco, Westall 66: A Suburban UFO Mystery, ten minutes of your time, and you will be scratching your head, stroking your jaw and going 'hmmm'.
It's one thing to see some crazed X-Files fan emerge from their Arizona-based trailer and gibber on about being 'probed', but it's another thing entirely to hear the level-headed tones of Melburnian Aussies describing in detail what most people on the planet agree can not exist.
Flying saucers. Landing in a school yard. In the middle of Melbourne.
It is of course, unbelievable. Yet, there's an entire schoolyard of witnesses, including children (now grown up) and adults (grizzled, yet clear). None of whom come across as wacky in the slightest.
It's a hard one to decipher. Could ALL these people be making it up? Could ALL of them have some weird attention-seeking problem? It hardly seems likely. If not - well, then, we are not alone.
Still, you can judge for yourself.
The documentary, Westall 66: A Surburban UFO Mystery, airs on the SCI FI Channel Australia on June the 4th in its world premiere. It's a personal investigation by a local film-maker, without the hype that usually comes with the subject matter.
Food for thought, it makes compelling viewing. Very much worth checking out.
Here's the full story:
It's based on the events of 6 April 1966, where, in the Melbourne suburb of Westall, 200 students, staff and local residents watched as a strange object hovered overhead for several minutes, landed briefly, then lifted off and vanished. Witnesses described it as low flying, silver-grey and shiny, shaped like a ââ¬Ëcup turned upside down on a saucerââ¬â¢ and accompanied by five light aircraft.
A mass of excited students surged out of school and ran after the object. Many reported seeing a circle of flattened grass on the ground where it had landed. One said she touched it as it took off. Others observed men in uniforms cordoning off the ââ¬Ëlanding siteââ¬â¢ and removing soil samples by the truckload. Some say they saw uniformed men torch the area a few hours later.
The incident was reported on the news on television that night and in the local newspapers.
That day at Westall High School, the headmaster called a special assembly. He told students and staff that they had not seen a flying saucer ââ¬â in fact, they hadnââ¬â¢t seen anything at all. And they were not to talk about it to anybody.
Afraid of being ridiculed or punished, many witnesses kept the secret of that day. Some are still angry about being told to lie. Others say the incident has affected their lives and continues to haunt them today.
Forty four years on, teacher Shane Ryan is stirring up the past. Motivated by a deep sense of injustice at how the students were treated, heââ¬â¢s tracking down former students and staff and searching for the authorities that presided over the day.
WESTALL 66: A SUBURBAN UFO MYSTERY WORLD PREMIERE
Tune in, 8:30pm Friday June 4th, on Channel 125.
http://www.scifitv.com.au/Blog/2010/05/w...-fi-june-4
There's a real Australian UFO mystery coming to SCI FI Channel Australia.
You may think that tales of UFOs are a load of wallaby droppings, but give this new doco, Westall 66: A Suburban UFO Mystery, ten minutes of your time, and you will be scratching your head, stroking your jaw and going 'hmmm'.
It's one thing to see some crazed X-Files fan emerge from their Arizona-based trailer and gibber on about being 'probed', but it's another thing entirely to hear the level-headed tones of Melburnian Aussies describing in detail what most people on the planet agree can not exist.
Flying saucers. Landing in a school yard. In the middle of Melbourne.
It is of course, unbelievable. Yet, there's an entire schoolyard of witnesses, including children (now grown up) and adults (grizzled, yet clear). None of whom come across as wacky in the slightest.
It's a hard one to decipher. Could ALL these people be making it up? Could ALL of them have some weird attention-seeking problem? It hardly seems likely. If not - well, then, we are not alone.
Still, you can judge for yourself.
The documentary, Westall 66: A Surburban UFO Mystery, airs on the SCI FI Channel Australia on June the 4th in its world premiere. It's a personal investigation by a local film-maker, without the hype that usually comes with the subject matter.
Food for thought, it makes compelling viewing. Very much worth checking out.
Here's the full story:
It's based on the events of 6 April 1966, where, in the Melbourne suburb of Westall, 200 students, staff and local residents watched as a strange object hovered overhead for several minutes, landed briefly, then lifted off and vanished. Witnesses described it as low flying, silver-grey and shiny, shaped like a ââ¬Ëcup turned upside down on a saucerââ¬â¢ and accompanied by five light aircraft.
A mass of excited students surged out of school and ran after the object. Many reported seeing a circle of flattened grass on the ground where it had landed. One said she touched it as it took off. Others observed men in uniforms cordoning off the ââ¬Ëlanding siteââ¬â¢ and removing soil samples by the truckload. Some say they saw uniformed men torch the area a few hours later.
The incident was reported on the news on television that night and in the local newspapers.
That day at Westall High School, the headmaster called a special assembly. He told students and staff that they had not seen a flying saucer ââ¬â in fact, they hadnââ¬â¢t seen anything at all. And they were not to talk about it to anybody.
Afraid of being ridiculed or punished, many witnesses kept the secret of that day. Some are still angry about being told to lie. Others say the incident has affected their lives and continues to haunt them today.
Forty four years on, teacher Shane Ryan is stirring up the past. Motivated by a deep sense of injustice at how the students were treated, heââ¬â¢s tracking down former students and staff and searching for the authorities that presided over the day.
WESTALL 66: A SUBURBAN UFO MYSTERY WORLD PREMIERE
Tune in, 8:30pm Friday June 4th, on Channel 125.
http://www.scifitv.com.au/Blog/2010/05/w...-fi-june-4