UFO’s over Port Augusta

UFO’s over Port Augusta

Railway yards at Port Augusta, South Australia 1914 SLSA:[PRG 280/1/14/43]

Railway workers in Port Augusta witnessed five objects, described as “white or light pink, and shaped like an egg” fly in formation at great speed, through the sky on Wednesday the 6th of February 1947.

Ron Ellis, an ex RAAF employee was working in the train yards when he spotted the strange sight flying through the sky. Owing to his previous work in the air force, he was able to rule out aircraft of the day as being the culprits. His estimation of the size of the object was that each would have been the size of a locomotive!
Ellis also stated that the objects cast shadows, so could not have been an optical illusion.

Ellis was not the only witness, with other railways workers coming forward with their own sightings of the phenomenon. It was speculated that the objects were at of height of about 6000 feet, they moved erratically, and seemed to ‘pulse’. The objects moved extremely quickly through the sky, being out of sight in just a few seconds.

Further weight was added to the men’s story when Government Astronomer, Mr G.F. Dodwell, stated that the witnessed phenomena did not fit with any known astronomical events, and was most likely not a meteor. A meteorite, according to Dodwell, would have travelled at great speed, would not cast a shadow, being as they are very small, and would also create a deafening roar. Witnesses of the phenomena did not report any sounds associated with the objects.

The Port Augusta UFO incident predates the July 1947 UFO incident at Roswell, New Mexico that would eventually lead to the American pop-culture phenomenon that captured the attention of the world.



Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2018


References:

1947 'C.R. Workmen See Phenomenon', Transcontinental (Port Augusta, SA: 1914 - 1954), 7 February, p. 1. , viewed 28 Dec 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168306418
1947 'Objects in Sky Not Meteorites', Quorn Mercury (SA: 1895 - 1954), 13 February, p. 3. , viewed 28 Dec 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213698389
1947 'Objects in Sky Not Meteorites', Transcontinental (Port Augusta, SA: 1914 - 1954), 14 February, p. 1. , viewed 28 Dec 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168306511
1947 'Objects In Sky Not. Meteorites', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 - 1954), 8 February, p. 1. , viewed 28 Dec 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30511359
1947 'SEEING THINGS', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 - 1954), 10 July, p. 2. , viewed 28 Dec 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35986623
1947 'Strange Objects In Sky', Chronicle (Adelaide, SA: 1895 - 1954), 13 February, p. 6. , viewed 28 Dec 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article93346874
1947 'Strange Objects Reported In Sky', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 - 1954), 7 February, p. 1. , viewed 28 Dec 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30511159
SLSA: Railway yards at Port Augusta, South Australia [PRG 280/1/14/43] • Photograph retrieved from https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+280/1/14/43

An Influx of South Australian UFO Sightings in January 1954

An Influx of South Australian UFO Sightings in January 1954

  Port Road, Hindmarsh, January 8th, 1954, Delicatessen owners, the Hornby family, witnessed a flying saucer fly across the northern sky. Witness, Mr W.J. Hornby, stated, “Suddenly, my son John shouted that he had seen a flying saucer flash from west to east.” He added, “We didn't believe him and were discussing it when 10 minutes later the object reappeared, this time flying from east to west.”
The object was described as “crescent-shaped and coloured orange.”[1]

  On the same evening, (Jan. 8) at about 9pm, Mr C.C. Vonow of Ormonde Avenue, Colonel Light Gardens, reported seeing a glowing parachute-shaped object moving very slowly southwards as he and a companion were driving down Waymouth Street in Adelaide.

  Three UFO sightings were reported on January 9th. 15 Kilometres from Morgan in the Riverland, Captain W. Booth, piloting a DC3 for Guinea Airways, reported a strange object in the sky. No other aircraft were reported in the immediate vicinity. The object appeared to dart constantly across the pilot's line of flight.
On the same evening, Mr and Mrs Sherek of Seaview Road, Kirkcaldy (now Henley Beach) witnessed a bright “planet-like” object moving from left to right on the horizon from 2:20am, for about 45 minutes. The object moved vertically sideways about 15 degrees above the western horizon.

  A banana-shaped UFO with flashing lights on its side was witnessed just before midnight on Thursday, the 14th of January 1954. Witness, Mr C.D. Dallow of Strathmore Street, Ferryden Park, saw the object flying at “terrific speed” from the Adelaide Hills, near Magill, westward toward, then over St Vincent's Gulf.[2]

Mr Darrow was quoted as saying in The News, “I was looking at the sky for any sign of a weather change when I noticed the object. It was visible for seven to eight seconds, then it appeared to dip down, then rise again, before moving along the horizon towards the sea.”[3]

 A report was made to the Flying Saucer Investigation Committee, which was one of many UFO investigation groups in 1954. As previously reported on this blog, A UFO was also seen over Gawler in 1954 (read about it here: https://hauntedadelaide.blogspot.com/2014/11/gawler-flying-saucer.html)

On January 12th, two separate witnesses both reported seeing an object streaking across the sky at 10am in the morning, leaving behind it a trail of white smoke over the Burra region.
Two days later, on the 14th of January, Mallala Fire Brigade Officer, Mr C.W. Huxtable, witnessed a shiny silver object at 11:25am, moving horizontally across the sky. It suddenly shot upwards at high speed and disappeared from sight!

Also, in January 1954, a UFO was sighted on the 24th of January by three male witnesses. The witnesses reported seeing an unusual object in the north-eastern sky, shaped like a diamond, that was shining with what appeared to be a searchlight, which was scanning the ground for a few minutes before it eventually faded away.
The men claimed emphatically that the light was not a star or other “heavenly body”, nor could it have been an aircraft due to the terrific speed it was travelling.[4]


Have you witnessed a UFO over South Australia? Let us know on the Haunts of Adelaide Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide/

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019

[1] 1954 'Suburban Family See Flying Saucer', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 - 1954), 9 January, p. 3., viewed 15 Sep 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47568816
[2] 1954 'FLYING SAUCERS IN THE SA AIR', The Mail (Adelaide, SA: 1912 - 1954), 16 January, p. 8., viewed 15 Sep 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58095169
[3] 1954 'Now it's a flying banana?', News (Adelaide, SA: 1923 - 1954), 15 January, p. 26., viewed 15 Sep 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134473724
[4] 1954 'Unusual Object in Sky', Quorn Mercury (SA: 1895 - 1954), 28 January, p. 1. , viewed 15 Sep 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article213711009

Kangaroo Island UFO Sightings: 1964 & 1998

Kangaroo Island UFO Sightings: 1964 & 1998

In August 1969, apprentice radio technician Alan Potter was working at the Adelaide Airport, servicing a radar unit. He tracked a Fokker Friendship aeroplane flying from Adelaide to Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, when suddenly, another object appeared on the radar, coming from the direction of Port Lincoln.

 From the second object, a smaller object appeared to leave and fly towards the Fokker Friendship aeroplane in a straight line.[1]

 The two signals met abruptly over Rapid Bay before the smaller one returned to the larger one. Was it a UFO? Mr Potter believed it could have been.[2]

Potter worked in the Department of Civil Aviation for 25 years and was quoted on ABC Radio as saying of the incident: "I still don't think I believe in UFO’s but I can't explain this."[3]

Mr Potter stated further, "As the Fokker tracked towards Kangaroo Island, a smaller echo, much smaller than the Fokker, appeared to leave the large echo and fly in a line directly towards the [plane]."

"With one rotation of the radar antennae, that large echo had moved 70 nautical miles to the north-east, in the next pass it had disappeared off the screen completely."

More recently, in 1998, two people witnessed a UFO at Snelling Beach, Kangaroo Island.[4]

 According to the AUFORN website, on March 28^th, 1998, at around 10pm, two people witnessed a yellowish white light on the hillside. The witness described the night as being cloudy with stars and the moon not visible. The light moved slowly south along the valley just above the tree line, moving with “smooth fluid acceleration”.

 The witness watched the light move through the valley. As he watched, the light changed direction and came towards him. The colour then changed from yellow to intense white as it changed from a tennis ball size to a dinner plate size. It then changed direction once again, moving away from the witness, dropping its light intensity and size back to the tennis ball equivalent. 

 A little later, the witness watched the light, and another light which came from the south, sit near each other for a small amount of time, before both went over the hillside and out of sight.
The object was reportedly silent the entire time it was viewed.

Have you seen a UFO – let us know over on our Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide/

Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2018

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[1] National Geographic, (2018), The UFO Sighting on Kangaroo Island: Was Australia visited by aliens in the 1960s?, National Geographic, retrieved from; https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/australia/the-ufo-sighting-on-kangaroo-island.aspx

[2] Gorton, Stan, (2018), A UFO sighting near Kangaroo Island: National Geographic, The Islander, retrieved from; https://www.theislanderonline.com.au/story/5304616/a-ufo-sighting-near-kangaroo-island-national-geographic/

[3] Williamson, B., (2017), Untold Stories: The day I saw an unidentified flying object, ABC Radio Adelaide, retrieved from; http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-09/the-day-i-saw-an-unidentified-flying-object/8600366

[4] UFOInfo, (2018), Snelling Beach, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, March 28th, 1998, UFO Sighting Report – Australia, AUFORN, retrieved from; http://www.ufoinfo.com/sightings/australia/980328.shtml

Victor Harbor UFO sighting 1974

Victor Harbor UFO sighting 1974

In May 1974, the skies of Victor Harbour on the Fleurieu Peninsula were visited by a mysterious unidentified flying object! The UFO was witnessed by Mr Neville Dunn of Encounter Bay, as well as two friends travelling from Bordertown.

 Another witness to the event was First Class Constable Max Griffiths and his wife. The Griffiths witnessed two separate flashing lights travelling from east to west, not far from the AMSCOL Cheese Factory (now the Lutheran Church).

The objects appeared from the north east at about 45 degrees in the sky. They eventually rose in the night sky, until one was no longer visible, and after twenty minutes, vanished from the night sky.

 The authorities in the region later made a statement that a pilot in the area had radio problems and was forced to land at Murray Bridge. This explanation did not explain the second light seen by the Griffiths, nor the speed and angle of trajectory of the objects…

Did a UFO buzz Victor Harbor in 1974?

Have you seen a UFO in your area? Let us know over on our Facebook page, or in the comments section below.

© 2018 Allen Tiller

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www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

Mr. UFO – Colin Norris

Mr. UFO – Colin Norris

30 Sept 1920 – 13 July 2009

Colin Norris, known to the South Australian media as “Mr UFO”, was a colourful and controversial figure in the South Australian paranormal community.  Mr Norris fashioned himself as a UFO expert and could often be found at the forefront of any media presentation about the subject during the 1980s and 1990s, but his story began much earlier than that.

Mr Norris was schooled on the South Australian West Coast and eventually found himself a member of the RAAF based in Geraldton, Western Australia. Norris was employed as the turret gunner, positioned in the nose of a Liberator Bomber, stationed to patrol the South Pacific.

It was during one of the World War Two routine patrols over the South Pacific that Norris experienced his first of many UFO encounters. Described by military personnel at the time as a “Foo Fighter”, Norris witnessed what he described as “flying disc of metallic colours, being brown with a purple U shape around its perimeter”.
Another eyewitness report often talked about by Norris was an encounter on the airforce runway tarmac in which Norris described a flying disc hovering over him silently. The object beamed a blue light into his head, which left a scar on his head that Norris was eager to show off as “unexplainable”.

 

Over the next decade, Norris took a great interest in the large number of new UFO sightings that were beginning to become a regular occurrence around the world. In 1957, he joined his first UFO research group, the Australian Flying Saucer Research Society, headed by Ufologist Fred Stone.

In 1962, Norris would take the leadership position of Vice President of the group after the departure of Fred Stone.
In 1965, Norris was invited to be a guest speaker at the Ballarat UFO conference, where he delivered a presentation titled History of UFOs. Later in 1971, he was a guest speaker at the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science symposium on UFOs.
Norris claimed during the 1970s that he was in contact with academics in the USSR, which brought him to the attention of ASIO.

Norris became the highest-profile South Australian UFO researcher during the 1980s, which culminated with an appearance on the Mike Walsh Show on national daytime television. His detractors often accused Norris of seeking publicity but never revealing much detail about cases or sightings.


Norris collected huge amounts of data on UFO sightings across South Australia, a collection that passed on to his son after his death in 2009. Norris was a competent researcher, investigator and storyteller, and brought the field of Ufology into the public forum with his own flair.
His contribution to Australian UFO research, bringing UFO documentation into the mainstream and removing stigma, is undeniable and should be lauded by the Australian paranormal community, which tends to forget those who came before them.

Vale Collin Norris,” Mr UFO”, one of many pioneers of Australian UFO research.

Written and researched by Allen Tiller

Bibliography 

Eidolon Paranormal Australia: UFO Sighted in Adelaide, South Australia. 2016. Eidolon Paranormal Australia: UFO Sighted in Adelaide, South Australia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://eidolonparanormal.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/ufo-sighted-in-adelaide-south-australia.html. [Accessed 14 September 2016].

Keith Basterfield. 2007. THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN UFO STORY. [ONLINE] Available at: https://ufosa.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/south_australian_ufo_story.pdf. [Accessed 14 September 2016].

The Advertiser, Nathan Davies. 2016. National Archives’ SA director Nick Gleghorn to deliver talk on ‘real-life’ documentation of UFOs. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national-archives-sa-director-nick-gleghorn-to-deliver-talk-on-reallife-documentation-of-ufos/news-story/e3695443e883da3315f216998261eccc. [Accessed 22 September 2016].

theozfiles: The Passing of South Australia's - "Mr. UFO" COLIN NORRIS (1920 - 2009). 2016. theozfiles: The Passing of South Australia's - "Mr. UFO" COLIN NORRIS (1920 - 2009). [ONLINE] Available at: http://theozfiles.blogspot.com.au/2009/07/passing-of-south-australias-mr-ufo.html. [Accessed 14 September 2016].

UFO spotters focus on outback skies | The National. 2016. UFO spotters focus on outback skies | The National. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/environment/ufo-spotters-focus-on-outback-skies. [Accessed 14 September 2016].

Photo’s: http://www.australiancosmicconnection.com.au/images/moz-screenshot-12.jpg

Gawler -“Flying Saucer”

Gawler -“Flying Saucer”

  On Wednesday, the 20th of January 1954, Mrs J Tait was at her home south of the Gawler Racecourse. At about 11:20 am, she witnessed an Unidentified Flying Object, flying at incredible height and speed over the foothills to the Southeast.
  Mrs Tait was not alone; her daughter, Rotha, and Rotha's school friend, Shirley Struck, were also present and witnessed the same unidentified object. The object made an incredible sound, which triggered the curiosity of the witnesses, so they headed outside the home to see what the noise could be coming from.
  The object, which at first resembled a feather, soon took on the shape of a saucer. It sped through the air at “great height and speed,” and was “pure white.” It remained in the air for a very brief amount of time before it shot off at incredible speed in a southwesterly direction. 15 minutes late,r a jet plane flew across the sky heading in the same direction as the UFO.
  The RAAF was contacted by a local UFO investigator to confirm witness accounts. The RAAF stated they had indeed sent a jet aircraft off at the time stated. The jet was doing around 600MPH at 10,000 feet.

Another witness, Mrs W.C. Harrington of Gawler South, also saw the flying object from a different viewpoint. Her report was consistent with other eyewitness reports. When presented with the RAAF's opinion of it being simply a jet, Mrs Tait stated that she is perfectly sure that the first object did not resemble an aircraft in the slightest. The first object was round, and the second object was easily identifiable as a jet aeroplane!

Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2014