RE: UFO Landing at Granger Reserve.

By David Knox

Next month the Sci Fi Channel has a World Premiere documentary on a strange 1966 case of a UFO reportedly over the suburb of Westall in 'Melbourne, Westall ‘66: A Suburban UFO Mystery.'

On 6 April, 1966, hundreds of people watched the object hover and land briefly. Now over 40 years later, eye witnesses all share their recollections of the day’s events.

Over 200 hundred witnesses were contacted and asked to speak out.

Many of their stories are revealed here for the first time. It also combines animated images to tell its story.

The film is driven by the search of teacher Shane Ryan, who has his own, very personal reasons for wanting to uncover the truth.

The doco took 3 years to complete with numerous government departments refused to comment. Whole boxes of official files on the incident are missing, lost or unaccounted for.

Westall ‘66 is written, directed and edited by Rosie Jones (Holy Rollers, Visions of Yankalilla) and produced by Carmel McAloon (The Audience, Paul’s Beautiful Laundrette).

It also marks one of the few Australian-made productions to air on the Sci Fi channel.

On 6 April, 1966, 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 ‘cup turned upside down on a saucer’ and accompanied by five light aircrafts.

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 ‘landing site’ 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.

But despite the evidence, 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 – in fact, they hadn’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, he’s tracking down former students and staff and searching for the authorities that presided over the day.

The film follows him as he attempts to solve the mystery once and for all. This contemporary detective story is set against the backdrop of an Australian city, but it reflects on a fascinating and pivotal period in world history when rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union was played out in a massive onventional and nuclear arms race, the space race and the Vietnam War.

With its undercurrent of Cold War paranoia, secret US air bases, and a burgeoning military relationship between Australia and America, this 1960s story has deep resonance in the current climate of cover-ups and untruths delivered by governments in the interests of national security.

It airs 8:30 pm, Friday June 4th.