50 years ago this month, the Westall UFO incident

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At approximately 11.00 am on Wednesday, 6 April 1966, a class of students and a teacher from Westall High School (now Westall Secondary College) were outside on the main oval when an object, described as being a grey saucer shaped craft with a slight purple hue and being about twice the size of a family car, but very round, was seen. Andrew Greenwood, a science teacher at the high school, told The Dandenong Journal at the time that he saw a silvery-green disc. There were reports from some witnesses that the largest craft flew over and along some large Electricity Pylons near the school before landing. It was further reported that there were two other smaller craft of similar design that had hovered over ( but not landed on and only hovered above ) the dirt roadway at the front of the school. Further reports suggest that the larger main craft that landed in the paddock may have had some sort of problems and that the two smaller craft were there to assist it.
According to witnesses the objects were descending and then crossed and overflew the high school's south-west corner, going in a south-easterly direction, before disappearing from sight as it descended behind a stand of trees and into a paddock at The Grange in front of the Westall State School (primary students). The main and biggest object had landed on the ground. After a short period (approximately 20 minutes) the object - with witnesses now numbering over 210 - then rose and climbed at speed and departed towards the north-west.
None of the witnesses said that they saw any aliens or any people in or around any of the craft. It was suggested that if there were in fact any (people) they would not have been able to stand up as the height of the craft was no higher than an average family car, the craft being round and large at the base but lacking in height. Like the saucer of an upside down tea cup.

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GTV Channel 9 television also ran a news report about the encounter. A student, Joy Tighe, described the event for the reporter. However, a copy of this tape is not available. Channel 9 reports that it was removed from their archive and not returned.

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One of the students, a girl, ran towards the craft that had landed and reached it before the other students had arrived. She was found in a collapsed and dazed state. An ambulance was called and she was taken away to hospital. This girl was one of the leading athletes in the school and could outrun almost all the others, being very fit.

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A full school assembly was held that afternoon at Westall High School.


The headmaster, with about three men in dark suits beside him, who no one from the school had seen before, made an announcement that “nothing had happened”. The students and staff were told to “keep your mouths shut”. The Headmaster further told the staff and students that “there are no such things as flying saucers” ( actual quote )

Andrew Greenwood, the science teacher whose picture appeared in the local newspaper with the story was visited a few days later at home by two people who announced themselves as from the RAAF.

(The royal australian air force - the Australian Government.)
They told him if he made any more public statements they would "leak out" that he had a “drinking problem” and that would mean the end of his career as a teacher.

The student who was taken to hospital never returned to Westall High school.
Her family moved out of the family home that night, never to return.
When one of her very good friends called around to her house, which was very close to the school, a middle aged woman answered the door, someone she had not seen before, and told her “she does not live here” and that she “must have the wrong house”.

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