The 1966 Westall High School Incident: Documented Australian Military and Police Responses

The Midday Observation

At approximately 11:00 AM on April 6, 1966, a large group of students and teachers at Westall High School in Clayton South, Melbourne, observed an unidentified aerial object. Witnesses described a silver, saucer-shaped craft, roughly the size of two family cars, that moved silently across the sky. The object appeared to descend into a grove of trees in an area known as 'The Grange' before rapidly ascending and disappearing toward the northwest. The incident lasted approximately 20 minutes and was witnessed by more than 200 individuals during a morning recess break.

Emergency and Military Response

Immediately following the sighting, the Victoria Police and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) were notified. Students reported that several light aircraft (some witnesses counted five) appeared and began to circle the object. In the hours following the event, the area of 'The Grange' was cordoned off. Witnesses reported seeing men in uniforms—believed to be RAAF personnel—conducting ground searches and inspecting a 'swirl' or depressed circle left in the long grass where the object had allegedly landed.

Official Documentation and Secrecy

While the Australian Department of Supply and the RAAF officially dismissed the event as a stray weather balloon, declassified files from the National Archives of Australia (NAA) reveal a more complex administrative response. File series B574, 'Report on UFOs - Victoria,' contains correspondence regarding the Westall incident, though many specific details regarding the military's on-site activities remain missing or redacted. Teachers at the school later testified that they were visited by individuals in plain clothes who instructed them not to discuss the event under the threat of the Official Secrets Act.

Modern Verification

The Westall incident remains the most significant mass UAP sighting in Australian history. In recent years, researchers have utilized the Freedom of Information Act to uncover further documentation. While a definitive explanation remains elusive, the sheer volume of corroborating witness testimony—including that of science teacher Andrew Greenwood—has led investigators to categorize Westall as a highly credible, unresolved radar-visual encounter involving both civilian and military observers. It stands as a primary example of government-enforced silence regarding anomalous aerial phenomena during the 1960s.