ALIEN: The Westall UFO Incident

Summary

Summary of "ALIEN: The Westall UFO Incident"
So Supernatural Podcast Episode – Released July 25, 2025
Host/Author: audiochuck | Crime House

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Introduction to the Westall UFO Incident

The episode delves into one of Australia's most intriguing UFO encounters—the Westall UFO Incident—which occurred on April 6, 1966, at Westall High School near Melbourne. The hosts, Yvette Gentile and Racha Pecorero (referred to as Mr. X), explore the events of that day, the bewildered witnesses, and the ensuing government cover-up that has fueled decades of speculation.

The Sighting: A Day Like Any Other

On what seemed to be an ordinary school day, Graham Simmons, a chemistry student at Westall High School, noticed something unusual in the sky. Initially dismissing it as a trick of the light, Graham's curiosity was piqued when he saw a "giant silver saucer the size of a car" descending from the clouds ([03:38] Ashley Flowers).

Mr. X: "I mean, talk about an interesting school day, right?" ([02:48])

Witness Reactions: Fear Over Awe

Unlike typical UFO sightings that evoke awe, the Westall incident instilled profound fear among the approximately 100 to 200 witnesses. Students and faculty panicked, with some diving for cover, fearing potential threats from the unidentified craft.

Yvette Gentile: "Most of them didn't feel the awe; they felt a fear they had never experienced before." ([06:52])

Government Intervention: The Men in Suits

Shortly after the sighting, mysterious men in suits began appearing at the homes of witnesses, threatening them to remain silent. This intimidation tactic prevented many from coming forward, contributing to the case's classification as a cold case.

Mr. X: "They act like you'd have to be stupid or gullible to believe in alien spaceships." ([13:33])

Andrew Greenwood's Stand: Seeking the Truth

Andrew Greenwood, a young science teacher at Westall High, was determined to uncover the truth. Unlike his peers, Andrew refused to be silenced by the government's pressure. He conducted his own investigation, which included clandestine visits to the site where the UFO had allegedly landed—the Grange Preserve.

Mr. X: "Andrew's honesty set him apart. He wasn't willing to play along with this cover-up." ([17:44])

Mr. X's Investigation: Uncovering Hidden Truths

An enigmatic figure known only as Mr. X, believed to be a government employee from the Department of Supply, was assigned to investigate the Westall Incident. His findings were classified, and he was instructed to keep them confidential. Despite his efforts, Mr. X's report remains undisclosed, sparking further theories about the true nature of the incident.

Mr. X: "Whatever secrets Mr. X learned, they're apparently too explosive to discuss even now." ([31:52])

Alternative Theories: Beyond Alien Spaceships

While the official explanation attributes the sighting to an experimental military balloon, ufologists like Ross Coulthardt argue against this narrative. Coulthardt suggests that the craft was possibly an American drone involved in testing, aligning with the historical context of US-Australian military cooperation during the 1960s.

Yvette Gentile: "Ross Coulthardt... doesn't think the flying craft was an alien ship. He thinks it was an American plane running tests in Australian airspace." ([43:19])

2014 Government Admission: Acknowledging the Sighting

In a surprising development, the Australian government publicly acknowledged the Westall UFO Incident in 2014, admitting that an unidentified object was indeed present that day. However, they maintained that it was an experimental military balloon, not of extraterrestrial origin.

Mr. X: "In 2014, Australian officials make a shocking announcement... they are admitting it wasn't a weather balloon. It was an experimental military balloon." ([35:49])

Comparisons to Other UFO Incidents: Roswell Parallel

The cover-up narrative of the Westall Incident bears similarity to the infamous Roswell UFO case of 1947. Both incidents involved initial denials, followed by claims of secret military experiments, fueling public skepticism and theories of extraterrestrial involvement.

Yvette Gentile: "After Roswell, the Australian government took a page right out of the Americans' UFO cover-up playbook." ([39:55])

Modern Implications: The Role of Social Media

Contrary to the 1960s, today's digital age empowers witnesses to share their experiences instantly, making government cover-ups more challenging. The hosts emphasize the potential for new evidence to emerge as technology advances and social media amplifies eyewitness accounts.

Yvette Gentile: "We live in the era of social media, camera phones, and instant communication... the proof we are chasing may not be far." ([45:38])

Conclusion: An Ongoing Mystery

The Westall UFO Incident remains a compelling case within UFO lore, marked by significant witness testimony and persistent government secrecy. Despite official explanations, skepticism abounds, and the quest for truth continues as new generations seek answers through modern investigative means.

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Notable Quotes

• Mr. X on the uniqueness of the incident:
  “You're absolutely right. And while you may think that going through this experience with so many other people would be comforting in a way. It doesn't seem to give anyone a huge sense of relief.” ([07:35])

• Yvette on the government's dismissal of UFO reports:
  “I've never felt like more things are possible than right now. In the right shoes, anything's possible.” ([47:41])

• Andrew Greenwood on wanting to uncover the truth:
  “I'm able to do anything I set my mind to.” ([47:55])

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Final Thoughts

The "ALIEN: The Westall UFO Incident" episode of So Supernatural intricately weaves firsthand accounts, expert analyses, and historical context to present a comprehensive exploration of one of Australia's most enduring UFO mysteries. Through detailed storytelling and critical examination, the hosts invite listeners to ponder the thin veil between known facts and the enigmatic unknown.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

Some cases fade from headlines, some never made it there to begin with. I'm Ashley Flowers and on my podcast the Deck, I tell you the stories of cold cases featured on playing cards distributed in prisons designed to spark new leads and bring long overdue justice. Because these stories deserve to be heard and the loved ones of these victims still deserve answers. Are you ready to be dealt in? Listen to the Deck now.

[Yvette Gentile]

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[Racha Pecorero]

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[Andrew Greenwood]

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[Ashley Flowers]

Okay, so humble brag. But I was a pretty good student when I was younger. I always made sure to do my homework on time, study for every quiz, participate in class. But there were definitely days where I wanted nothing to do with school. I'm sure a lot of you can relate, but I spent plenty of afternoons, like staring out the window of the classroom, just sort of daydreaming, hoping, praying that something interesting would happen, thinking, like, maybe today's the day. I don't know, a UFO will come down from the sky and sort of shake things up a bit. But you gotta be careful what you wish for, because in 1966, this actually happened at a high school outside of Melbourne, Australia. That day, as many as 100 people, including students, faculty and staff, saw a giant silver saucer the size of a car descend from the clouds and hover over their campus. I mean, talk about an interesting school day, right? Only it didn't stop there. After the event, witnesses had sinister men in suits showing up at their homes late at night. Men who threatened them into never speaking a word about it again. But thankfully, many of them didn't cower to their intimidation, which is why we have a pretty wild story to share with you today. I'm Ashley Flowers. And this is so supernatural.

[Yvette Gentile]

Foreign.

[Mr. X]

Welcome back to so Supernatural. I'm Racha Pecorero.

[Yvette Gentile]

And I'm Yvette Gentile. And today we're covering a UFO case that took place over a high school.

[Mr. X]

Near Melbourne, Australia, back on April 6, 1966. A student named Graham Simmons is in a chemistry class at Westall High School just outside of Melbourne, Australia. And at first, it feels like a typical day to him. You know, probably dreading gym class, worried he forgot his math homework, or wondering if there's gonna be a pop quiz in literature. Nothing too out of the ordinary. In fact, it's such a normal day that Graham says he's bored out of his mind, like many of us in school. Let's be real. Then he happens to glance out a south facing window, and he spots something in the sky.

[Yvette Gentile]

He's never seen anything like it before. And at first he's not even sure what he's looking at because it doesn't resemble an airplane or a helicopter or anything else that he could recognize. But the curiosity must have been showing on Graham's face. Maybe he even gasped out loud because the other students notice his reaction. So they start shifting in their seats, trying to get a better look out the window. And sure enough, the other kids in his class also see the strange craft in the sky. Even the teacher, Barbara Robbins, notices it. But she tries to stay professional and keep the students focused on the lesson, which obviously doesn't last for long because when the bell rings and the class ends a few minutes later, everyone pours out into the hallway and then runs as fast as they can outside. There are so many people that filled the yard, the soccer and the rugby fields, the sidewalks and the parking lots. I mean, by 11:00am Just a few minutes after Graham's sighting, a total of 100 or more students, teachers, and other employees are outside. Some reports say there are over 200 witnesses. And this includes Graham's chemistry teacher, Barbara, who was sharp enough to actually bring a camera with her and snap a ton of photos of this elusive craft.

[Mr. X]

Now, I'd love to tell you exactly what they saw when they looked up, but the reports from person to person are pretty all over the place. Some people Say the flying object looks long and cylindrical, like it's small, cigar shaped. Others describe it as looking more like a classic flying saucer. One student even says it's emitting heat and she can feel it all the way from the ground where she's standing. She also says it's covered in these purple lights. Most reports say it's made of metal and that it's flying without even making a sound. There's no rumbling, no engine. Know anything?

[Yvette Gentile]

Which if you're a long time listener, you know, is actually kind of standard in these UFO reports. They're often described as being completely silent, sometimes admitting heat. And of course you have those classic descriptions of being saucer or cigar shaped. But one thing that makes the Westall High incident different from the others is, is that most of the reports say this thing terrified them. It instilled a fear that they never felt before. So instead of that awe feeling like most people normally feel, this is quite different.

[Mr. X]

A bunch of students panicked when they spotted the ship overhead. They were literally running around screaming and some even dove for cover like they were worried the ship was going to like start shooting at them or try to beam them up. And you might be thinking, okay, they were young, it's understandable that they would be scared. But there are other stories of kids responding to UFOs very differently than these high schoolers. Take the so called Cash landrum incident. On December 29, 1980, a seven year old named Colby Landrum and is in the car with his grandmother and her friend at about nine o'clock at night. He sees a flying saucer in the sky and he's very calm as he points it out and asks the adults what it is. And Colby, while he might be a little bit scared, sure he doesn't scream or panic like our high schoolers in Melbourne.

[Yvette Gentile]

And you might also remember our alien implants episode where we talked about a man known only as Paul, patient 17. He remembered being abducted by aliens as a boy, but he recalled being almost frozen when he had his encounter. Like he couldn't panic even if he wanted to. All to say, the screaming, the panic and the strong reactions at Westall are something a bit unique to this case. Not totally unwarranted, but sort of. I mean, it's opposite of what we hear during UFO encounters. Although I will say it's not often you have over a hundred people seeing a UFO at the same time either, but in the same breath. Phoenix Lights. That was a lot of people that saw that.

[Mr. X]

You're absolutely right. And while you May think that going through this experience with so many other people would be comforting in a way. It doesn't seem to give anyone a huge sense of relief. I mean, one girl is so upset that she needs to be carted away in an ambulance. Afterwards, she never sets foot on the school grounds again. She is so traumatized, she literally transfers to an entirely new school somewhere else. But that's not where the sighting ends. Instead of just zipping away, the flying object dips toward the ground. It's going slowly, not crashing, but making a controlled descent. And then it lands.

[Yvette Gentile]

There's actually a big grove of pine trees just behind the school grounds. Behind them there's a grassy area called the Grange. That's short for Grange Preserve. And it's not technically part of the school property, but it is open to the public. I mean, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if students go there when they just want to cut class. But that's where the craft presumably hits the ground, though no one can say for sure because they don't actually see it land. In fact, a few students run toward the Grange to try and get a better look at it, but before they can get too close, this extreme exhaustion comes over them and they literally pass out right there in the grass. And they don't regain consciousness until everything is over, which is absolutely mind boggling when you think about it for sure.

[Mr. X]

And after a few minutes, many of the students who are still back at the school see something appear just over the treeline. It's the same ship as before. And it's taking off again. The craft makes its way into the sky and starts flying off into the distance. But it doesn't escape alone. Now there are five small planes flying behind it, almost like they're chasing the disk. Now, I don't know a ton about those particular airplanes, like if they're civilian or military or whatnot. But I do know the UFO evades them for quite a while, darting all the way, all around the sky. Then it finally disappears after about 20 minutes.

[Yvette Gentile]

And you might figure that once the ship flies away, that's it, everybody goes home, tells their family, never forgets the memory, yada yada yada, right? But almost immediately after the sighting, like I'm talking 40 minutes later, the alleged cover up begins. That is when a bunch of strangers show up on the school grounds. And some of them are in air force uniforms, but other are in, you guys know what I'm going to say, they are in black suits. So we got the men in black suits again, who refuse to Tell anyone who they work for. And even weirder, they all seem to have the school's principal right there in their pocket. So all afternoon and into the next day, students and teachers get called into the office for questioning. The principal and the men in suits ask each witness one by one to tell them exactly what they saw. Anytime someone admits the object looked like a flying saucer, the men in suits supposedly start mocking them. Basically, they act like you'd have to be stupid or gullible to believe in alien spaceships. And remember, they're mostly talking to high school students. So whatever's happening must be pretty serious to be intimidating a bunch of teenagers over it. And most of the kids, I mean, they leave these meetings pretty embarrassed and flustered and they don't want to even talk about the experience because they're too afraid of what these men in black are going to do.

[Mr. X]

Now, I don't know if the men in suits at Westall High are American or if they work for the Australian equivalent of the men in black, but they don't just intimidate people in these one on one meetings. That same afternoon, just a few hours after the sighting, the principal calls all of the students into an assembly. During it, he tells everyone that they get to go home early, but they can never mention what they saw that day. They can't talk to their parents, their siblings, their friends from other schools.

[Yvette Gentile]

They.

[Mr. X]

They can't even talk to each other. Nobody.

[Yvette Gentile]

I mean, come on, how is that possible? You are a teenager, you just saw a flying saucer and you're supposed to hold all that in and not tell a soul? Yeah, no, come on.

[Mr. X]

Well, the principal ends up saying that the incident wasn't that big of a deal anyway. It was just a weather balloon. Which, give me a break. If it was really just a weather balloon, why did the students have to treat it like a giant secret? I have a teenager at home, so I know how this story goes. Like whenever a bunch of teenagers get together, they happen to rebel sometimes, right? They are probably the last demographic to listen to specific instructions. So many of them are like, yeah, right. I am telling you, every single human I know. Now, of course, these are the days long before social media, but word of mouth still gets around. I don't know exactly who tips off the press. But before the day is over, a bunch of journalists and reporters are gathering outside of Westall. So when everybody heads outside to leave for the day, the journalists approach the students and ask if anyone, anyone wants to talk about what they experienced. But the moment any Witness steps in front of the camera. A teacher or the principal is right at their side. They warn everyone not to speak or give any kind of statement. When that doesn't work, school officials actually call the police. The officers escort all of the news crews off of the property. And once again, they warn the students and the staff not to say a word about what they've seen that day.

[Yvette Gentile]

After all that, Graham Simmons, that chemistry student who saw the UFO at the beginning of our story, gets a very odd assignment. He's a school captain, so he has extra responsibilities and trust from the authorities, kind of like a class president in the US which is why Graham is told to patrol the hallways after school is over. If he sees anyone talking about what they saw, he's supposed to shut those conversations down. Except while Graham's walking through the empty hallways, he turns a corner and he sees an argument in progress. And it's not between students. It's between two men and Barbara Robbins, the chemistry teacher who took the photos of the flying saucer. One of the men is in a police uniform, and the others the headmaster of the school. And guess what they want? They want to confiscate her camera. But Barbara is refusing. I mean, that is her property. Those are her photos. And she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to do. But things are getting heated. And while the argument hasn't turned physical yet, it seems like it's heading there, which again, seems like a huge overreaction if she just snapped a picture of a weather balloon, right? I don't know for sure if the men actually get Mrs. Robin's camera away from her, but the fact that they're asking at all is pretty shocking. And it is ridiculous. After that, the COVID up, y', all, it just gets more aggressive.

[Mr. X]

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[Yvette Gentile]

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[Mr. X]

On April 6, 1966, an unidentified flying object appears over Australia's Westall High School and is seen by anywhere from 100 to 200 witnesses. Afterwards, anonymous government officials swarm the school, questioning witnesses and pressuring them to stay quiet. But one faculty member isn't looking to play by the rules. His name is Andrew Greenwood and he teaches science. Now, I don't know exactly how old he is, but it's safe to assume he's fresh out of college because it's his very first year working as a teacher. He was lecturing to a room full of freshmen when the flying saucer first appeared. He didn't notice it on his own, but then a student ran into his room yelling about a UFO and looking very unsettled in the moment. Andrew figured that they were imagining things or that it was some trick of the light. Still, he could see that the student was clearly very frightened. So perhaps in an effort to calm them down, Andrew went outside. He expected to say something like, see, it's just a plane, or it's some kind of weird looking cloud. You know, nothing to worry about. Instead, Andrew saw exactly what the student was worried about. A flying metal disk about the size of a car. He just knew when he looked at it that it was not from this Earth. This had to be an alien spaceship.

[Yvette Gentile]

And once the military and the strange men in suit showed up, Andrew was honest with them about what he experienced. Unlike his students, it's not easy to intimidate or silence Andrew. He cares like he truly cares about the truth. He's not willing to play along with this cover up. So when they question him and try to convince him that he didn't see what he saw. Andrew pushes back. He tells the men in suits that they weren't there and they don't know what happened. And they're certainly not going to gaslight him into thinking it was a weather balloon or a trick of the light. And then the officials tell him to keep the story quiet. But again, Andrew isn't having it. He ignores them. He actually contacts some reporters later on and gives a full interview with the local news. I mean, Andrew really wants to get to the bottom of this mystery. And he probably can't understand why all of the teachers are going along with the COVID up and neither can his students. So at some point after the incident, Andrew comes up with a plan with a few of them. For some time after the UFO sighting, the military had portions of the school grounds on lockdown, especially the area around the Grange where the ship supposedly landed. Nobody's been allowed to get close to it since, except the day of the sighting. Andrew and those students sneak around the guards and their fences and get onto the Grange. There, Andrew sees a round, like a massive round depression in the grass, like something has actually landed there. But that's not all they see. A university student named Kevin Hurley sees that the Grange is crawling with military personnel and they're using Geiger counters, which basically means that they're testing in the area for radiation.

[Mr. X]

About a week later, though, Kevin and some of the students go back to the Grange. Presumably the military is gone by now, but the teens find that all of the grass has either been cut or. Or burned. Like the military or someone completely destroyed every shred of evidence of the craft's landing. I mean, talk about a thorough cover up. But the officials don't stop at getting rid of the evidence. Their next move is to go even further, to intimidate the witnesses. Around that same time, Andrew is at home late one night when someone knocks on his door. Andrew's first thought is probably something like, who could be visiting me at this late hour? But when he answers the door, he sees two men waiting outside. He's never seen either of them before, but one is in an Air Force uniform. The other person is in civilian clothes. But I'm not sure if it's a dark suit like the men in black types from before. When Andrew asks them who they are, they don't give their names or their job titles. They just say that they work for the Australian government. I don't know if he invites them in or if they just keep talking right there. In the doorway. But they have a conversation that's basically an exact repeat of his interrogation at the school. They ask him what he saw. Andrew, of course, answers honestly. Then they argue, saying he didn't really see a flying saucer. He must be mistaken. Except at this point, the conversation takes a turn. One of the men tells Andrew that of course he made a mistake and of course he's not trustworthy. Now get this. These two men go even further and say that no one will believe his story because he was drunk that day at school and just doesn't remember correctly.

[Yvette Gentile]

For the record, Andrew claims he doesn't drink when he's at work. I mean, that would be a fireable offense, right? That's just not something you would do. Especially like we mentioned before, it's his very first year as a teacher and he knows that he needs to be on his absolute best behavior. So Andrew knows these government officials are trying to. They're trying to break him down, they're threatening him. The implication is that if he keeps talking about the ufo, they're going to spread false rumors about him. If people believe the gossip, he could lose his job, maybe even his entire career. And you know what? That is enough to finally scare Andrew into silence for nearly 50 years. It's decades before he gives any more press interviews or speaks about the sighting in public.

[Mr. X]

But circling back to the immediate aftermath of the sighting, there are plenty of other people too scared to come forward. No one knows if they'll lose their career just for publicly admitting that they saw something that was unexplainable. The one person manages to uncover just a sliver of truth. And I wish I could tell you who he is and exactly what he knows, but I can't. His identity still has not been made public. In UFO investigator communities and circles, he's known only as Mr. X. I do know that he's an Australian government employee and he works in a division at the time that was called the Department of Supply. They're in charge of making military equipment for the government. And supposedly Mr. X does engineering work for them involving airplanes and other aircraft. Well, a few days or weeks after the Westall incident, X's superiors order him to investigate the event. He spends a year learning everything that he can. He travels to the high school regularly to question the students and teachers who saw the craft. It's also possible that Mr. X investigates some other UFO sightings from around that time, because get this, the Westall encounter wasn't an isolated incident.

[Yvette Gentile]

So just four days earlier, on April 2, 1966, a man in the Melbourne area saw something strange hovering above his front yard. I don't know exactly where he lived in Melbourne, but. But it's safe to say it wasn't too far away. Turns out he went outside and snapped a photo of the unidentified flying object and then sent those pictures to the local paper. I'll be honest, the images are really grainy and a little hard to see. But with that being said, I can definitely see that it is something that looks like a disc shaped with a dome on top and a flat bottom. It also looks shiny or reflective, like it's made of metal. It definitely isn't an airplane or a hot air balloon like they're trying to get you to believe because there's no basket, there's no wings, there's no visible engines. But this isn't the last time something weird happens in that exact area. Two days after that sighting on April 4, a construction worker named Ron Sullivan is driving through a wooded area in the state of Victoria, which is where Melbourne is located. Again, I don't know how far it is from the school, but while driving, Ron saw lights in the trees up ahead of him. They weren't headlights or street lights, but they were more brilliant than anything he'd ever seen before. They weren't on the road and they were set back in the woods. In spite of all the brush in the branches, the light was bright enough that any everything within a 10 foot radius was completely illuminated. And as Ron got closer to the source of light, he felt his car starting to drift toward it. And it's not clear to me if he was too distracted to stay on the road or the light was actually pulling him in like a magnet. Because we have heard many stories a flying saucer is near. There's this energy, right, that draws you closer to it. The point is that suddenly he found himself driving into the forest. He actually came dangerously close to hitting a tree. But at the last second, Ron cranked the steering wheel and got back on the road. Understandably, the near miss had him feeling very unsettled. So, so, I mean, Ron's next move was to just get out of there as fast as he could. But then just two days later on April 6, 1966, that same. Well, I don't know if I want to say same, but that UFO is spotted over West Hall High.

[Mr. X]

So basically that would mean that there were three UFO sightings over the course of six days and all in the general vicinity. I mean, come on, there's no way that that could be A coincidence. And I don't know if Mr. X investigates all of them, but I do know that in 1967, Mr. X gives his report to his boss. And he never hears another word about that report again. The government never releases it to the public. They won't even acknowledge that Mr. X's investigation existed. They're treating this incident like it's top secret. In fact, the contents of that report still haven't been released to this day. It's been almost 60 years. And whatever secrets Mr. X learned, they're apparently too explosive to discuss even now.

[Yvette Gentile]

But it seems Mr. X anticipated this exact reaction before he turned in his report. He made a copy of it just for safekeeping because he says he's afraid. He thinks something might happen to him because he knows too much. So he tells his wife, basically, hold on to this, and if ever I get into some kind of mysterious accident, release it. But he also says that if he dies of natural causes, he wants his wife to destroy the file. It's too sensitive to leak for no reason. Which definitely sounds kind of contradictory, right? But it does seem like it was his only insurance policy. And so Mr. X does eventually pass away. I don't know the exact cause of his death, his age, or really anything about his passing. But I do know that apparently his wife doesn't think that his death was suspicious. But according to her son, who witnessed the whole thing, she follows his instruction to destroy the report. She takes it into the backyard and lights it on fire. All of his hard work just, poof. Goes up in flames. And to this day, nobody knows exactly what Mr. X learned about the Westall incident. At least not anyone who doesn't have top secret clearance. The only record of his findings is in that original report. A report that to this day, officials say does not exist.

[Mr. X]

Yeah, totally seems like a cover up to me. But here's what makes this story different from other UFO accounts. The Australian government doesn't dismiss the Westall witnesses or their testimony forever. In fact, in 2014, which is 48 years after the incident, they publicly admit, yeah, there was something in the sky that day. The people who saw it were totally telling the truth. I'm paraphrasing, of course. And they promised to share what they know about the Westall UFO incident once and for all.

[Chuck]

I'm gonna put you on, nephew. All right, unc.

[Mr. X]

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[Chuck]

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[Yvette Gentile]

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[Mr. X]

In 2014, Australian officials make a shocking announcement. They're going to release all of the information they have on the 1966 Westall UFO incident. Then they publish a report that says the unidentified flying object was dun dun dun. A balloon. So according to them, they are admitting it wasn't a weather balloon. It was an experimental military balloon. It was loaded up with equipment that could test radiation levels in the atmosphere just so they could collect important data for their top secret nuclear programs. I don't know.

[Yvette Gentile]

The military released a ton of these balloons throughout the 1960s. They were launched in northwestern Victoria, about 350 miles away from Westall High School. But in April of 1966, one of them supposedly blew off course and ended up drifting all the way to the school grounds. Well, since it was part of a top secret government program after all, military officials didn't want any eyewitnesses coming forward. So allegedly they sent all of those Air Force officers and men in suits to. To silence them because they needed to protect their military secrets. The TLDR is yes, there was a UFO incident that day and yes, 100% there was a government cover up. But it all had nothing to do with aliens.

[Mr. X]

I'm going to say what all of us are thinking right now. I know what my sister and I are thinking. This still sounds like a cover up to me. I do not, not even for a second, buy this experimental balloon explanation. First of all, it's helpful to remember that most of the eyewitnesses described either a flying saucer or a cigar shaped craft. And okay, you might be thinking maybe they were wrong, but maybe they did see a balloon and mistook it for a flying saucer. But we're talking something like 100 or 200 people witnessing this, and none of them thought that it looked like a balloon. I mean, how can that many witnesses be wrong? Plus, there's one alleged photo of the incident that's made its way to the press and online. It hasn't been confirmed as authentic, and no, no one knows who actually took it. So, you know, take it with a grain of salt. But I've seen this photo, and it clearly shows a disc covered in lights hovering high above the treetops. And those top secret test balloons, on the other hand, looked like ordinary hot air balloons with baskets and big white tops. They were also supposedly covered in bulky wires and tubes. So it's unlikely to think that this sleek saucer could actually be from that same experiment. And a ton of witnesses, including Andrew Greenwood, the science teacher, say they absolutely know what they saw. It was broad daylight and the skies were clear, and they would have known if it was something ordinary like a balloon. Balloons don't send a hundred or more high school students into a panic. They don't race off into the sky so fast that airplanes have a hard time keeping up with them. Like those five planes that were darting all after it for 20 minutes. And they don't radiate that much heat. In fact, Mr. X's son has come forward to say his father didn't think it was a balloon either.

[Yvette Gentile]

This cover story might feel very similar to some listeners, and y' all might know where I'm going with this, but right after the Roswell crash in 1947, officials also tried to claim that that wreckage was a weather balloon. Afterwards, they changed their story to say it was a balloon loaded with top secret military equipment. The tech was supposed to monitor sound waves from nuclear devices Russia was testing at the time. Sounds to me like 19 years after Roswell, the Australian government took a page right out of the Americans UFO cover up playbook. First, right? You pretend nothing happened. Then you say it's a top secret experimental balloon, all in an attempt to convince people they didn't really see what they know they saw. But I want to be clear. Even if there is a cover up, which, okay, we know there is a cover up, that that doesn't automatically mean the UFO was an alien ship, okay? There are other vehicles that government higher ups might want to hide, like experimental military planes. Okay? This particular theory comes from Ross Coulthardt. He's a ufologist, and he's been studying the Westall incident for years. Based on the information he's seen, he doesn't Think the flying craft was an alien ship. This is what he thinks. He thinks it was an American plane that was running tests in Australian airspace. Okay. I mean, the US and Australia are allies, and it's not unusual for Americans to test their equipment in and around Melbourne. In the 1960s, in particular, the military was very focused on developing pilotless drones, and they ran a ton of test flights all over Australia. And it's possible that one of those drones may have drifted over Westall High, touched down, and then taken off again. None of the students or teachers who spoke to the men in black specified that they were Americans, but those officials could have been working under orders from the US Government. With that being said, most of the Westdahl witnesses who saw the thing firsthand seem to agree that they absolutely think it was an alien spaceship.

[Mr. X]

And I also think it's worth mentioning the Australian government has a pretty bad track record when it comes to UFO incidents. On this show, we've talked a lot about American officials silencing or intimidating witnesses, covering up evidence, spreading misinformation, that sort of thing. Well, Aussies are apparently guilty of it, too. For decades, Australian officials have been investigating UFO reports. They don't always intimidate witnesses or threaten to blackmail them, but they're pretty quick to reject people's testimony. They've only ruled that about 3% of reports are due to, quote, unquote, unknown causes. The rest are just dismissed as a satellite or Venus or an airplane. I don't buy it.

[Yvette Gentile]

Okay, so the ufologist we just mentioned, Ross Coulthardt, he believes the Australian authorities are covering up the UFO sightings on behalf of the United States. Or as another ufologist named Clark Watson puts it, this is a quote. Australia is subservient to America. I think we've just placed ourselves in a subservient position and been instructed this isn't a topic to talk about. There's two possible reasons for why they do that. Option one is that the Americans are running military tests like we covered before, and the Australian government is hiding the evidence to protect the US Military secrets. Option two, they're covering up visits from little green men. And it's a lot harder to come up with the motive for this theory. I mean, I'll admit, still there is a long, and we're talking long history of American officials hiding UFO sightings. We know this for a fact.

[Mr. X]

100% true. And while it seems like Australian officials are letting the Americans try to cover up the truth, it's not exactly working. I mean, in the first four months of 2025 alone, there were five official UFO reports in Australia, which I know it may not sound like much, but that makes Australia the 13th most active country for UFO sightings in the entire world. And that's not counting all of the unverified and unofficial reports. You know those rumors you see on TikTok or Instagram, or that deep dive you go on on Reddit? Those, you know, never end up getting fully investigated. I mean, take what happened in early October 2024. For a full week, people all across Australia's western coast saw strange lights in the sky. At least three people recorded it on video and shared the clips online. Clearly, witnesses are still coming forward to talk about what they've seen. We wouldn't even be able to make this episode if not for all of the eyewitnesses who've gone public over the years.

[Yvette Gentile]

That's right. And we have to give a huge thank you to all those people who speak up. But I think it's safe to say there are a lot of people out there who believe in UFOs and are desperate, I mean, I'm talking desperate to find proof that they exist, not just in the United States or Australia, but everywhere. And the good news is that we live in the era of social media, camera phones, and instant communication. In the 1960s, it was possible to intimidate your witnesses into silence. But these days, a video or a photo can go viral and make it around the world before government officials have a chance to react or even respond. Which means the proof we are chasing may not be far. It could be gathering ever so quietly, just out of sight, waiting for the moment the world is finally ready to see it.

[Mr. X]

This is so supernatural. An audio check. Original produced by Crime House. You can connect with us on Instagram @sosupernaturalpod and visit our website at sosupernaturalpodcast.com Join Yvette and me next Friday for an all new episode. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?

[Chuck]

I'mma put you on, nephew. I don't.

[Mr. X]

Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order, miss?

[Chuck]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years. Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack wrap? It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.

[Yvette Gentile]

Possibility means you have a chance. Passion opens the door to all possibilities.

[Andrew Greenwood]

When I feel like anything's possible, I feel kind of giddy. I want to be an astronaut, an.

[Yvette Gentile]

Artist, an actress, to visit another country. All I need is a backpack and a pair of shoes.

[Andrew Greenwood]

And I'll find a way. I'm able to do anything I set my mind to.

[Yvette Gentile]

I've never felt like more things are possible than right now. In the right shoes, anything's possible. DSW Countless shoes at bragworthy prices. Imagine the possibilities.