INTRO: There were a total of 45 reports received by UFORQ during the 1950s. Reports prior to 1956 are patchy and cursory (not to mention difficult to read) and rarely provide for interesting reading, but they do demonstrate that the phenomenon was alive and kicking in Queensland from at least the 1950s onwards, and probably for many years before that. Of special interest are the winter months in 1958 and 1959 – it seems Queensland was hit with a significant UFO wave in both those years, with similar objects reported from a number of locations over a period of months.

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Sydney, early 1950s, 7.30pm

It was a dark night so it must have been mid-year. The corner of Elizabeth and Market Streets, Sydney. I was facing South. We had just left the St. James Theatre as we used to attend afternoon sessions because of public transport for me to get home. With the crush of patrons going in both directions the crowded footpath forced me to step down onto the road proper. This placed me in an amazingly fantastic position to observe what was about to happen. “Hazel” was just behind my right shoulder because when I swung my arm through an arc following the craft she was standing just clear of my arm action. What attracted my vision I am not sure, save that I felt I saw a flash of light or a reflection to my left towards Hyde Park. My eyes swung upwards just at the exact moment as the craft passed directly overhead. Stunned at what I saw, I yelled “Look at that”. By the time I managed to get this out the vessel had passed just over the top of David Jones Food Fair towards Glebe and the Western suburbs. If one said that they saw a flying saucer in those times one was a candidate for a mental examination as well as public harassment so I just shut up. The staggering thing is the wonder of one’s eyes and brain to absorb so much detail in split seconds with the brain to retain all the data after all this time.

It had a curved metallic polished surface as the Sydney lights reflected in shades of dull red and blue. This occurred as it passed over David Jones Food Hall, Market St. and Castlereagh St. about 30 metres across. Height: just clearing radio antennae on David Jones Store. 40 to 50 metres maximum. The “exhaust” visible trail or propulsion movement appeared to be a solid block of royal blue light about one metre across with three spherical balls contained along its length. Two were similar in size and solid blue around 1.5 metres but the middle ball’s diameter would have been I estimate 2.5 metres, which revolved clearly visible as orange and blue segments almost like the old barbers poles and large marbles but not quite the same. These were positioned about five metres apart commencing with the first bubble one-third along the trail. It is extremely difficult to describe satisfactorily. If one could locate some old marbles with built in designs it could be demonstrated or even some of the new water features with spinning globes. There was absolutely no sound that I could ascertain due to the heavy Saturday tram and vehicle movement. There no flight paths for air traffic ever that flew down Market Street. The path of this craft would be at 90 degrees to the approach to Sydney, Mascot Airport. I have only recently seen a report of a UFO with a trail or tail so I decided to place this on full record with drawings and comments for support.

I am a non-drinker or smoker just for the record. I am still capable of reading newspapers without glasses if necessary. To say I was astounded, even today, would be an understatement, but I saw what I saw at such close range  it beggars belief. Especially when there were hundreds and hundreds of people surrounding Hazel and myself but none of them were looking upward. I do not know if even one responded to my alarm. I do not recall if Hazel caught a glimpse of the craft.

April 1952 The Dalby Herald – “Flying Saucers” Seen at Broadwater

Peculiar formations were seen in the sky in the Dalby district on Good Friday, according to Mr L. Wilson, who has a property at Broadwater. Mr, Wilson, who discussed the matter with friends at the weekend, said that he had purposely refrained from giving publicity to what he had seen in the nope of hearing of it from other circles, but when he heard no comment, he sought out, others to see if they had seen what members of his family and he had watched for about half an hour,

Mr. Wilson observed  about midday on Good Friday, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, and their sons, Malcolm and Jack, were at their Broadwater property,  Several of them had noticed eagle hawks at a sheep that had I died in the cultivation, some distance from the house, and when i the birds took off, and rose to a great height, they followed their flight, commenting on the distance they were from the ground. It was at this time that the strange phenomenon slowly made its appearance, “as if from nowhere.” Mr. Wilson left no doubt 1 about the fact it was hard to explain what they saw.

He said that there appeared what could roughly be described  as three transparent objects, moving in formation, and giving the impression of aeroplanes in flight. When he saw the first one appear he likened its entry to something like what would happen when a duck alighted in the water, causing a fine spray to rise all around it. The light in the sky at the time was something similar to , that caused by the moon rising at night.

All the members of the party watched the sky, and in order to see more closely, binoculars were used, confirming all that the naked eye had discovered. They continued to watch for about half an hour, the formation, whatever it might have been, being in sight nil the time, but slow moving in what would be a north-easterly direction, – which was the direction of Dalby Itself. That there was something very unusual about was evident, because the hawks suddenly turned, and made off at a fast rate, said Mr. Wllson, who. explained that It was I a sight that he was not likely to forget.

At the time Mr. Wilson did not bother to telephone his neighbours as he feared they might think he was silly, but seeing that nobody else had reported the matter, as far as he knew, he regretted this now.

“FLYING SAUCER” ROMA (Queensland) 1954. Tues.

Roma people claim a “flying saucer” passed over the town at midnight on last Saturday. People far apart at the time say the strange object zoomed through the sky about 150 feet above the houses. Mr. Ivan Wippell, of Morocc, well-known district grazier, described the phenomenon as “a sort of pear-shaped object, deep orange in color, clearly outlined, and as big as a sedan car. Mr. Wippell said the object, travelling at high speed, made absolutely no sound.

Source: Daily Mirror, Sydney, Australia. 18 May 1954.

October, 1954 North Queensland

The W.C. Hall UFO report from North Queensland in 1954 is a notable case in Australian ufology, primarily documented through a personal account published in the February 1955 edition of Sir! A Magazine for Males. W.C. Hall, a sheep farmer, heard a whirring noise followed by him witnessing six cylindrical objects descending onto his property. These objects were approximately 10 meters tall, with a rim or ramp at their base. Around a dozen humanoid figures exited the craft, formed a group, and then re-entered before the objects ascended and vanished. Hall reported experiencing a blackout during the event and later had a vision of his property transformed into a “fertile paradise,” which he claimed came to fruition within two months.

In addition to this account, Hall is also associated with a photograph taken in July 1954, which purportedly shows a “tropical hat-shaped” UFO hovering over his herd of sheep. The image was featured in the same Sir! magazine article. However, the authenticity of this photograph has been a subject of debate within the UFO research community. Some sources suggest that the image may have been fabricated or staged.

This case is part of a broader pattern of UFO sightings in Australia during the 1950s, a period marked by a significant number of reports, particularly in Queensland. The W.C. Hall incident contributes to the rich tapestry of Australian UFO lore, reflecting the era’s heightened public interest and the media’s role in disseminating such accounts.

1956 Pilbara region WA. (beach ball object) Maleny Range News (see Project Newsprint on this site)

I’m 79 years old now, but when I was 20 my friend and I with her two young children were driving from Darwin to the Pilbara region in Western Australia. I was driving a 1954 Dodge and the trip took us 12 days. The roads in those days were quite basic, a lot of dirt roads etc, and one night we found ourselves on one of those dirt roads near the De Grey River. My friend was looking at the bush when she asked, “Is that a satellite?” At that time satellites were new to us, we were just starting to hear about them. I wasn’t paying much attention, concentrating on driving. Then she said it was getting closer, coming down. Then I saw it about 500 metres above us. It looked like a beach ball or a hot air balloon in the sky, but round, with colours moving all over it like the northern lights, no particular pattern to their movement, just swirling over it. Then I checked the rear vision mirror and saw a red glow behind us.

My friend screamed and I turned off the car lights so we couldn’t be seen. At that time I started to hear what I can only describe as a big but slow piston sound, like two tones repeating slowly. By this time I was speeding through the bush on a dirt road in the dark with no headlights. All of a sudden I saw a set of gates in front of us and I slammed on the brakes. This caused the car to stall and all of a sudden everything was quiet. The object immediately disappeared. The next thing we heard were the sounds of aboriginal people singing in the distance, I guessed it was a corroboree. My friend was deeply frightened by the experience so when we saw something again similar in 1961 while driving in the Northern Territory near Humpty Doo, she told me to turn around and go home which we did.

Crow’s Nest  24 September 1956, 8.00am

An 18-20 feet long object with an open forepart and a rounded rear section was observed above a dam not far from the witnesses Crow’s Nest property. ‘It flew slowly up the slope between the trees (and) up the drive at a height of 10-12 feet, then flew over the gate at the top of the garden. Its movements were slow and leisurely as if the occupants, if any, were having a good look around … the manufacture appeared solid and (it) had no wings. I was so impressed that I went indoors at once and drew a sketch to show my family.’

Hughenden, Queensland Late 1956

“Miss L” A 12-year-old girl, was crossing a paddock on the family farm when she felt a strange force upon her, and heard a soft hum. She felt as if she was being lifted off the ground and fainted. She awoke to find herself in a strange, large room with two men in silver white ski-suits. There was no attempted communication by the men. After surveying the room, which featured a coloured galaxy display on one wall, the girl felt enormous pressure and again lost consciousness. The room was not furnished. She noted an arched doorway leading into a corridor; that there were porthole-like windows along one wall; and that the room had no joins or seams. She found herself back at the farm, but in a different paddock, with a huge saucer shaped object hovering above her before it subsequently ascended rapidly to the west. The girl determined that two hours had elapsed since she initially lost consciousness.

Source: 1. Chalker, Bill. (1989). “Abducted?”. Australian Penthouse. Nov. p 37. 2. Victorian UFO Research Society.

Brisbane 1957 Report via Noosa News “Letter to the Editor” in response to Project Newsprint 1 January to 25 January, 2016

A man was aged 5 at primary school. At midday, or soon after, the school bell had rung to go back to class. He began running and saw a silvery metallic saucer-shaped object. He didn’t see any other features. He tried to get some of the other children’s attention but no one else saw it. He estimated the UFO was as high as a 6 or 8 storey building, maybe a bit lower. It moved off and disappeared above a big group of pine trees some distance away, possibly half a mile.

West End (Brisbane) 6 February 1959, midnight

‘I was awakened from sleep at exactly midnight by my wife and asked to look at a very bright light in the sky. As I watched it appeared to rock and sway. In doing this its light changed colour from a very pale green, through white, and on to red. At the same time there was a very fierce pulsating which lit up the sky for about 15 or 20 times the diameter of the object … as it oscillated it would throw its light into one direction. This was always to the east and was like a beam or line. ‘…The UFO remained in this position until 00.53 hours when it distinctly drew closer to my point of observation, doubling its size and increasing its brilliance considerably. ‘At 0.1.12 hours came the really unexpected. Travelling at a speed faster than any jet…came another object identical to the first…with the exception of the fact

that it may have been a little larger and its colours did not change. The light passed directly in front of me and terminated its passage by merging with the original object.  ‘After  merging…the UFO remained hovering until 01:27 hours. Then it began rising slowly, getting dimmer as it did so until it was lost from sight.’

Caboolture  11 March 1959, 12.30pm

‘I and two other men…were watching the vapour trails from five jet planes for about a quarter of an hour… We were facing south when we noticed they were pursuing two disc-shaped objects. One jet plane gave up the chase and headed south. The other four were in pursuit of the discs in a northerly direction when the discs accelerated and were out of sight in a few seconds. The four jets then turned back and headed south also. ‘The discs appeared about the size of a small bread and butter plate and the jets about the size of your finger.’