The Willow Grove Encounter
DATE - 1963, 15th Feb
PLACE - Moe, Victoria, Australia

At 7 a.m. on 15 February 1963 Charles Brew bore witness to a classic close encounter. With his 20 year-old son, Trevor, Brew was at work in the milking shed on their farm, "Willow Grove", near Moe, Victoria. It was light, but rain clouds lay overhead. Charles Brew was standing in an open area, with a full view ot the eastern sky. It was from that direction that he saw a strange object appear and descend very slowly towards the milk shed. The object's approach was coincident with the cattle and a pony reacting violently. The two farm dogs fled. A local newspaper even reported that the cows turned somersaults, a suggestion the Brews later denied.

The UFO descended to a height of about 30 metres, hovering over a stringy-bark tree. It was about eight metres in diameter and three metres high. The top section appeared to be a transparent dome of a glass-like material, from which protruded a two metre high mast or aerial. The "aerial" appeared to be as thick as a broom and resembled bright chrome. The top portion of the disc itself was battleship grey in colour and appeared to be of metallic lustre. The base or underside section glowed with a pale blue colour and had 'scoop-like protuberances around the outside edge'. This section rotated slowly at about one revolution per second. This spinning motion apparently caused the protuberances to generate a swishing noise, somewhat like a turbine noise, that was clearly audible not only to Brew but also to his son Trevor, who was located inside the shed near the operating diesel-powered milking machine units.



Charles Brew felt his eyes were drawn towards the object 'as though beams of magnetic current' were between it and him. He also experienced a peculiar headache which came on with the approach of the object. After hovering for a few seconds the object began to climb, continuing on its westward course and passing up into the cloud deck again. Trevor did not see the UFO, but confirmed the unusual sound, like a didgeridoo or bull-roarer-aboriginal artefacts which can produce pulsating, wind-rushing noise.

By the time that Brews' report went through channels, it was March 4 before he was officially interviewed.

Flight Lieutenant N. Hudson and Squadron Leader A.F. Javes of the RAAF interviewed Brew. While impressed with his credibility, the weather at the time of the sighting—heavy continuous rain with very low cloud and poor visibility, and with a fresh wind in an easterly direction —seems to have led them to focus on weather-related explanations. Their report describes the basis of their somewhat extraordinary "explanation" for the incident:

On 6 March Dr Berson and Mr Clark, Commonwealth meteorologists, were interviewed to see if clouds give this type of phenomenon. They agreed that a tornado condition could give this effect. The direction of rotation of Brew's report of the object was consistent with known facts for the Southern Hemisphere. The blueish colouring has been reported previously and is probably due to electric discharge and there would be a smell of ozone. The only difference in Brew's report was that the object moved from east to west, because all their previous reports of this nature have been from west to east. Mr Brew stated that the wind was fresh from an easterly direction. However, a meteorological report states that wind was westerly at eight knots.

The report notes that the meteorological report was from a Yallourn observer, about 20 kilometres away, therefore local variations in the weather would not have been unusual. Despite this lack of rigour in determining how relevant their hypothesis was, the RAAF officers' report concluded, 'There is little doubt that Brew did witness something, and it is most likely that it was a natural phenomenon. The phenomenon was probably a tornado. There was no reported damage along its path, therefore one could assume that it was weak in nature.

The Department of Air responded to a civilian UFO group enquiry about the incident with the following statement, 'Our investigation and enquiries reveal that there are scientific records of certain tornado-like meteorological manifestations which have a similar appearance in many ways to whatever was seen by Mr Brew. The information available is such, however, that while we accept this is a possibility, we are unable to come to any firm conclusion as to the nature of the object or manifestation reported.

The official sighting summaries removed any such doubt. By then the 'possible cause' was listed as a 'tornado-like meteorological manifestation.

Dr. Berson and an associate visited Brew at the Willow Grove property. According to Brew, Dr Berson was interested in the headache that he had, and indicated that Berson had said that it tied in with his theory of a possible electromagnetic nature of the incident. What the Department of Air referred to as a "tornado-like meteorological manifestation" elicited the following comment from Charles Brew. He said, "I wished it would come again. It was beautiful. I could feel the life pulsating from it".

Dr. James McDonald visited Charles Brew during his 1967 Australian trip interviewing him at the site of the 1963 incident. McDonald concluded, "like that of many other UFO witnesses, it is extremely difficult to explain in present-day scientific or technological terms." Despite the extraordinary nature of the Willow Grove incident and the high level of official interest in it, the sighting was listed in a subsequently released "Summary of Unidentified Aerial Sightings reported to Department of Air, Canberra, ACT, from 1960" as having a possible cause of "tornado like meteorological manifestation."

The investigation's conclusion would list tornadic wind as the "possible" cause. A statement issued by the Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society declared: "we are unable to come to any firm conclusion as to the nature of the object or manifestation reported." It seems clear that the RAAF were largely parroting the CSIRO's conclusions and taking things a little further without any realistic justification. Dr. Berson, of the UFO research group, paid a visit to Brew to personally review the sighting. Berson stated that the headache Brew had was probably due to "electronic magnetic" activity. Whatever "official" conclusions were, it is apparent to me and surely any sane person, that a man with a credible reputation, and good common sense, could easily tell the difference between a flying saucer and a tornado. Brew was less than impressed with the findings of the Australian governmental groups. In his own words: "I wished it would come again. It was beautiful. I could feel the life pulsating from it."

Source:
[1]. Victorian UfO Research Society - AFSR, no.8, p.10 June 1965
[2]. National Archives of Australia
Folder 580/1/1 part 4
Pages 313-319 on digital copy of RAAF file
Original reference 5/6/Air (26) Victoria Barracks
[Tornado like meteorological manifestation]

The Sea Fury Incident
DATE - August 31, 1954
PLACE - Nowra, Australia

One of the earliest recorded radar visual reports occurred on August 31st, 1954 off the New South Wales Coast near Nowra. The Australian press got the story on 15th of December, 1954, after it was leaked by members of the Defence Force. After that details were released to the public. The two official navy file on the event remained classified by the Directorate of Naval Intelligence, but was released to Victorian UFO groups in the late 1960s.

Lieutenant J.A. "Shamus" O'Farrell was returning to Royal Australian Navy Air Station Nowra after a night cross country navigation exercise with radars assistance in a Hawker Sea Fury FB11 aircraft. After contacting Nowra at about 1910 hours at 15,000ft, O'Farrell saw a very bright light closing fast at one o'clock. It crossed in front of his aircraft taking up position on his port (left) beam, where it appeared to orbit. A second and similar light was observed at nine o'clock. It passed about a mile in from of the Sea Fury and then turned in the position where the first light was observed.


O'Farrell reported, the apparent crossing speeds of the lights were the fastest he had ever encountered. He had been flying at 220 knots. O'Farrell contacted Nowra who in turn confirmed that they had two radar "paints" in company with him. The radar operator, Petty Officer Keith Jessop, confirmed the presence of 2 objects near the Sea Fury on the G.C.I. remote display. The two lights reformed at nine o'clock and then disappeared on a north easterly heading. O'Farrell could only make out "a vague shape with the white light situated centrally on top".

The Directorate of Naval Intelligence at the time wrote that O'Farrell was "an entirely credible witness" and that he "was visibly 'shaken' by his experience, but remains adamant that he saw these objects".

Shamus O'Farrell described the incident to researchers in the following way:

PILOT - Nowra, this is 921. Do you have me on radar.

(seconds later)

RADAR - Affirmative 921. We have you coming in from the west.
We have another two contacts as well. Which one are you?

PILOT - I think I'm the central one.

RADAR - Do a 180...for identification.

(Shamus O'Farrell did a quick 180 and then continued on
around and made it a 360 back to where he was going)

RADAR - Yes, we've got you. You're the centre aircraft.

PILOT - Correct.

RADAR - Who are the other two aircraft...

PILOT - I don't know. I was hoping you would tell me,
because I didn't think there was anyone up here.

RADAR - Well there shouldn't be, and they certainly shouldn't be that close to you.


Shamus O'Farrell described how the conversation went on like this and that he was very pleased to be talking to somebody because "it gave me a lot of reassurance". The 2 unknown aircraft came in quite close to Shamus O'Farrell who reported to the Victorian researchers:

"I could really see the dark mass and that they were quite big,
but I couldn't make out any other lights or any other form of
an aircraft. They were vague shape with the white light situated
centrally on top."

Just then the 2 other objects "took off and headed off to the north east at great speed". O'Farrelldescribed how:

"I was about to press the button and tell them at Nowra that
the two aircraft were departing when Nowra G.C.I. called me up".

RADAR - The other two aircraft appear to be departing at high speed to the north east.
Is that correct?

PILOT - Yes!

RADAR - Roger, we'll see if we can track them.

Radar tracked the two objects for a while and then lost them. At 7.30 (1930) Shamus O'Farrell landed his Sea Fury aircraft at the Royal Australian Navy Air Station Nowra.

O'Farrell later told researchers:

"When I got there, there were quite a few people waiting for me.
I thought it was a bit strange and so they came over,
the crew said, 'You sure you had aircraft out there!', and I said yes".

Then the Surgeon Commander who was now with the ground crew asked O'Farrell:

SURGEON - Do you feel sick, or upset at all?

PILOT - No.

The Surgeon Commander ran his hand over Shamus O'Farrell head to see whether he had any bumps. After the short examination the Surgeon Commander declared that O'Farrell was okay. Then he said:

SURGEON - Perhaps you'd like to come to the sick bay after you've
changed and we'll do an examination.

After finishing all his aircraft checks and paper work O'Farrell went up to sick bay and the Surgeon Commander gave him a more thorough medical. After the full examination the Surgeon Commander again told O'Farrell That he "appeared to be alright".

O'Farrell told researchers:

"I found out later, that at the same time, they checked to make
sure I hadn't been drinking before I took off and all that sort
of thing".I wanted to hush it all up. That sort of investigation
made me look a bit of a fool. I was worried it wasn't going to do
my career any good".


Other Witnesses

At the same time that O'Farrell was involved in his encounter two other reports were researchedby the Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB).

[1]. A technician was repairing an out of service Non Directional Beacon (NDB), a aircraft navigation aid at Narulan, the technician happened to look up while the encounter was in progress and reported seeing these lights fly overhead.

[2]. And an air traffic control officer in the control tower at Mascot Airport, also reported two lights saw approaching the ATC that seemed to be from this encounter.

During Dr. Hynek (US Researcher) 1973 visit to Australia, Victorian groups arranged and facilitated an interview the pilot Lieutenant J.A. O'Farrell who was involved in this famous incident. After the visit Dr. Hynek made his notes on this interview available to researchers in Australia after his 1973 visit. Victorian groups provided Dr. Hynek with a copy of the official file on the incident.


SOURCES & IMAGES:
Victorian UFO Research Society - Paul Norman & John W. Auchettl
Phenomena Research Australia - John W. Auchettl
http://www.gibstuff.net/aircraft/warbirds3/RAN_Sea_fury_01_061002.jpg
http://www.gibstuff.net/aircraft/warbirds3/RAN_Sea_fury_02_061002.jpg