Richard Saunders looks into the past and tests the winds.
The 6th of April 2026 marked the 60th anniversary of the so-called Westall UFO event.
Briefly an object described as about the size of a car and as either white, silver, silvery-green, grey with a purple hue and/or purple lights, appeared in the sky near Westall High School in Victoria, was seen by between 100 – 300 students and some teachers at about 11am. Reports vary but some say it (or they, as there are reports of up to 3 objects) was accompanied at some point by up to five light aircraft that seemed to follow it. Two witnesses claim the object landed briefly in a field nearby, but this cannot be verified. There are more details easily found online but the true nature of the event is still a mystery. The day is held up as strong evidence of an Alien Space Ship by those who believe we are being visited.
I was invited by ABC TV to appear on ‘Australian Story’ to give my thoughts and speculate what the object might have been that caused such a stir on that day, as well as being asked to give an overview of the fragility and unreliability of human memory. I put forward possible candidates like the weather balloon that launched that morning from Laverton BOM at 8:30am (34km to the west, 9.5km to the north) and the Hibal atomic radiation detecting program of the time which saw classified balloons being launched in Victoria. A clip of me saying it is still a mystery was used in promos, but not on the program itself.
The feedback via the YouTube page has been, sadly, predictable with comments such as (and only a selected few here);
- Richard Saunders makes a complete fool of himself
- Richard Saunders from Australian Skeptics Inc is a professional skeptic. In other words, he makes money by not believing in things and rationalizing away people’s experiences.
- OF COURSE WE NEED LOSER SKEPTICS TO DISUADE US INTO LISTENING… People like this should never be interviewed..
- At this point, it’s “skeptics” who sound like the tin-foil hatters.
- don’t you just hate sceptics ….
- I cannot stand these arrogant idiots.
- That skeptic dude is a dumb ass haha
- Was that Richard? I cannot think of anything worse than these poor people having their stories co-opted by the Skeptic Society. I hope he is alive long enough to see disclosure.
- There is something strange about Richard Saunders accent
- Could u not find a less imbecile skeptic
- Richard Saunders is just scared.
- If I was invited to dinner with ol mate from the Skeptics Society, I’d just jump of a bridge instead
- With regards to the skeptic , he would struggle to make a distinction between a vagina and a penis in front of his face.
- I’m glad they added the weather balloon ape after the actual witness descriptions…
It’s disconcerting and reminds us of the hate in what I am sure is only a very small percentage of the Alien Space Ship believer crowd and some trolls. At least this has given me something to add to my public talks. Being called an ‘ape’ is new!
Many people were compelled to write and blast me owing to the weather balloon possibility, ie. “weather balloon ape“. One said;
“…as stated in this video, there is no evidence that supports a “weather balloon” hypothesis. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction from where the so-called weather balloon was launched…”
Why was this person so sure? After my comments about the weather balloon and ‘Occam’s Razor’ at the 20m:08s mark of the program, UFO researcher Shane Ryan appears, dramatically looks over The Age newspaper from the day of the event and says,
“When I looked into the weather data for that day it actually didn’t stack up at all. The winds, as predicted and as reported, actually blew in the opposite direction.”
The opposite direction? Something irked me about that. The opposite direction from Laverton BOM to Westall would have had a balloon traveling west, not east. So I checked. The prevailing winds as predicted on the day and as reported the next day in The Age newspaper DID blow in the right direction, predominantly from the west towards the east, for a balloon to be carried from Laverton BOM at 8:30am to reach Westall by 11am or thereabouts. Wind forecasts in newspapers and general media are for surface level, not for higher altitudes which can and do differ. The winds were forecast to be “strong and gusty” which, together with the balloon going to higher altitudes and encountering differing wind speed and directions, could account for it being pushed south-east and ending up at Westall and moving in an erratic manner.
Forecast from The Age: April 6 1966
PORT PHILLIP BAY. – Fresh to strong and gusty W. to S.-W winds.
CITY. – Cold with strong and gusty W. to S.-W. winds and showery periods.
Shane Ryan saying that the winds were blowing in the “opposite direction” gave viewers the impression that the balloon would have been travelling west from Laverton BOM. The story was reported the next day in The Age as “Object perhaps balloon” complete with the wind direction, that being westerly, ie. from the west to the east.
The irony of me being called by more than one commentator a “disinformation agent” is quite striking.
I stated on Australian Story that the weather balloon is a very likely candidate, not that it was the answer. While it still leaves important questions unanswered and might only explain a part of the events of that day and might be eliminated in the future, it cannot be written off yet as the Alien Space Ship believers want or need it to be.
Researcher Charlie Wiser favours a ‘Hilbal’ balloon and his findings make for interesting reading on many aspects of the case including the inconsistent and changing accounts over the years. He also interviewed witnesses who did think what they saw on that day was a weather balloon, such as this account: “The flying saucer at Westall was nothing but a deflated weather balloon. Even as a little 9 year old I could tell the difference… Sorry to burst your balloon but this is the way it was.”
I also note that in every single UFO case ever, when the truth of the sighting has been discovered, the answer has never been an Alien Space Ship.
My final plea is if there are any official files under wraps about the weather balloon, Hibal, aerial training with a target drogue, a military aerial vessel or an Alien Space Ship, then after 60 years it’s time the details were revealed if only for the sake of the children of that day.
Ref:
- Schoolyard witnesses in mass UFO sighting demand answers | Australian Story – YouTube
- Researcher Charlie Wiser https://threedollarkit.weebly.com/westall.html
