theozfiles

"UFO HISTORY KEYS" deluxe first edition hardcover available

2011-11-07T02:06:00.000-08:00

I am making available on a print on demand basis a limited first edition deluxe hard cover book "UFO History Keys - Examining the UFO controversy from a historical perspective." It is also available in a transparent softcover format. 253 pages, over 220 pictures (many in colour).

For further details (including postage cost) please direct you enquiries via my email bill_c@bigpond.com or via P.O. Box 42, West Pennant Hills, NSW, 2125, AUSTRALIA.

Current costs of printing, collation and binding costs of the deluxe FIRST EDITION hardcover are $100 (Aust) and softcover $50 (Aust) - postage not included.

Image credit: Design and produced by ChrisChalker - "The OZ Files","Hair of the Alien", the cover of "UFO History Keys" deluxhard cover edition, the book "UFO History Keys" open at pages 102-103revealing my personal top 10 in illustrated form, Bill Chalker in hisoffice/library (Copyright Chris & Bill Chalker)

From the book:

History and science need to be our enduring touchstones and guides through the extraordinary complexities and mysteries that define the UFO and alien abduction phenomenon. History gives us the benefit of experience and the ability to identify patterns in the phenomenon. Science gives us a range of tools that, if applied properly and with sufficient focused resources and commitment, will establish compelling pathways towards establishing the true nature of the alien reality. This is an anthology of some of my UFO history related writings – articles over the years - and more recently my UFO History Keys column (2006-2011) which appear in the Australian UFOLOGIST magazine.

At the beginning of this anthology I have brought together 3 articles that draw together the critical history and science touchstones. They focus on what I see as a very significant breakthrough focus, namely what I refer to as the alien DNA paradigm – an important and complex research programme. The first of these articles “An Alien DNA Paradigm?” originally appeared in a special UFO issue of NEW DAWN magazine (Special Issue 17, Spring 2011). The other two appeared as part of my UFO History Keys column series (“Aliens on Earth – the Alien DNA paradigm” (2010) and “Intelligent Intervention?” (2007)). The historical and current connections becoming evident during the research of this extraordinary hypothesis are a powerful confirmation of the utility of using history and science in trying to understand the UFO and alien reality.

The final item in the column collection - "UFO History Keys Shining - The Extraordinary 1968 Minot B52 UFO Encounter - a remarkable example of a latent and almost lost scientific opportunity" - describes a remarkable example of the power of history and foundational science coming together to provide potential breakthrough evidence.

The contents:

UFO HISTORY KEYS

Examining the UFO controversy

from a historical perspective

by Bill Chalker

Biographical background

The Alien DNA Paradigm:

An Alien DNA Paradigm?

Aliens on Earth – the Alien DNA Paradigm

INTELLIGENT INTERVENTION?

Australian UFO History Wars

– lessons and approaches to the Australian UFO controversy

I TOLD YOU SO … AUSTRALIAN UFO HISTORY WARS UPDATE

AND REMEMBER I TOLD YOU SO …

UFO HISTORY KEYS

Examining the UFO controversy from a historical perspective

THE 1927 PROPHECY

The INVADED - “STAR BEGOTTEN” (1937) and “The GERM GROWERS” (1892)

“CONDIGN”, CONDON, METEORS & PLASMA BLUES

1947

ACROSS THE POND

DISCLOSURE & DESTRUCTION OF OFFICIAL AUSTRALIAN UFO FILES

The Australian Department of Defence "lost" UFO files - where are they?

By the UFO book … the Australian experience.

The UFOIC Thread

ROSWELL – “the good, the bad & the ugly” of ufology

The INTERRUPTED JOURNEY of Betty and Barney Hill REVISITED

FLYING SAUCERERS – A Social History of Ufology”

STRANGE COMPANY - Arrival: World War II not 1947

ARRIVAL DOWN UNDER

The Joint Intelligence Organisation (JI0) and UFOs – a matter of history

… a followup on “The Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO) and UFOs – a matter of history” in the Ufologist, November – December, 2007.

The passing of 1959 Boianai PNG witness Rev William Gill

THE BOIANAI VISITANTS OF 1959

The “Best” UFO cases from the Australian region – a personal perspective

The Visitors – The Australian Response to Aliens and UFOs

Across the pond – the New Zealand UFO experience

The Moreland Revelations

Remembering a turbulent time of change

The general sum of knowledge – UFO Encyclopedias

The Saucerers of OZ, on the road to Etheria:

In search of our origins - Early Australian UFO History in different keys

The Alien Dance continues – the Astronaut and the UFO

An Alien Who’s Who.

The Valentich UFO mystery - after 30 years still unanswered

Vanished – a 30 year old mystery revisited

The dancing sun – the Fatima visions redefined

When politicised & militarised Science tried to bury the UFO subject

– the Condon report exposed (1969 – 2009)

The 1954 UFO Desert Dance of the photographic veils.

a special tribute article to Albert Pennisi (1919 – 2009)

Albert’s “dream” machine – UFO reality at Tully

Forbidden Science and the “Invisible College”

– the journals of Jacques Vallee

Passings – Richard Hall and John Keel

RICHARD HALL (1930 – 2009):

a giant in UFO history and an advocate for serious scientific research into UFOs.

JOHN KEEL (1930 – 2009):

the great demoniser of ufology.

ART, LIFE and UFOs

Histories, enigmas, reflections and fancies

Reviews of Richard Dolan’s “UFOs & the National Security State. Volume Two: The Cover-up exposed 1973 – 1991”, David Clarke’s “The UFO Files – the inside story of real-life sightings”, Vladimir Rubtsov’s “The Tunguska Mystery” and “The Secrets of Dellschau” by Dennis Crenshaw in collaboration with P.G. Navarro.

The Chipping Norton Incident – a journey through the UFO theatre

The WESTALL UFO "Black Swan"

WESTALL 1966 Revisited

ON THE UFO TRAIL WITH DAVID BUCHING

UFOs – a turning point?

UFOs, history, myth and the sacred:

“Wonders in the Sky – Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to Modern Times” by Jacques Vallee and Chris Aubeck

“The Myth and Mystery of UFOs” by Thomas Bullard

“Authors of the Impossible – the Paranormal and the Sacred” by Jeffrey Kripal

The Fourth Level and the Fourth Kind

Here be Martians – the Roswell Connection

Belief, Polygraphs and alien abductions

– the SBS “My Mum Talks to Aliens” documentary examined.

UFO History Keys Shining – The Extraordinary 1968 Minot B52 UFO Encounter – a remarkable example of a latent and almost lost scientific opportunity

FOCUSING ON THE PRESERVATION OF AUSTRALIAN UFO HISTORY

AUSTRALIA'S UFO HISTORY - a review

AUSTRALIAN UFOLOGY OVERVIEW

Pine Gap - a reality check

2011-10-20T04:59:00.000-07:00

Do a search on Pine Gap and all manner of unusual and often unverifiable wild claims are made about this restricted joint US and Australian base in central Australia. It has been a lightning rod for many conspiracy stories and some of the more unusual and bizarre seem to have a UFO or alien connection - underground UFO base, the new Area 51 etc. I have generally found most such stories rather dubious and few, if any, are based on verifiable information. I've attempted to track down some of these exotic stories, but such efforts have not been rewarded with any credible information. Some interesting UFO reports have been made around the general area of Pine Gap, but none, to my knowledge, give credible sustenance to the wilder claims about the base.

The recent publication of former NSA ELINT(electronic intelligence) analyst David Rosenberg's memoir "Inside Pine Gap - the Spy who came in from the Desert" (Hardie Grant books, Melbourne, 2011) is a welcome reality check. In a foreword by Professor Desmond Ball, author of many excellent intelligence related books, such as "A Suitable Piece of Real Estate: American Installations in Australia" (1980) and "Pine Gap" (1988), attention is drawn to the fact that "Pine Gap is one of the largest, most important and most secret US intelligence collection stations in the world." It was the various "cover stories" about the purpose of Pine Gap that lent some sustenance to the wilder conspiracy stories - originally described as a "defence space research facility", "an experimental project ... concerned with upper atmosphere and space phenomena" (1968), (plenty of fodder within that suggestive description) - until Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1988 acknowledged that "Pine Gap is a satellite ground station whose function is to collect intelligence data which supports the national security of both Australia and the US."

Because of his security oaths David Rosenberg's book is not a technical account of Pine Gap's functioning. He defers to Des Ball's 1988 book for that sort of take. Indeed the book "The Ties that Bind - Intelligence cooperation between the UKUSKA countries: United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand" (1985) gives the larger context.

David Rosenberg gives a more personal account, even highlighting how he found love in Australia and his transition to an Australian citizen. His book is still quite revealing in describing Pine Gap's "general intelligence-gathering functions" and its "support of military operations." Despite the redactions evident in the book (quite a few blacked out sections) the book gives some intriguing accounts of the applications and operations of Pine Gap's intelligence gathering and applications.

UFOs and aliens are lightly touched upon but only in the context of the original base "descriptions" fanning rumours of a UFO connection. David Rosenberg highlights a 1967 story. He states, "Despite the countless stories involving UFOs and Pine Gap offered up by the internet, the aliens must have kept a very low profile during my eighteen-year tenure in Operations, as I ... never saw any evidence of aliens at or around Pine Gap."

I interviewed David on August 13, 2011 and addressed the "UFO rumours" in detail, even highlighting an account that allegedly occurred during his tenure.

In September 1998 at a Sydney UFO conference John Auchettl of PRA gave a presentation of an alleged “Pine Gap UFO Intrusion” that had ostensibly occurred during October 1997. Auchettl presented material that suggested the base had over flights of UFOs and that just outside the perimeter of the boundary of the base aboriginal witnesses had a striking UFO encounter which had left behind physical traces. Auchettl’s presentation seemed to indicate he had been given unprecedented access to Pine Gap, had been taken onto the base and had been given access to documentation and a CD-ROM that contained imaging from Pine Gap perimeter security cameras that were apparently related to the UFO physical trace event that had apparently occurred just north of the base.

I was in the audience for Auchettl’s presentation. My own extensive research and experience with UFO and physical trace cases made me think that the physical trace event he was presenting was similar (if not identical) to a striking lightning/ball lightning event and the ground traces appeared to be very much like expected lightning ground strike evidence, particularly the phenomenon of fulgurites. Additionally Auchettl’s “analysis” of the alleged Pine Gap perimeter camera imaging seemed to me to more about making far too much of what may have been prosaic, low weight stimuli, punctuated by his unsubstantiated and somewhat bizarre suggestions that it was evidence of “black holes”, “plasma states” and “dimensional shifts!”

I took the opportunity to privately question John Auchettl at the conference. As I was a physical chemist I naturally enquired about the density (specific gravity) and other characteristics of the material recovered from the site. I was surprised that PRA had not been able to get any data on the material between gathering the samples back in October 1997 and Auchettl’s conference presentation in September 1998. I indicated I could give him a reasonably reliable result in 5 minutes! In the wake of the conference it proved difficult to get any further information from Auchettl but eventually he advised that the globule densities were averaging at 2.836, which was quite heavy, but typical of glass specific gravity. The material was apparently confirmed as fused silicate. This was what I was anticipating as I had felt from Auchettl’s conference presentation and his comments to me that the ground impact event may have been a spectacular lightning ground strike event.

I suspected that the Pine Gap people and DSTO (allegedly also involved in investigating the event) had been intrigued by the incident and that it had been perhaps spuriously linked to the “UFO” “tracks” over the base, some of which had been caught on the Pine Gap perimeter cameras. But context should always be considered. Pine Gap had long been a base that was both a target and originator of controversy and intrigue. It had developed an apocryphal legendary status and was uncritically cast as Australia’s Area 51, a secret UFO base, and a whole lot of other conspiracy driven identities. The Alice Springs location and the Pine Gap area to the west had been the site of various UFO sightings, but often these were of the low weight nocturnal light variety and many seemed generated by the garbage bag/hot air balloon variations. Apparently local police had even detained the occupants of a vehicle in the act of launching such devices, only to release them when they determined they were American base employees. The film imagery capture in October 1997 seemed rather poor and ambiguous in quality and it seemed on the limited airing it got at the UFO conference to be rather dubious. It would be helpful to be able to analyse the PRA data but unfortunately like on other occasions with PRA investigations, such as their investigations of the Kelly Cahill case they were not being forthcoming and their material seem to end up in some sort of odd “bower bird” PRA bunker of silence and scant open cooperation. On the limited and confusing evidence available it seemed possible that some Pine Gap personnel, DSTO and PRA got swept up in a self perpetuating loop of misinterpretation and delusion. Some openness and clarity from PRA would help resolve whether the events at Pine Gap during 1997 were about really about real and compelling UFO events or more about nature unbound, hoaxing and the will to believe.

David Rosenberg was not aware of the 1997 incident. He did volunteer to me that before he left the US for his Pine Gap tenure, his best friend said to him that he didn't care what his job was, all he wanted to know was the real story about UFOs. David said there was nothing, despite a interest in such matters, that he learnt during his Pine Gap tenure that would answer his friends question.

I did ask specifically about a cryptic redacted reference on page 89 of his book to an odd "electromagnetic" transmission, as to whether it was a "fastwalker" or "slowwalker" as the number of redacted letters fitted. He indicated he was not familiar with the term, to which I responded with an explanation. While he would not give a clarication, he did indicate that he was referring to a man made transmission/signature, not a UFO or alien one.

While the conspiracy driven will probably not accept that David Rosenberg is giving an honest and personal accounting of his time at Pine Gap, I found him to be very forthcoming, within the limits of his security restrictions. In this book you will find a fascinating and engaging story, that also gives an insightful look at the difficulties a person like David Rosenberg has to go through to give us his story of his time at Pine Gap and his engagement with Australia. The book had to run the gauntlet of the security agencies pre-publication review board. I was bemused to see evidence of Catch 22 mentalities when public sourced material is redacted via this process!

David Rosenberg's "Inside Pine Gap" is an engaging and insightful book. I recommend it.

(Photo credit: David Rosenberg with Bill Chalker during August, 2011 (Bill Chalker); 1967 newsclipping: image taken by Bill Chalker during October lecture presentation by David Rosenberg to the Sydney group UFO Research (NSW))

The June 26 1967 date of the Centralian Advocate item suggests that the "expert" in question may have been Dr. James McDonald. He was in Sydney on June 26, 1967 during his visit to gather Australian UFO data. He is pictured here on that day in the radio 2GB studios with legendary radio man John Pearce.

I told David Rosenberg that one of my primary sources on government UFO matters here in OZ has been Harry Turner, a nuclear physicist, and head of the nuclear section in the JIB/JIO during the late 1960s and early 1970s. His boss Bob Mathams, head of SIG in the JIB, tilled the soil with Bud Wheelon, Carl Duckett & Leslie Dirks of DS&T of the CIA back in 1966, marking the beginnings of what would become Pine Gap. They cracked opened some red wine to celebrate the occassion. I corresponded with Bob Mathams back in the 1980s. He along with ASIO & DAFI helped me locate Harry Turner.

The Moreland Revelations

2011-09-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Other priorities prevented me from examining the New Zealand government UFO files at the time of their recent release. So I had a cursory look and saw the various reviews. It was however Dr. Michael Swords' excellent blog "The Big Study" post from September 14, 2011 "More Than Meets the eye with Moreland??" that drew me back to the New Zealand files with an enhanced level of fascination.

The files revealed that there was indeed much more to the classic Eileen Moreland CE3 incident. All previous material on the case had revealed this New Zealand case from 13 July 1959 as a striking low level UFO encounter in which the witness Eileen Moreland had observed 2 entities inside, seemingly "encased in silvery suits.... (with) headgear ... like divers helmets which glittered very brightly. They appeared to be normal sized people." One of the figures appeared to stand up and lean forward on its hands , possibly examining something between it and the other figure. The entity then returned to its original position, the object tilted slightly and started to rise, disappearing at high speed into cloud clover. The early morning encounter was apparently short lived but may have had some enduring effects.

Fred and Phyllis Dickeson reported the case in their NZ Scientific Space Research Group Journal soon after it occurred. It was a case that would split the tight pro-Adamski group alliances that were a dominant force at the time. The case and sketches based on material from Mrs. Moreland, confirming the limited entity features, were reproduced in the special 100th issue of SATCU XENOLOG magazine in 1975. The Dickesons' son Bryan revisited the case in the Australasian Ufologist magazine in 1999, but again the details were basically the same as reported in 1959 and 1975. I described the case in my 1996 book "The OZ Files" as I saw it as a striking case, happening so soon after the famous Father Gill Boianai Papua New Guinea events.

With the December 2010 New Zealand government UFO file release there were file holdings on the Moreland case, along with quite a number of pages blank with the typed explanation: "This document has been withheld from release to the public to preserve personal privacy in accordance with the official information act section 9 (2) a." The attached vetting statement for File number 244/10/1 Vol. No.1 elaborated, "While downgraded place caveat on Privacy/Medical grounds - informant was given assurance of confidentiality. Informant was 42 in 1959 so born 1917. Apply 70 years from last sensitive document = 1979. Public release 2040."

The main body of the Moreland papers, with the censored folios, still revealed fascinating further detail, and tantalising allusions to sensitive details. In fact as the 1959 investigation progressed the CONFIDENTIAL classification had been changed to TOP SECRET. A close reading of the folios and material showed the case was drawing renewed media and researcher attention in 1979 which highlighted fascinating dimensions to the case.

Mrs. Moreland's case file included her initial statements and drawings given to the local Blenheim police. There is 2 page statement she gave to Commanding Officer Group Captain A.P. Gainsford of Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Station Woodbourne. He appointed Flt. Lt. C.M. Jennings (Tech(E)) to receive all information and conduct further investigations as required. Flt. Lt. Jennings "had no previous interest in matters of this nature and commenced his task with an opened mind," according to Gp Cpt. Gainsford. Based on officer Jennings' investigation and "of the matters revealed (apparently only known to Mrs. Moreland and officers Gainsford and Jennings) the classification of the material" was raised "as a pecautionary measure." Because of the symptoms reported Mrs. Moreland agreed to confidential medical testing at the military station. It was also determined that radiation testing would be undertaken. Commanding officer Gainsford added in his 20th August 1959 communication to the Air Department in Wellington, "Flt. Lt. Jennings has spent considerable private time on this matter, is convinced that Mrs. Moreland is genuine, and is an extremely worried person. He is prepared to turn out at any hour of the day or night to personally investigate further incidents."

Officer Jennings undertook a detailed interview with Mrs. Moreland on 23 July 1959 preparing a 5 page hand written report. Therein annotated to his conclusion that, "Mrs. Moreland gave every evidence of being completely sincere ..." Jennings apparently later added "Can I get more out of her??" Well, later evidence detailed from 1979 internal RNZAF commentaries certainly revealed that he did indeed get "more" out of her, and it was this material that changed matters for the military, raising the investigation to TOP SECRET, but the actual documents involved were censored from the 2010/11 file release. What remained in the immediate 1959 folios were tantalising. Folio 15A shows a human type figure in a bulky suit with the large helmet described in the earlier material, but now with some suggestions of facial detail, and various items shown (see the TOP SECRET sketch). Officer Jennings various "NOTE FOR FILE" folios that are uncensored refer to the medical for Mrs. Moreland was for the purposes of checking "for exposure to radiation." Further they mention than on Thursday 13th August Mrs. Moreland had again detected the "smell of burnt pepper" that had been noted during the 13th July encounter. Officer Jennings was planning to visit the area the following Thursday "at about 0330 - 0400 hours and remain until daylight. I shall take a geiger counter with me."

There were other sightings in the wake of the original encounter, but only one reference was noted in the 1959 folios to a possible corroborating event on the same early hours of 13th July. A Mr. Haldaway (sic?) about 3 miles east of the Moreland property at about 0430 to 0500 hours reported being awake and seeing "a bright light shining through the window .... (which) appeared to be of a whitish orange colour." The light reached "a high intensity and then gradually faded away without any accompanying sound." The witness thought it might have been car lights but the absence of sound appeared to have negated that thought. This observation was reported by Flt. Lt. Young of RNZAF Station Woodbourne to Sgt. H. Fulton of RNZAF Station Whenuapai, as well as a comment that "the grass field" in the Moreland incident "has not become discoloured and has not been ploughed since the event nor has Mrs. Moreland been unwell since the incident." Sgt. Fulton was director of a civilian UFO group, C.S.I.

We have to move on to 1979 folios in the NZ government UFO files to get some of the other more tantalising details. A civilian researcher Colin Emery had pressed Mrs. Moreland and the Ministry of Defence for the release of files on the Moreland case, citing a coverup, and claiming "the government has had confirmation of the sighting from the Air Force and (was calling) for the findings to be made public." The official files do not reveal what Amery's "confirmation" consisted of, but this aspect is alluded to in Peter Hassall's 1998 book "The NZ files - UFOs in New Zealand" “(Amery) received information from two sources who refused to be identified. They both worked at Blenheim’s Woodbourne airbase in the 1950s and had been sworn to secrecy. One claimed that the wife of a squadron leader heard a jet engine-type noise between 5.30 and 6.00 a.m on 13 July 1959. Checks later showed no aircraft had taken off that early. Had she heard the UFO Mrs. Moreland saw as it departed? The other retired airman said he saw a blue light that descended from the sky about 5.00 a.m. the same morning. He reported it to his superiors after the furore broke over Mrs. Moreland’s report. Twenty years later they were still too scared to speak openly due to the possible legal penalties.” Mrs. Moreland’s encounter took place between 0530 – 0545 on Monday 13^th July 1959.

The 1979 Defence file note referring to the Amery enquiry (and one by Radio NZ) had a handwritten internal note: “Mrs. Moreland was the lady who sighted the U.F.O. in 1959. Airforce person also reported the sighting.” Is this last note confirmation of the Amery claims? The Defence UFO file folios do not confirm that, but the internal deliberations about whether to respond to the mounting public enquiries about the case in 1979 reveal some of the censored 1959 details! In a memo dated 1 March 1979 by Air Marshal R.B. Bolt, Chief of Defence Staff wrote to the Minister of Defence revealing the following fascinating detail:

“3. (Mrs. Moreland’s) initial story was to the effect that she had only seen a craft descend, hover and then ascend. She subsequently told the investigating officer (presumably officer Jennings – B.C.) about the landing of the man, who she described as “like any other man” as far as she could tell, though his left hand was “missing below the wrist”.

“4. Mrs. Moreland claimed to have smelt the peppery smell on several subsequent occasions and to have seen the light again in March 1960…. A rash of small “blisters” which appeared on her some days after her encounter on 13 July was examined by an Air Force doctor in order to determine whether it might be radiation-induced; the doctor, however, concluded that it was probably allergic in origin.

“5. The evidence suggests that Mrs. Moreland was in an emotionally unstable condition at the time. She was also the subject of considerable publicity much of which was of a derogatory nature, due in part to a press statement which she issued herself.”

Air Marshal Bolt had prepared some further briefing material for the Minister of Defence which summarised the fuller and previously suppressed information about the Moreland encounter:

“On 13 July 1959 a woman living near Blenheim reported that between 5-6 a.m. that morning she had seen an oval-shaped object, measuring 20 yards across and 4 or 5 feet through, descend before her. She was caught in a green light produced by two beams shining from beneath the vehicle and was unable to move. The vehicle was manned by two men, wearing silvery suits and helmets, one of whom descended from it and came over to her. He shouted at her in a foreign language. In a fright she hit out with her torch and ran for nearby trees. The man reboarded the vehicle, which was hovering some 10 -12 feet from the ground. It then ascended straight up into the sky emitting a high-pitched whistle and leaving a patch of hot air and a smell like that of burnt pepper. Another witness later reported seeing an unidentified light at about the same time.”

Air Marshal Bolt in his ministerial briefing wrote the following “suggested statement” intended for public release:

“On 13 July 1959 a woman living near Blenheim reported that she had seen a flying object which behaved in an unusual way.

“A full investigation of the matter was made by an Air Force officer with technical experience (presumably Jennings – B.C.). The RNZAF’s interest can partly be attributed to the fact that the woman was married to an airman stationed at RNZAF Woodbourne. The material was later evaluated by Air Force authorities in Wellington. They concluded that there was no objective evidence to substantiate the sighting or reason to continue their investigations.”

A minute sheet dated 6/3/79 on the “Moreland sighting” from “RO(H) to D.B.G. McLean, the Secretary of Defence, added, “The security classification of the matter was raised from confidential to secret following (officer Jennings') main interview with her in which she claimed that a man had landed and shouted at her in a foreign language. (The investigating officer (Jennings – B.C.) thought the words she heard might have been Russian!!)."

Disclosure of the material at that stage in 1979 rested on whether Mrs. Moreland would agree to the details being released. Secretary McLean contacted her and she wrote back, indicating she had remarried, and confirmed she did not want her privacy being affected again. She added, “I do not feel that the public should be told everything that is secret, just because someone feels that they should. A lot of harm has been done in the past, throughout the world for just that feeling. If you have knowledge of the full events of that awful morning, you will realise, that to suggest that the U.F.O. people are friendly is a laugh, as I know full well, and there is also the matter of the language. The media would have a ball that’s for sure.” Mrs. Moreland added, after reiterating she did not want the material released “for as long as I feel that it should not be,” “Perhaps in another 20 years it will all be “old hat” and no one will ever remember me or it.”

Well it seems the files remember her and some of the hidden details despite the censorship. Is it likely that the censored files contain further information that may explain more clearly what happened that “awful morning?” Lets hope we don’t have until 2040 to find out! The material so far released suggests there may still be more to learn of the events on the Moreland farm near Blenheim in the south Island of New Zealand back in 1959. Did it involve a close encounter that had a more direct impact on the RNZAF than we directly know to date? Or was it about the fears and concerns of the time. After all, the Cold War was being played out. The Petrov Affair in nearby Australia in 1954 had led to the Russian Embassy being closed and relations severed. This situation thawed in 1959 when relations resumed. Was the Blenheim encounter in 1959 seriously considered as the “Russians are coming!” Mighty strange those “Ruskies” caught up in the web of the Moreland revelations.

Lets hope the New Zealand MOD respond to rational enquiries and release the full details of the Moreland files. Times have changed and the fears of 1959 and even 1979 have ebbed away. Time enough for a fuller disclosure. If Mrs. Moreland is still with us, the sentiments expressed by her in 1979, steep in the concerns of ridicule and confidentiality, may not be as concerning as they were back then. Also I wonder who was the Air Force person who reported the sighting? Is it something that the earnest and worried Flt. Lt. C.M. Jennings could enlighten us on in his investigations and nocturnal return visits to the Moreland farm?

A very curious affair.

When I read the curious detail that described the entity Mrs. Moreland encountered as having no left hand, I immediatedly thought of the strange entity reported in the bizarre Carl Higdon abduction which occurred in Wyoming during 1974. A detailed account of this weird affair was provided by Dr. Leo Sprinkle in "UFOs and the Behavioural Scientist" (1979) edited by Dr. Richard Haines.

Curiouser and Curiouser ....

Belief, Polygraphs and alien abductions – the SBS “My Mum Talks to Aliens” documentary examined

2011-08-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

In my regular UFOlogist magazine "UFO History Keys" column I have written a piece examining the SBS documentary "My Mum Talks to Aliens." I urge you to read the full column in the September - October 2011 issue.

Here are some brief extracts:

On November 30 2010 the documentary “My Mum talks to Aliens” was aired on the SBS TV network. It has been repeated a number of times since then. While the lurid title may have seemed off putting, the content was interesting and made a contribution to the debate about UFOs and alien abductions.

The primary and most engaging aspect of the documentary was the relationship between alien abduction counselor Mary Rodwell and her son Chris, a veterinarian. A kind of road trip through the alien landscape was played out, with Chris looking for credible scientific evidence that his mother’s obsession with matters alien are not an indication she has lost her marbles. Mary sets about showing him a range of things that might persuade him that the UFO and alien abduction field is a serious area of enquiry and that she has a credible approach within it.

While some apparently intriguing areas were touched on by the documentary, each had their own “devil in the detail” aspects – issues and problems which were not addressed, in part due to the limitations of the format of the programme. It seemed to be up to Mary to present the case for each item and for Chris to see if it resonated well with his scientific sensibilities.

The credibility of each segment really depended on how engaged and well informed Mary and Chris were with them. This varied a lot through the programme.

Mary’s “ace card”, abductee Peter Khoury, was filmed in a very limited way focusing on an all too brief recounting of only part of the DNA evidence related to his 1992 experience and then filming an unguarded moment which Peter would have wished wasn’t used. It was pretty clear than both, Mary and Chris, were not well aware of the totality of the DNA evidence in Peter Khoury’s case, and if they were, they didn’t understand it or its implications. Despite Mary’s preoccupations with matters DNA related in her claims of “new humans” she seems to prefer poorly documented “evidence” rather than well presented and detailed evidence such as in the Khoury “Hair of the Alien” case. Neither, Peter or I, are aware of any occasion, other than the documentary, where she has highlighted the case in any significant way in her lectures or publications. Indeed I was advised it was the producers that led Mary into choosing Peter Khoury’s case as her belated “ace card”, as stronger and more compelling material was needed, than the material she had already presented.

It was a mellowed form of polygraph testing entrapment that overshadowed the very limited and skewed presentation of this case, and the polygraph testing was limited to his 1988 experience rather than the 1992 experience, in which evidence led to DNA testing. The programme had not engaged with this 1988 experience, so it was probably confusing for the viewer. The polygraph was used, almost without question, as a way of discriminating between fact and fiction. There was a brief narration comment that Mary had some issues about the use of lie detection, while in the background I had been waging a campaign against its use in general and more specifically in Peter Khoury’s case. It was a campaign I waged with the producers and Peter, and my arguments were based on science, not vague popular perceptions of the utility of polygraph testing. There was a huge debate that could be had here, but it was left unstated in the documentary, despite the history of the controversial use of polygraphs in both the wider community and its rather sorry history of use in the UFO controversy.

I will limit my further comments here to where the documentary addressed alien abductions. It did this by examining two different abductees, Greg Le Noel, the client of Mary’s ACERN practice, and Peter Khoury, who had not been a client of Mary, nor had she been involved in any of the research about his abduction experiences. In both cases Chris organised polygraph testing via Gavin Wilson, forensic polygraph examiner for Australian Polygraph Services. Greg failed his test, while Peter Khoury passed his. Mary Rodwell attempted to rationalise Greg’s failure as being due to his abduction “memories” being recovered via subconscious or trance recall, in other words, his abduction narrative came from the hypnotic regressions Mary carried out with Greg. Peter Khoury’s abduction “memories” are clearly anchored in conscious recollection.

So the documentary’s “smoking gun” was Peter Khoury’s successful lie detector test, which had focused on his conscious recollection of witnessing 5 aliens in 1988. Peter Khoury has always wanted to have a lie detector test, to help validate his claims of alien abductions. Of course Peter was pleased to have passed the polygraph test, but the documentary failed to reveal the background drama on this particular aspect of the programme. Nor did it engage with the deeper issue of the use of hypnosis in validating alien abduction stories. There is a rich and potent debate to be had there. But it was not going to happen in this context, perhaps in part because so much of Mary’s evidence has been gained through the extensive use of hypnosis.

Polygraph examiner Gavin Wilson, on camera, reported to Mary Rodwell, Chris Rodwell, and Peter Khoury (I was at the same table out of camera shot), “Peter passed the test.” Peter laconically responded, “Great, I’m happy.” Gavin added, “So far as I’m concerned, what he witnessed, there has to be some merit in that.”

An Alien DNA Paradigm? - a new article in NEW DAWN special issue

2011-08-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

I have had an article "An Alien DNA Paradigm?" published in the Spring (September) 2011 issue of NEW DAWN magazine.

I recommend you seek the magazine out either via hard copy or via an e-copy through the New Dawn web site www.newdawnmagazine.com

Some brief extracts from my article:

A remarkable clue supporting the enduring idea that UFOs and alien abduction claims might represent credible evidence for alien intervention into human affairs, at an extraordinary and deep level, may have been found in the UFO haunted southern Chinese province of Yunnan. As part of a developing hypothesis I call the alien DNA paradigm, a form of intelligent alien intervention may have occurred in us as humans on planet Earth. We are very primitively tinkering with modifying life forms through transgenics and the like, therefore the idea that someone out there might already have been doing it elsewhere, maybe even here, may not seem so far out.

Evidence for this may also be found in human DNA signatures, particularly among those indigenous cultures that have potent claims of "sky being" lore and land rich in long historical focuses of UFO activity. An extraordinary breakthrough alien abduction case from the other side of the world – right here in the middle of Sydney – had me to pursuing some very strange clues through Asia to Yunnan, China, leading to the hypothesis of the alien DNA paradigm through a long and complex 4 phase investigation.

Phase 1: STRANGE EVIDENCE - 1999
Phase 2: "HAIR of the ALIEN" - 2005

Phase 3: The Lahu connection (Thailand/China) - 2005/2006

Yang Zheng of the Kunming UFO Research Association indicated his “most dramatic case” occurred in November 2006 (the month after my visit to Yunnan) when thousands of villagers in Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County of Yunnan Province witnessed 7 white hemispherical shaped objects hovering directly above the property of a local CPC (Chinese Communist Party) cadre for nearly two hours. The objects appeared to keep changing shape. As it was a small village word soon spread and many villagers arrived to witness the sighting. They started pursuing the objects but the UFOs soon disappeared. I had been in the Lahu territory a few weeks earlier. This seemed a compelling confirmation of the potential breakthrough research focus.

The Lahu people, via the DNA clue from the Khoury hair sample, may be connected with the apparent “Nordic hybrid” being, both through their DNA and their locality, which we found to be rich in UFO and unusual light phenomena. These investigations dramatically consolidated valuable UFO data from China, particularly in the province of Yunnan.

Phase 4: the global alien DNA nexus

The preliminary focus on the Lahu addressed in Phase 3 suggested that the “alien DNA paradigm” hypothesis could be evaluated and tested in terms of a long term focus on groups of people like the Lahu in Thailand & China, the Kayapo and their Bep Kororoti tradition in Brazil, the Zulu connection (per Credo Mutwa) in Africa and other peoples whose traditions and localities seem steeped in alien lore. Should all of the highlighted factors, particularly possible unusual DNA markers, become well established, we will have compelling evidence for the possibility of “intelligent intervention” by possible aliens.

THE YUNNAN UFO CONNECTION

During 2009 and 2010 China experienced a large wave of UFO sightings many supported by photographs and videos, much of it in Yunnan province. Professor Zhang Yifang of the Yunnan University physics department and president of the Kunming UFO Research Association spoke out publicly on the reality of UFOs and aliens in China., convinced that “extraterrestrials exist”, adding, “I am convinced, because I am a physicist and an astronomer.” He reported that UFO sightings “are mostly in Yunnan, Xinjiang, and Heilongjiang. The history of UFOs in Kunming (the capital of Yunnan) is great. Sightings are commonplace.” Professor Zhang’s statements were reported widely in China. I met him in Kunming in Yunnan in 2006 and made a detailed presentation to university faculty members and Yunnan UFO researchers.

(Photo: Professor Zhang Yifang is pictured here in a tan coloured coat next to me, along with Yunnan University faculty members and Yunnan UFO researchers in 2006. Photo copyright: Bill Chalker)

MAINSTREAM SCIENCE DANCES WITH ALIENS

The Fermi Paradox looms large here. If aliens exist where are they! The simplest answer is they are already here, have been here, still are, and the ultimate answer awaits mainstream science’s serious open minded embrace with the UFO question rather than the litany of lost opportunities the sorry history of UFOs and science has revealed up till now. A potent and well funded serious science of ufology which focuses on UFOs, alien encounters and alien abduction accounts would be a powerful change to the unscientific approach that has been the way of mainstream science’s nervous dance with the subject up till now.

The DNA found in the strange hair sample implicated in the alien abduction experience of Peter Khoury had a striking array of DNA anomalies. Until the “Hair of the Alien” evidence came along the claims that alien abductions might involve hybrid beings was just unsubstantiated speculation. Now evidence had been revealed that may support such a bizarre scenario. Its not conclusive evidence, but it is enough of a potent breakthrough to argue that the research direction it inspired is a very worthwhile hypothesis to pursue. I have created a blog site that focuses on this fascinating area. I have put an introductory essay up on the site – “The Alien DNA Paradigm – an introduction” at http://aliendnaparadigm.blogspot.com

Budd Hopkins: June 15, 1931 - August 21, 2011: a fascinating life: "Art, Life and UFOs"

2011-08-22T03:57:00.000-07:00

It was sad to hear of Budd Hopkins' passing, but I would rather help celebrate his life and contributions.

I have posted here my review of Budd's memoir "Art, Life and UFOs" which was published in the September October 2009 issue of the Australian magazine "Ufologist."

I was particularly touched by Budd's reaction to my review:

Everything about your reaction to "Art, Life and UFOs" warmed my heart - especially when you said that you felt you had been sitting and listening to a conversation with me and "only occasionally realizing that it was by way of "a book in my hands." What more could an author want than to establish that kind of rapport with a reader? As an author yourself, you know what that means.

I was very interested to find out about your own art background, and the surprising area we have that in common in addition to that of our UFO research. You should keep at it. A little sketching each day can be very helpful, and can remind you of the pleasure of it all. Once, when my daughter's third or fourth grade class was brought by her teacher to visit my studio, I showed the children my work installed upstairs in my apartment. When we started down for the studio proper, the children descended the stairs two by two, properly holding hands,
and I slipped in back of a litttle girl and boy who did not know I was behind them. "I don't understand what he's doing," the boy complained to his partner. "I don't know what those things mean." "But don't you see?" she replied. "He wants to make something no one's ever seen before." I loved it. She got at least part of it right. Out of the mouth of babes...

So give it a shot, Bill. Even if you want to sketch something everyone's seen before, but give it your own personal twist. In a way, you can't help being personal because we each have our own emotional and artisic handwriting. We're born with individuality born right in us. And think of all the (inevitably frustrating) fun you'll have.

I responded:

Thanks for your encouragement of my "artistic" activities. I do use my
sketching etc to flesh out my reports & investigations and will continue
to do so. Beyond that, we will see. I'm not planning any exhibitions anytime
soon :-)
Click on the post "UFOIC 1969 Classic - the north coast NSW UFO
"nest" saga" at the following link and then click on my drawing of the woman
witnessing the UFO hovering above the sugar cane crop apparenty "levitating"
her in its beam: http://ufoicaustralia.blogspot.com/2007/01/ufoic-1969-classic-north-coast-nsw-ufo.html and in "UFO Flap Dejavu" illustrating my investigations of the 1973
Tyringham flap in which I witnessed a broad range of strange UFO activity: http://theozfiles.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html

Here is my review of "a great life journey":

ART, LIFE and UFOs
The Penrith Regional Gallery & the Lewers Bequest commissioned a unique and striking art exhibition which ran at the gallery just outside of Sydney from 8 December 2007 to 17 February 2008 – “The Visitors: The Australian Response to UFOs and Aliens.” For me it was a wonderful conjunction of two of my long time interests – art and UFOs. When the exhibition organisers originally contacted me to get me on board as a consultant and writer I asked what they had in mind, perhaps a single room display. No, it turned out the whole of the multi-roomed gallery was turned over to the exhibition. 15 established artists contributed a body of fascinating works ranging from paintings, sculptures, installations and other artistic media expressions. I contributed an essay “The OZ Files Unbound” and recommended reading list for the 64 page exhibition catalogue, extensive material, including case files for an evidence room and a walk through lecture covering the evidence and my take on the exhibition artworks. The exhibition was well received and highly successful.

I have always enjoyed art in its many forms. In fact in my high school years I was one of those oddities who were not well catered for in the Australian public education system of the 1960s – somebody who wanted to do both art and science. Even though I excelled in my school art journey, ultimately I had to make a choice by my 5th year and science won out. Never-the-less my love of art and my abilities in drawing were never really silenced. Some of my sketches illustrated Australia’s first UFO entity catalogue I co-authored with Keith Basterfield in 1976 and others have accompanied my various reports and case investigations over the years. My sketching skills became a very useful tool in my research. None of it would have made it into mainstream art and I occasionally wondered “what-if?” What if I had pursued the artistic vision more forcefully? Still, art does hold an alluring siren call over me and I enjoy and meditate on its wonderful expressions.

I also find it fascinating when art and the UFO subject intersect. Such intersections occur in occasionally unusual ways that are controversial and yet potently rich in potential meaning. On page 121 of my 2005 book “Hair of the Alien” I wrote, “For the woman, the most strikingly similar image to that of the beings (she encountered in an experience Whitley Strieber described as “the best description of the gray beings” among the thousands of letters that were sent to him in the wake of the success of his book “Communion”) is the Wandjina – the haunting Australian aboriginal rock paintings that reveal figures with large dark eyes and no mouth.” The Wandjina (or Wanjina) are beautifully evoked in such works as “Yorro Yorro – Everything Standing Up Alive” by David Mowaljarlai (who I had the pleasure of meeting before his passing in 1996) and Jutta Malnic, “Keeping the Wanjinas fresh” by Valda Blundell and Donny Woolagoodja, and most strikingly to a worldwide audience rising up from the floor of the Sydney Olympic stadium in 2000 during the opening ceremony. Such striking resonances are hauntingly fascinating in their possibilities.

One of the leading alien abduction researchers Budd Hopkins has lived a complex life in which art and UFOs have been profound and interlocking themes. Anomalist books have published Budd’s autobiography – “Art, Life and UFOs – A memoir.” I found it to be a great read which personally powerfully resonated with these two major conjunctions of my own life – art and UFOs. Budd Hopkins however unlike my humble connections had a rich and well recognised life in art with a reputation as a nationally known American Abstract Expressionist painter, with works displayed in the collections of prestigious institutions such as the Guggenheim, Whitney, Metropolitan Museums, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and New York’s Museum of Modern Art. I found Budd’s range of work to be striking and beautiful. While my favourite artists include the likes of Dali, Magritte, Leonardo Da Vinci, the French Impressionists, through to the Australian aboriginal art of old and its modern forms, I found it fascinating that among Budd’s favourites are the works of Caravaggio, whose life and work was captured in a book published by my own “The OZ Files” publisher Duffy and Snellgrove in 1998, namely “M” by Peter Robb, also author of “Midnight in Sicily.”

Budd Hopkin’s memoir is a rich evocation of the artist life and also of a rich and complex personal life that got swept up by the UFO sirens and taken down strange and controversial pathways, until he became regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on UFO abductions. I thoroughly enjoyed Budd’s memoir, not just for the UFO journey but also for its great candour, honesty and courage in describing his person life journey through his childhood in West Virginia, becoming a victim of the polio pandemic of the 1930s, his complex relationship with his father, his relationships with women, his adventures evading the attentions of the closeted gay scene, his embrace of the hectic and chaotic life in New York and summer life in Cape Cod. He doesn’t retreat from illnesses that have troubled him in more recent times and even takes us through a personal “soul map” in a rich and engaging way. Budd’s memoir and its engagements with the art world and the UFO world are rich in anecdotes about people and experiences. They tumble forth in an engaging way. The UFO side of this are more familiar to me, particularly his accounts about Carl Sagan, J. Allen Hynek, John Mack and Laurence Rockefeller, but his art world stories of Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, and many others are just as entertaining and informative.

As I have seen Budd as a friend and esteemed colleague in the UFO research trenches, and respected his UFO abduction work, despite not always agreeing with its totality and implications at times, I had mixed feelings when reading passages like, “To sum it up, life, with all its many levels and complications, continues to be very good to me, and at my advanced age I am filled with sorrow that so little of it is left.”

I first met Budd in person at the 1987 MUFON conference in Washington D.C. and he obligingly gave me a personally autographed copy of his newly published book “Intruders.” We met again in 1992, this time in Australia. I had not been able to make the Abduction Study Conference at MIT in Cambridge Massachusetts in June of that year as my father had passed away a few weeks earlier. Budd gave me his take on the conference and shared an evening with myself and some of my associates giving insights into his UFO abduction research, including his hypnosis techniques and the “Linda Cortile” case, which he would describe in detail 4 years later in his 1996 book “Witnessed: the True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions.” In his memoir Budd writes it was “by far the most complex of the four books I’ve written. And because I had to labor over it so intensely and was still pleased by the results, Witnessed remains my favourite book, the one closest to my heart.” It also remains one of his most controversial as it stirred up much debate, particularly given its alleged high profile political connections with what seemed an extraordinary multiple witnessed UFO alien abduction display in New York city.

I had been following Budd Hopkins’ UFO work since his investigative collaboration with Ted Bloecher on the striking Stonehenge Incidents in New Jersey just across the Hudson River from New York City in 1975. The reports on this affair began appearing in the UFO literature during 1976. In 1981 Budd’s first book “Missing Time – a documented study of UFO abductions” made its dramatic mark and researchers and the general public began to listen to a potent and intellectually astute voice speaking on an extraordinary dimension of the UFO controversy. “Intruders” joined Whitley Strieber’s book “Communion” as bestsellers during 1987. In his memoir Budd writes about the accuracy of the famous “grey” alien face artwork that was a striking worldwide profiling of the alien image on the cover of “Communion”, something I also addressed in my book “Hair of the Alien.”

I found Budd’s fourth UFO book “Sight Unseen – Science, UFO Invisibility and Transgenic Beings” both fascinating and controversial. He writes in his memoir, “though I regard it as a solid and important piece of work, it unfortunately recalls too many arguments (with his former partner and co-author Carol Rainey) and sad moments for me to relish the memories of its creation and birth.” This is unfortunate as it has many aspects and issues of interest and among all of Budd Hopkins’ work is his most interesting in terms of its focus on the scientific analogues, plausibility and potential that seem to emerge in UFO abduction cases – themes that I have also pursued in this controversial and confronting phenomenon. It is this aspect – the scientific focus and whether UFO abduction offer credible evidence of an alien reality intruding into our world that needs to be confronted. I am glad that Budd also made a contribution in this way, despite the book’s troubled gestation. The totality of Budd’s contribution to the UFO field, while controversial and debated, is rich indeed and has made a profound foundational impact.

What shines through most of all in Budd Hopkins’ striking memoir is a life well lived, despite complexity and the diversity in highs and lows, and strong and vibrant in potent contributions to both the fields of art and UFO study. I felt I had been sitting with Budd and listening to his engaging style of intellectual and entertaining conversation and only occasionally realising that it was by way of his book in my hands. I love reading books and particularly ones that take me on an engaging journey, so rich in life experiences and engagements with subjects I find fascinating and important, such as art and UFOs. Budd’s capacities of imparting new information, to educate and enlighten, also come through with his “need to make everything absolutely clear.” The mother of his “creative co-worker, and my fondest love” Leslie, summed it up, “I think Budd just likes to impart information.” Budd spins it as “a village explainer who explained things a bit too incessantly.” Well, the persistence is welcome in a field that needs explaining and diverse views rather than dogma of zealot, the debunker and the tunnelled eyed true believer. Budd Hopkins is none of those. He has helped shine a light in a highly controversial area of human experience. History will ultimately tell us if that light mirrors an alien reality or aspects of the alienated human condition. I suspect the former but it is a reality that still remains strikingly strange and elusive. It should not be ignored, ridiculed and reduced to entertainment fodder.

Thanks Budd for a great life journey and engaging memoir. Having met his fondest love, Leslie Kean, when she came to Australia with Budd in 2004, I think it is wonderful to also see this connection. Her great contributions to the UFO subject, particularly given that James Fox’s impressive engagement with the subject, has potently materialised as I write this, with the screening of his latest UFO documentary “I know what I saw” on the History Channel. It is rooted in the excellent work that Leslie and James did with the Washington DC press conference in 2007 that so strikingly highlighted the physical reality of UFOs. In part through combining threads of various lives these powerful statements about the UFO phenomenon are engaged in life affirming ways with the more controversial alien abduction phenomenon. Connections: Art, Life and UFOs.

Photos: (These photo were included with the published review that appeared in the Ufologist)
Budd in Australia in 2004 with Rex Gilroy (left) and Bill Chalker (centre) (Photo courtesy of Rex Gilroy)
"Art, Life and UFOs" cover (from Anomalist Books)
Bill letting the Visitors get on top of him? (My attempt at an "installation" work?) (Photo courtesy of Bill Chalker)
Leslie Kean with Bill Chalker in Australian in 2004 (photo courtesy of Peter Khoury)

It is heartening that Budd lived long enough to see the positive acclaim that Leslie's book received when it was published. A real turning point ....

Good journeying, Budd ... Thanks for your contributions and friendship.

King's "UFO vision" at the tragic end of the 1861 Burke and Wills expedition

2011-06-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

150 years ago the epic Burke and Wills expedition was ending in tragedy. Within days both Burke and Wills would be dead, victims of an expedition gone wrong and paying the ultimate price in the harsh conditions of the Australian outback at Coopers Creek.

However even while death was only days away,William John Wills recorded in his journal for Tuesday June 23:

"Near daybreak King reported seeing a moon in the east with a haze of light stretching up from it to be quite as large as the moon and not dim at the edges. I am so weak that any attempt to get a sight of it was out of the question; but I think it must have been Venus in the Zodiacal light that he saw, with a corona around her."

Maybe Wills was right. After all he was the surveyor and astronomical observer for the ill-fated expedition. Between 1858 and 1860 he had worked as an assistant at Melbourne's Flagstaff observatory.

In his 1976 Boyer lecture historian Manning Clark stated:

"The story of Burke and Wills could be told to illustrate many things about life. Like all great stories it had everything.... To feel the full force of that tragedy one has to stand on the banks of Cooper’s Creek at the spot where Wills died. Right to the very end Wills had believed, like Mr Micawber, that something might turn up.... The most difficult thing of all for a historian is to learn how to tell his story so that something is added to the facts, something about the mystery at the heart of things."

Well, something may indeed have turned up. Astronomy software reconstructing the early morning sky for the period in question suggests that Venus was below the sunrise horizon, and the moon was in the west. So if these tentative reconstructions are correct we have a mystery on our hands. I suspect it was something prosaic that the lone expedition survivor - John King - saw that morning, 150 years ago. Perhaps given the dire and tragic circumstances closing in on the 3 men, that precision in observations may have understandably started to lapse.

What did John King see - Venus, the moon, a UFO?

Wills original journal which carries King's "vision" is held in the National Library of Australia. The account is excerpted here. A mosaic of film and books (fact & fiction) is also included.

The Australian Department of Defence "lost" UFO files - where are they?

2011-06-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that "the Department of Defence has "lost" its X-Files." In response to the newspaper's FOI request after a 2 month search the department's FOI assistant director advised they could only find a very limited amount of files. The search included the Canberra National Archives of Australia (NAA)facility.

When Herald journalist Melissa Davey contacted me yesterday about the story I suggested that it could not have been a very thorough search, simply because a large part of the "missing files" are in fact located at the Canberra NAA facility. Indeed many of them are available to be "found" via anybody's computer internet search of the NAA site via digital copies. Some files are indeed missing but these seem to be due to shortsighted "house cleaning" activities by the DOD. The decision to destroy UFO (or UAS) files is completely out of step with equivalent organisations in other countries such as Britain and France. Fortunately many of the impressive cases that were in the destroyed files were preserved by researchers like myself. I copied many of these files during my research visits to the Russell Offices of the Department of Defence during the period 1982 and 1984.

Incidentally a computer search of the NAA records is best served by using the word "Flying saucers." Many of these file series can be read at your leisure via the digitised versions of the same files.

So the case of the "missing" Australian DOD "X-Files" has been solved. In fact the majority of the files were never "lost" just not found by the DOD FOI official who did not know the history of the DOD's relationship with the UFO "problem." Only a little research would have been needed to determine where the files actually were.

The bigger question is why the Department of Defence decided to destroy some of their UFO files, for what seems to be little more reason than house cleaning activities. Back in 1984 I directed a letter to the Director of Air Force Intelligence stating that the DOD UFO/UAS files should be preserved for posterity because of their value to UFO researchers, historians, and to many other disciplines. When the National Archives started storing many of these files, and ultimately digitising some of them I felt that preservation of the files was reasonably assured. Problem is you can't always count on efficient follow through. Incredibly myopic decisions were made within DOD around 2004 to destroy some of the UFO files still present in the DOD archives. The FOI decision maker at that time was Group Captain G. MacDonald, Director of Co-ordination - Air Force. More than 8 years of sighting files from 1974 to 1982 appear to have been destroyed. I hope that the process was not continued to any further extent. That is a matter that needs to be further examined. Fortunately a great deal of the DOD UFO files exist via their presence in the National Archives.

At least a substantial part of the Australian DOD UFO legacy has been preserved for future historical consideration.

Photo: Bill Chalker at the Russell Offices of the Australian Department of Defence in 1982.

Is this Australia’s earliest UFO photograph?

2011-04-17T09:27:00.001-07:00

I have been interested in historical UFO events in Australia ever since I began my interest in UFOs. The only pre-1947 UFO event supported by a photograph I had come across was a sighting I briefly described in my 1996 book “The OZ Files – the Australian UFO Story.” The account of it I have been able to find was the story in the U.F.O.I.C. Newsletter No. 21, December, 1968:

Sighting and UFO photo back from 1935 Only now, a report and a negative of a UFO photographed in 1935 have been received and investigated by UFOIC. As the case was, the person concerned wondered at the time what the object might have been but has only recently become aware of the extraordinary nature of his experience and the significance of the photograph which he took. That year, Mr. Patrick A.M. Terry of Mosman, Sydney, was stationed with the military at Newcastle and on the night of 10^th October he went fishing to Nobby’s Head. The sky was overcast and there was no moon. At about 10 p.m., while sitting on the rocks, he noticed a flash of light in the sky out over the sea. Then a steady light appeared. It was brighter than a full moon and was hovering about a mile away and possibly 10,000 feet high. It was yellow – bright on the lower part gradually diminishing through three dark bands into grey. The whole complex appeared actually as a tremendously large mush-room-shaped object, consisting of three floors, smaller supporting the larger one, and the light from the bottom floor illuminating all three upper sections. The object then suddenly descended to a height of about 5,000 feet and remained stationary for a few seconds. It then moved quickly back to its original position. At that time Mr. Terry’s curiosity and surprise were fully aroused and while he had a Kodak Brownie box camera with him, he took a snapshot at 1/25^th sec. exposure. After about 10 minutes of hovering, the object began revolving with increased speed and moved away, disappearing towards the north and out of sight in seconds. The photos later showed a definite circular object with details seen well at enlargement. (The photo will be published in the next Review).

The report refers at one point to “photos” but only one seems to have been taken. The next Review – the Australian UFO Review (UFOIC edition), No. 10 - did not appear until December, 1969. There was no account or photo of the 1935 incident in the issue. The magazine did report on the accidental death of UFOIC’s long time energetic president Dr. Miran Lindtner. Not reported was a story I had heard a few times from various sources that a UFOIC committee member had allegedly been bombarding Dr. Lindtner’s widow about retrieving some trivial items. The alleged insensitivity of the UFOIC member apparently led to the widow disposing of some UFOIC items in a backyard bonfire. If this story had any validity it may be a depressing explanation for the non-appearance of the 1935 photo in the UFOIC Review magazine. Another piece of UFOIC folklore also refers to its sighting officer being a bit of a “bower bird” when it came to unique and significant UFO related items. In other words one didn’t tend to leave items of this nature for his attention as they would disappear into his alleged “private collection.” When I joined the UFOIC group committee in 1975 I came across evidence of this man’s “bower bird” activities (lining his “private UFO nest” with “bright” (important) items as a bower bird does in nature). Unfortunately I was not then aware of the 1935 UFO photo story. When I did find out of it a number of years later I made attempts to locate the photographer and any evidence for it, unfortunately without success.

If anyone has any knowledge of the 1935 incident or Mr. Terry I would be pleased to hear of it.

There have been a number of other early Australian photos that show items that look like UFOs, but these do not have any related UFO story. For example the Australian magazine Ufologist reproduced one taken of Brisbane Hospital in the late 1800s, courtesy of Gordon Bagnall, in their Vol.9 No.4, 2005 issue. It shows a black disk shaped “object.” It is not clear if the people in photo are noticing anything unusual. The dark item may even be a photo defect or from some other prosaic source. The lack of any UFO related sighting narrative makes the photo interesting but not of any strong probative value.

My friend Paul Cropper, who shares my passion for searching out old records for unusual Fortean type material, recently drew my attention to another early “UFO” photo which has an accompanying contemporary narrative. Our decades’ long searching for this sort of material has been greatly assisted by the increasing digitisation of old newspaper archives available on-line. Paul’s discovery was of an interesting 1931 Queensland newspaper report of a “strange light” which also carried a photo. Now it could be of a meteoric sourced “trail” of light or the result of the luminous trail its passage left behind. The details supplied are not sufficient to have certainty with regard to an explanation, so we will give it a tentative label of “UFO.” I will note that 4 months earlier Francis Chichester had his curious airborne encounter off the Australian coast over the Tasman Sea – “the dull grey-white shape of an airship … like an oblong pearl,” as described in his 1933 book “Seaplane Solo” (also published as “Alone Over the Tasman Sea”).

From the Rockhampton newspaper the Morning Bulletin of Wednesday 21 October 1931, various independent observers reported a curious sky phenomenon in the Winton district. One described “a strange trail of light, seen in the western sky between 6.30 and 7 pm, on Saturday evening, October 17^th. When first seen, this trail of light was shaped like a capital “T” or a figure “7,” then it changed into a long wavy line like a great serpent. Much brighter and bigger at the lower end. It stayed in the sky about twenty minutes and then suddenly disappeared.” The correspondent sent two photos with time exposures of one minute, taken at 6.45 pm. Only one photo was carried in the paper (reproduced here).

Another observer, a stockman, reported the “dazzling affair. The sun was down a good time and the moon’s light not very bright. The time must have been a little past 7 o’clock. The affair resembled a thick snake, head downwards, all brilliantly white, while several clouds nearby were quite black. In fact, there was not another white cloud in the sky.”

The stockman further described, “It held its shape for quite a while. Then the tail changed and it started to pale, turning quite pink as it did so. The head stayed strong and pink to the last. I had no watch, but before it paled I had ridden a mile watching it all the time. I have an idea that it came on suddenly, as I shut a gate several minutes before and saw nothing. Superstitious people will be wondering what it fortells. I’m trying to believe our long delayed rain is close at hand.”

The paper’s Winton correspondent reported that many residents saw the phenomenon as dusk was approaching. The correspondent wrote, “It took the form, when first observed, of a pencil of white steam-like substance. It was located in the sky, south of Winton, at an altitude of about halfway between the horizon and the zenith, close to the pointers of the Southern Cross.”

“This mysterious white streak stood almost vertical and unravelled slowly downwards, at the same time growing thicker, until it was about the length (to the eye) of the distance of the Southern Cross pointers.

“After about ten minutes it began to bend as if blown by an air current, and gradually lengthened, the tail growing fainter and assuming the shape of a reversed mark of interrogation. The lower end was now in the shape of an arrow head and drifted lower and in a westerly direction, until, as darkness came on, it faded from view.”

The newspaper account ends with a possible source of the4 aerial phenomenon: “An enormous meteor or shooting star, which fell in a north-westerly direction, was observed in the Winton district. It reached the dimensions of a huge electric light, and had a brilliant red sword-like tail.”

If any readers have information on other pre-1947 events please advise me at bill_c@bigpond.com

Photo source: Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld) 21 October 1931, pg. 6. via the National Library of Australia trove site

Interesting analyses, reality checks and intriguing, but perhaps somewhat circumspect insights - John Alexander's new UFO book

2011-03-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

I've been reading Dr. John Alexander's new book "UFOs - Myths, conspiracies, and realities." It is a fascinating read, strong on interesting analyses of important aspects of the UFO problem and important reality checks on some key controversies, and perhaps most controversially a number of intriguing, but I suspect, circumspect and limited insights. I did find the book an intriguing read but I regularly found myself thinking about what was not included. I did enjoy the book and it certainly deserves repeat reading, close scrutiny, and hopefully, some opportunity for further elaboration from John Alexander himself.

I have to say that despite the many worthwhile matters described I would have expected a lot more clarity on a number of issues that do get discussed such as his "Advanced Theoretical Physics Project Disclosed" chapter - John Alexander's opening gambit. Here was his account of the group he brought together to attempt to get to the bottom of the UFO question and to find the "secret" official group that must have been operating. He comments in passing that Howard Blum got it all wrong in his 1990 book "Out There - The Government's Secret Quest for Extraterrestrials" - "most of the book is pure poppycock," John Alexander contends. While Blum may have presented a mangled picture of his attempts to divine the goings on of what was in fact the activities of Alexander's ATPP, we only get in John Alexander's book a limited insight into the ATPP, with a major focus being their attempts to find out who or what were doing the secret government UFO programme.

As an "insider", with an impressive military background, he had the opportunity to get access and participation at a lot of fascinating levels. His conclusion is that there was no organised UFO programme, and he argues he asked all the right players, who should have known if such a programme existed. That said, I would have liked more clarity on the activities of Dr. Alexander's ATPP group. We do get some limited insights and some of the usual "suspects" including Bob Woods then from McDonnell Douglas (who these days seems focused on arguing the reality of MJ12 - something that Alexander argues is much to do with myth making and people with "too much time on their hands") and Howell McConnell of the NSA, but transparency is not the main game.

Dr. Alexander's ATPP journey to find the "UFO truth" is indeed engaging and fascinating.

The chapter on Corso is enlightening and with its insights gives us little reason to attach much credibity to the alleged revelations in "The Day after Roswell."

The chapter on the Condon Report is especially interesting particularly for his analysis that the "damage done" was lasting and on mission, and that it has implications for current attempts to get a new scientific study going. He warns careful what you ask for, because he argues that any major mainstream scientific study, would almost certainly be lock-step with the Condon fiasco and would more likely set back the cause of serious scientific study. He arguments may have merit, but I think there is room to move in this area, providing the right moves and focuses are pursued.

Chapters follow on "The Congressional hearings that never happened", "The Government and UFOs" (a pessimistic reality check on the way governments work which in Alexander's analysis largely argues against any serious engagement with UFOs), "The Presidential Paradox" ( another reality check that negates some of the myths and positions doing the rounds), "Majestic 12" (Alexander concludes there wasn't a UFO related organisation called MJ-12), "The Apollo Lunar Program" (another negative reality check), "Reverse-engineering UFOs," (again Alexander argues the evidence does not stack up), "The UK Connection" ("While the UK Ministry of Defence made a conscious decision to proactively release their UFO data, it is clear that the scientific consensus mirrors that of the United States. They remain relatively skeptical, despite the few dramatic cases that were found in their files." Alexander highlights the fascinating US pilot Melvin Toores 1957 encounter which he accepts as credible, he does not engage with Mark Pilkington's "Mirage Men" linkages to Project Palladium. Palladium came after Torres's encounter and hence Pilkington's analyses are strained. Still they deserve discussion, particularly from a US Army "insider" with potent "non-lethal" weapons involvement, as Dr. Alexander was strikingly engaged with.), "Sworn to secrecy" (Alexander concludes "Except for discussion of sources and methods, there is no indication that UFOs hold any systemic classification. For those military personnel who have spoken out - and there are many - none have ever been sanctioned for revealing officially classified information. " I suspect this claim will attract considerable debate.), and "What Nato Knows" (where Alexander questions the Robert Dean SHAPE "Assessment" claims (nothing too surprising there) and the legitimacy of the COMETA Report ("poorly derived, counterintuitive, and has not been validated by credible sources" (here he also taking on ex Canadian Defence Minister Hellyer's claims, with some validity), but Alexander gives little consideration of the French UFO data and case material, which has better credibility than Alexander's characterisations.)

Dr. Alexander opens his book with a powerful statement:

"UFOs are real! With no prevarication or qualification of terms, there are physical objects of unknown origin that do transit our universe. The evidence that supports those statements is simply overwhelming. That evidence includes both hard data collected via multispectral sensors and from high-quality eyewitnesses that are neither misreporting facts nor delusional. Determining what these objects are, let alone the question of origin, is another matter.
There are no simple solutions that fit all the facts."

Alexander fleshes out this position in his "Real Cases and Hard Data" including Bentwaters (that will attract a lot of debate), Cash-Landrum, Mansfield Ohio, the Pheonix Lights, Gulf Breeze (another controversial choice), strategic missile intrusions in the US and USSR (Russia etc), the 1968 Minot case, some limited coverage of case material from Brazil, China, Chile, Peru, Turkey, Mexico, Germany and Antartica. In the latter case, Alexander reveals that US Navy Captain Paul Tyler (involved in attempting to ferret out the helicopter presence in the Cash-Landrum case) was also a member of the ATPP, who revealed that Antartica all-sky cameras had periodically picked up unknown object tracks. Two previously unknown cases are also highlighted in this chapter - the Eskimo Scouts cases and a 1970 Vietnam War encounter near the Cambodian border region in the Mekong Delta - "Watching War."

As John Alexander was an early member of NIDs and one of the first NIDs scientists to "pull a watch at Skinwalker Ranch" (subject of Dr. Colm kelleher & George Knapp book "Hunt for the Skinwalker" book) we get some recounting of intriguing events, but no real new insights into the activity there. Surprisingly he does not address significant issues raised about the NIDS "Skinwalker ranch" saga in Dr. Frank Salisbury's 2010 updated version of his fascinating 1974 book "The Utah UFO Display." This seems another example of the circumspect and limited approach to controversial and provocative data which deserves to be reviewed in greater and more transparent detail rather than circumspect and limited ways. The Skinwalker saga remains fascinating, but much is mired in the limited data released to date and the lack of transparent and detailed reporting. This seems to be the result of the limitations placed on various players by NIDS founder Robert Bigelow. Hopefully further data might be forthcoming to truly clarify the striking claims made about the place. Meanwhile I will still try to shake off the deja-vu feelings I get with the striking resonances I felt about the Skinwalker ranch saga through my experiences on the Dorrigo plateau around the small community of Tyringham in 1973.

Dr. Alexander discusses "precogntive Sentient Phenomena" (the phenomenalogical "boundary problem" interplaying with the "trickster" element - "high strangeness" with diverse appearances), which leads him to propose the "step back proposal" - confronting the complexity of the problem we are trying to solve, which might develop new "reasonable designs on how to procede." Other issues get an airing, such as abductions in a limited way, but he does get hung up on his rejection of MILABS (military abduction) claims (over 7 pages), where alien abduction claims get little more than just over one page.

Alexander concludes, "We are not close to solving the enigmas posed by UFOs, rather we are still on the front end of defining the fundamental issues and boundaries." Issues included and boundaries considered are fundamental to the progress or lack of progress. Some seek to spread the net widely. Others are more focused. Dialogues like Alexander's book offer some interesting insights, analyses, and reality checks. With a foreword by Jacques Vallee, commentary by Tom Clancy and an introduction by Burt Rutan, coupled with 4 pages of advanced praise for the book from a range of interesting players, it is clear that those interested in UFOs need to get beyond the conspiratorial and fanciful takes on the subject. Alexander's book helps in this area, despite its author being the subject of many such takes.

Wycliffe Well UFO happening

2011-03-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

15th March: Unfortunately this event has been cancelled due to the park being hit by flooding from a large weather event that has hit the Northern Territory. ARC advises that the park has been badly hit with flooding with venues and ammenties under water up to knee deep in areas. For those with bookings please contact the park on 1800222195. The devastating effects of the flooding are too immediate for ARC to determine anything about reorganising the event. These are matters for another more suitable time.

I'll be lecturing at a 3 day UFO conference at the Wycliffe Well Caravan Park in the centre of Australia that will take place from March 18th - 20th. The colourful locality has been self appointed as the "UFO Centre of Australia." It rose to prominence with a period of intensive reports in 1994 and 1995. Since then, the site and its visitors book have become a bit of a magnet for UFO sightings report in that part of the country. Lou Farkas, the former owner, decided as a business man, if its happening, he might as well add it to the list of attractions on offer at the Wycliffe Well Holiday Park. Since then various UFO themes, murals, news displays and other material has been added to attract and interest tourists and UFO enthusiasts. Sightings appear to occur regularly. What are they? I guess thats the question which is open to debate. Lou will be talking about his experiences and take on the the Wycliffe Well UFO story. Current owner ARC (pictured - he is the one smiling in from the strange dude on the wall mural)will be hosting the affair.

The 3 day day conference might not provide the answers but it certainly should add to the attraction of the place and provide some wide ranging takes on the UFO subject. Information about the event can be found on the http://www.wycliffe.com.au/ufo-conference-wycliffe-well-2011.html link.

Already the NT News newspaper has added its unique brand of colourful converage. I'm not expecting a conventional UFO conference, perhaps more of UFO "festival" with a very colorful territorian edge to it.

Join in on the fun. Maybe you might even find out something interesting about UFOs while taking in the Wycliffe Wells experience and its local attractions. See you there.

THE UFO DIARIES - Keep it REAL

2011-02-28T03:13:00.000-08:00

Back in 2008 there was a brief flurry of media attention to what was described as the first PhD in Ufology. It was neither. University of Melbourne doctoral candidate Martin Plowman had been awarded a PhD in the Department of English and Cultural Studies. Enlightened as the university might be they had not created a department of ufology. No surprises there. Martin Plowman's PhD on his take on "ufology" was certainly not the first, even in Australia. It had been proceded by at least two PhDs from the University of Sydney, namely Zoe Couacaud: "How the alien invaded the American mind: a history of experts, entrepreneurs, story-tellers, and a love of the alien in modern American culture" (2006) and Dean Bertram: "Flying Saucer Culture: An Historical Survey of American UFO Belief" (2006). I have read Dean Bertram's PhD thesis. I found it interesting particularly the segments that dealt with "Ufology: Imagining a mythic science." I got to know Dean and found him to be accessible and informative about his PhD study.

Naturally I was interested in talking with Martin Plowman and reading his PhD thesis. However I found him to be not very forthcoming and he was unwilling to make his PhD available, ostensibly because he was planning to use it as a basis for a commercial book. I have to admit that I lost interest in delving more deeply into Plowman's thesis when I found out what its title was: "High Strangeness: A Lacanian Cultural History of UFOs and Ufology."

It was the Lacan connection that diluted my interest with all its implications of postmodernism and poststructuralism. I guess it was the fact that these modes of thinking were dubious and often excuses for intellectual and literary gymnastics which often bore little semblance to the "realities" they were attempting to describe. One of the best expositions on this controversy was Alan Sokal & Jean Bricmont's "Intellectual Impostures - Postmodern philosophers' abuse of science." My copy's cover highlights the focus of the book "the attack on french postmodernism" with a quote from the Evening Standard: "The Merde hits the fan." To save you rushing to your french dictionaries, the English is "The shit hits the fan." Lacan gets a chapter in the book. Postmodernism today has little credibility in philosophy, and survives outside France in academic havens such as cultural studies.

So with the ghost of Lacan and his dubious takes on matters of science and mathematics largely extinguishing my interest in Dr. Plowman's PhD thesis, I did not have very high expectations of the commercial book that finally emerged in early 2011; "The UFO Diaries - Travels in the Weird World of high Strangeness."

While the book makes for a mildly enertaining travelogue through parts of the southern US (Roswell of course), South America (Chile, Bolivia, Peru), and Mexico, using a very light touch on the threads of UFO belief and experience as a loose focus, readers need to understand that Plowman's mantra is intertwined with Lacan's concept of the "REAL" which doesn't have much to do with reality as we know it, and more to do with belief. Thus we have Plowman regularly reminding us that "that UFOs are real, but they do not exist." So Plowman isn't really interested in whether there is a UFO consensus reality, but in UFO belief mediated by Lacan's take on the "Real."

Indeed he calls himself a "ufology-ologist" and cares little for "ufologists", those people who think UFOs might be real, real as in consensus real, not Real as Lacan might have us think. I say might, because as far as I know Lacan never engaged with the subject of UFOs. However that doesn't stop Plowman encountering the ghost of Lacan through the book, a kind of literary device (I think?) where the enigmatic spectre is regularly guiding our stumbling "ufology-oligist" as he seeks the Real UFO belief, but certainly not the real UFO experience. Plowman is seemingly only tracing UFO beliefs and rarely engages with any UFO reality. Remember he thinks they are not there anyway.

So predictably he doesn't have much time for "ufologists" describing them as "cardigan-clad seekers of proof of the existence of extraterrestrial life." Plowman argues that he did walk in "the footsteps of ufologists, a sinuous and broken trail, glowing with the light of other worlds." Well, not really. He hardly ever uses anything that seriously approaches reliable and serious UFO research and prefers the "guidebooks" of Von Daniken and Hunt Williamson. I don't think there would be many "ufologists" who would consider either as worthwhile guides to anything real about UFOs. But of course, I guess thats Plowman's point, I think. Where he occasionally brushes against the opportunity to dig deeply into UFO belief and reality, he seems to move on preferring, it seems, the light touch and certainly not any serious engagement with a possible UFO reality. There are the occassionally interesting points, but most such matters are described and researched far better by others. At best on these rare occassions in the book, Plowman's minor "discoveries" might best be seen as opportunities to engage more deeply with UFO belief and dare I say UFO reality. It's pretty clear Plowman isn't going to.

So whats the point of this meandering memoir steeped in merde. Not much point really. Plowman himself admits at the beginning and the end he has no answers. He entreats us, "Don't listen so much to what ufology says, as what it wishes for."

I say blame it on the Jabberwocky! It was Plowman's PhD thesis co-supervisor "Ken Geldolf" who put Plowman onto this dubious Lacanian take on UFO matters. Plowman resorts to a lot of imaginative literary jousting when he is in the presence of "Geldolf" describing the supervisor's use of his "gleaming vorpal blade of critical incision. A razor-sharp katana forged from the finest poststructuralist steel." You see "vorpal" was a made up word, from the imagination of Lewis Carroll in the Jabberwocky, perhaps formed from taking letters in the words "verbal" and "gospel." Later when Plowman submits his thesis to "Geldolf" he "imagines" a major battle, which bares a striking resemblance to film encounters of the Pink Panther bumbling police inspector character and his kick-ass Asian "butler."

Martin Plowman stumbles fairly early in a small way with his childhood recollections, yet he says he still has the UFO book his parents gave him. In his book he describes being struck by a picture in the children's book of "A UFO seen hovering over Melbourne, Australia, in 1956" - a flying "steam iron" shaped UFO. As a kid he recollects scanning the skies for "signs of the Flying Iron's return." Plowman accurately cites the children's UFO book in his references - "The World of the Unknown: All About UFO's" (1977). It might have helped Plowman's recollections or "beliefs" or "fantasies" about that early UFO "touch" if he had taken a look at it again - in fact the date was 1966 not 1956 and the "steam iron" UFO picture was from Loch Ness Scotland in 1971. The 1966 Melbourne picture is of a disc-shaped UFO - in fact an inaccurate rendering of a 1966 sighting and the controversial photo associated with it. The image in the 1977 book is a painting not a photo. A minor slip, but I guess its all about belief and not real facts - about Lacanian "Real" belief. No need for accuracy it seems.

One also has to suspect that some of Plowman's references are creative ones as well - consider the two offerings from Miskatonic University Press Arkham - Harold T. Wilkin's "Xenonomicon" (1954) and William Dyer's "1001 Ancient Astronaunt Sites to Visit Before you Die" (2006). Nice, but I don't think they exist. Both Arkham and Miskatonic University existed in the mind and fictional writings of H.P. Lovercraft. But again facts don't seem that important in this book, otherwise Martin Plowman might have actually engaged with the serious literature on UFOs somewhat more credibly than he gives the impression of doing. For starters he might have done a better job of understanding what ufology is all about, rather than his superficial and Lacanian blinkered skewed view. What emerges is a somewhat entertaining travel narrative which lightly engages with UFO belief and avoids any serious engagement with UFO reality.

Perhaps Martin Plowman should have taken more notice of "Ken Geldolf's" imaginative blade inscription: "Ne ditez pas la merde" which I take as "Do not talk shit." Sokal and Bricmont didn't have to work hard to demolish the "merde" behind postmodernism and poststructuralism, when its proponents strayed into the realms of science and mathematics. Martin Plowman stumbles along his own trail into what he calls "ufology." What he offers in his book "The UFO Diaries" as his take on what he refers to as "Mestizo ufology" hardly seems worth the effort. It has all been expressed better and researched better elsewhere by Hispanic and Mexican ufologists and western ones as well. They have revealed more substantial takes than Plowman's limited "discoveries." Perhaps he should try reading Dr. Thomas Bullard's excellent book "The Myth and Mystery of UFOs." Therein he would find far better descriptions of the extremes and norms of ufology and indeed the myths behind ufology that seem to engage him so much. But therein he would also find important points such as the fact that there is a genuine mystery behind UFOs, an aspect that Dr. Bullard substantially engages with as well.

In my 2005 book "Hair of the Alien" I quote Cao Xueqin from his classic "The Dream of the Red Chamber" - "Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true; Real becomes not-real when the unreal's real." Cao's "koan" resonated for me in my attempt to see if there was a reality behind alien abduction claims. However I used weaponary more credible than Plowman's "vorpal" blade. I used science and the power of DNA forensics to see what was "real" and "unreal."

Up to you dear reader what you prefer.

UFOs, history, myth and the sacred

2010-12-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

Do yourself a favour. Go out and buy these 3 books, via Amazon might be the best bet for those like me in remote climes like OZ:

“Wonders in the Sky – Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to Modern Times” by Jacques Vallee and Chris Aubeck
“The Myth and Mystery of UFOs” by Thomas Bullard
“Authors of the Impossible – the Paranormal and the Sacred” by Jeffrey Kripal

I have reviewed each of these books for the next issue of the Australian magazine Ufologist due out just before Christmas.

A few excerpts from my reviews:

“Wonders in the Sky” is an important contribution to the debate as to whether a UFO phenomenon as we relate to today existed back in ancient times through to 1879. Jacques Vallee is well known in the UFO field and his 1969 book “Passport to Magonia – From Folklore to flying Saucers” is perhaps an inspiration for “Wonders in the Sky.” Both have major catalogues of cases, the former “A Century of UFO landings (1868 – 1968)” and the latter a catalogue on a much longer time scale. Chris Aubeck is the coordinator of the Magonia Exchange List which since 2003 has functioned as a network of researchers focusing on pre-1947 UFO events.

Only two Australian cases make the listing: No. 408 1828 Mount Wingen and No. 474 1868 Parramatta. The Mount Wingen case is of questionable value as its 1828 date is uncertain. The account claims a cigar-shaped object landed and implies the incident may be the cause of the long known “Burning mountain” connection. This latter aspect is not noted in the Vallee/Aubeck compilation but should have been mentioned by way of context, as the account is of folkloric quality and its connection to when the coal seam started burning is uncertain. The 1868 Parramatta case – the very strange contact experience of Frederick Birmingham – is much better documented. I conducted a very detailed investigation of the story in the latter part of the 1970s and early 1980s. It is one of the most fascinating and detailed Australian historical cases I have come across. While I have a great interest in these historical cases, I think it is a matter for further research and debate as to whether there is credible evidence prior to the early 1800s of the UFO phenomenon as we know it today. Jacques Vallee and Chris Aubeck have made a valuable contribution to the debate.

Dr. Thomas E. (Eddie) Bullard has given us another brilliant contribution in his new book “The Myth and Mystery of UFOs” published by University Press of Kansas. They also published the excellent academic primer “UFOs & Abductions – Challenging the borders of Knowledge” edited by David Jacobs (2000), which included a chapter by Bullard – “UFOs: Lost in Myths.” That contribution is an impressive stepping stone to his deep, insightful and compelling current book “The Myth and Mystery of UFOs.” This book is an outstanding contribution to the field and a necessary and compulsory read for anyone who considers they are taking this subject seriously.

While his folkloric background reveals how the UFO subject has undeniable mythic themes coursing through it and that the field is often its own worst enemy, Bullard does not avoid the conclusion that there is something of value beyond the myth that deserves serious attention. Something of substance remains, which should be examined by mainstream science. While the mythic aspects invite “psychosocial” explanations, and Bullard examines these in great detail, he ultimately argues there is more to the subject.

Dr. Bullard’s “The Myth and Mystery of UFOs” should be read by a wide audience, particularly those who profess to know what is really going on. It may shake their fondly held beliefs and positions, but ultimately it will help calibrate a more serious engagement with the UFO mystery.

Jeffrey Kripal new book “Authors of the Impossible – The Paranormal and the Sacred” has been published by the University of Chicago Press. The book is a fascinating study anchored in the work of four major figures in paranormal research. One of them is well known in the field of ufology, namely Jacques Vallee – author of numerous UFO works, including “Passport to Magonia,” (1969) “The Invisible College,” (1975) “Confrontations” (1990) and “Forbidden Science” (1992). Kripal’s study provides a very detail insight into Vallee’s path and contributions. The other 3 are psychical researcher Frederic Myers – author of the classic study “Human Personality and its survival of bodily death” (1903), writer and humorist Charles Fort – author of the ground breaking “The Book of the Damned” (1909) and philiosopher and sociologist Bertrand Meheust – author of “Science Fiction and Flying Saucers” (1978) and “A Seer Extraordinaire” (2003) – a study of Alexis Didier, a gifted 19th century “magnetic” seer.

Jeffrey Kripal’s “Authors of the Impossible” is well worth reading. For UFO students it will broaden their horizons.

Check out the full reviews and other fascinating material, including my "Australian UFO 'Hot Zones' - the Mount Butler milieu" in the Ufologist's next issue out just before Christmas.

UFOs - A TURNING POINT?

2010-12-07T20:52:00.000-08:00

In the current issue of the Australian newstand magazine "Ufologist" I review “UFOs – Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials go on the record”

From that review some quotes:

One of the great strengths of Leslie Kean’s book is the detailed presence of key players in the official French investigations of the UFO subject. There is Major General Denis Letty describing the birth and content of the 1999 COMETA report “UFOs and Defense: What should we prepare for?” This independent report from 13 retired generals, scientists, and space experts has a profound effect on official French investigations. It was also the catalyst for Leslie Kean’s entry into the UFO subject. The long time head of the official French UFO agency GEPAN – Jean-Jacques Velasco – describes the organisations activities and his own evolution in UFO thinking in “France and the UFO Question.” A major bonus for the book is the former head of CNES the French equivalent to NASA, and current chairman of the steering committee for GEIPAN (the current incarnation of GEPAN), Yves Sillard giving his own commentary and position on the UFO question. For him it is a matter “no longer in doubt.” He even wrote his own landmark book in 2007 (in French) “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: A Challenge to Science.”

Another potent contribution comes from two prominent political scientists Dr. Alexander Wendt and Dr. Raymond Duvall – “Militant Agnosticism and the UFO Taboo.” This essay was based on their 2008 paper in the leading scholarly journal Political Theory – “Sovereignty and UFO” which gave a deep insight into why governments “systematically ignore the UFO phenomenon despite the overwhelming evidence for its existence.” For Leslie Kean’s book the authors incorporated the ideas from the 2008 paper into an excellent piece for non-academic readers with additional new material. This essay is particularly important. Apart from the impact of global sovereignty issues on the “taboo” associated with the UFO issue Wendt and Duvall conclude in a manner very close to my position, namely “what is needed above all else is a systematic science of UFOs, on the basis of which we might eventually be able to make informed judgements about them, as apposed to simply reiterating dogmas one way or the other.”

Leslie Kean concludes in her important book in a similar vein arguing for a new agency to scientifically examine the UFO phenomenon in a more appropriate way. Indeed she responds to the standard sceptical argument that “extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence” with Budd Hopkins perceptive response: “An extraordinary phenomenon demands an extraordinary investigation.” Until that becomes a substantial part of the established mainstream response to the UFO phenomenon Leslie Kean’s book “UFOs” will stand as a powerful signpost in the argument for taking the UFO subject seriously. This book deserves to be read far and wide. It might just provide the catalyst for the turning point needed in this much maligned and neglected mystery.

Photo: Leslie Kean and me at Campbelltown, near Sydney in 2004. Courtesy of Peter Khoury

Inside an Australian UFO "HOT ZONE" - the Tyringham Experience

2010-12-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

The current newstand issue of the Australian magazine Ufologist features an article I wrote: "Australian UFO 'Hot Zones' - The Tyringham Experience"

Here is the introduction to that article:

"During September 2010 I took the opportunity to visit an old favourite UFO haunt of mine. I drove up from Coffs Harbour on the north coast of New South Wales, through Dorrigo, and onto Tyringham. Here was a very small community of a few houses and a store on the back road between Grafton and Armidale, which for me back in 1973, became an extraordinary experience of what it was like to be caught up in a real UFO “hot zone.”

What I call UFO “hot zones” are those areas where an extraordinary depth of the UFO phenomenon is experienced. They are also UFO flap areas but are more accurately viewed as very localised “UFO flaps.” Such areas offer us an extraordinary opportunity. One of the more frustrating aspects of the UFO phenomenon is its unpredictability. One of the mainstays of the scientific method is the repeatable experiment. In the case of an unpredictable and elusive phenomenon this is rather hard to organise. Occasionally UFO phenomena occur in specific localities for an extended period. Such areas continue to regularly reveal manifestations of the UFO mystery and provide researchers like myself tantalising but generally frustrating opportunities to attempt real science. The challenge for researchers is to locate such areas and to participate in an organised and instrumented way to document flaps in an objective manner. Such strategies provide researchers with potent opportunities for interacting with the UFO phenomenon.
While I have investigated many localised flap areas such as the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Kempsey, Coonabarabran, St. George, Tully, and Leitchville-Echuca, and gathered information about others such as the Grampians, Wycliffe Well and Toowoomba, none came close to the intensity of personal experience that I experienced during the 1973 Tyringham flap."

I continue the Australian UFO Hot Zone theme in the next issue of the Ufologist out just before Christmas with the Mount Butler milieu - UFOs, entity "possession" and all that kind of stuff!

The Call of the UFO - Beijing style

2010-08-31T07:18:00.000-07:00

Residents of Beijing were greeted today with this feature in the Beijing Morning News (August 31st 2010) which brought together some of the recent UFO imagery doing the rounds in Chinese media and a survey of comments from some of Beijing's diverse community of UFO watchers - Zhou Xudong ("saucerer's apprentice" to Zhou Xiaoqiang, Beijing UFO Research Association's secretary general), Wang Zheng (science background reflecting on the group's more amazing cases such as the Phoenix mountain experience (presumably Meng Zhou Guo, but not stated in the article) and River Forest (which was like Tunguska on a much small scale)), Bejing Planetarium curator Zhu Jin (wwho was saying aliens exist but they just come here, and was suggesting the Leshan 3 "sun" photo was more likely an indoor photo with reflection aspects) and the group's "UFO detective" Zhou Xiaoqiang, whose approach seems pragmatic. He argues many of the recent cases are not about genuine UFOs. He was recently involved in the Hangzhou airport affair which involved some dubious photos (the one show here was of an aircraft).

There is a lot of UFO interest in China and certainly a lot of stuff to keep up with. Interesting times.

CHINESE AIRPORT UFO INCIDENT IS NOT AN "ALIEN FLYING SAUCER" ACCORDING TO COMBINED BEIJING SHANGHAI UFO INVESTIGATION TEAM

2010-07-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

As a long time watcher and researcher of the Chinese UFO scene I was rather surprised by the extent of the worldwide coverage given to the July 7 2010 Hangzhou Xiaoshan airport "UFO" shutdown incident. So much inaccurate reporting and speculation on this story has spawned spurious links, fake photos and poorly devised "explanations." Most of this was driven by extremely limited information. The Mr. Ma photos were widely linked to the airport UFO incident, along with dubious photos that used it as a basis for more creative photo manipulation efforts. Missile film and photo imagery from a week earlier and from Western China were even linked.
Given such a high level of wild speculation and erroneous reporting I was pleased to learn through Chinese sources that the Beijing UFO Research Organisation and the Shanghai UFO Research group undertook an on site joint investigation on July 14 and 15. I followed the progress of these enquiries through Chinese connections and Chinese web sites. Western sites largely circulated unreliable and mangled stories and seemed to loose sight of the fact that the details emerging on the airport incident were limited and initially contradictory. The key to sorting the confusion out would be official departments being cooperative and transparent and they were not being very revealing.

The Beijing group investigation led by their long time secretary-general Zhou Xiaoqing came to Hangzhou armed with letters of introduction from the Beijing Science and Technology Association (the UFO group being a member). During the two day jiont investigation the UFO researchers visited Hangzhou Xiaoshan airport, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zheijiang, East China Air Traffic Control, East China Civil Aviation Authority, and other relevant departments.

On July 24 Zhou Xiaoqiang release the preliminary conclusions of their enquiries. They have concluded there was no evidence that the incident was caused by an alien UFO or flying saucer. Direct discussions with relevant departments secured only limited information with official departments being found largely circumspect. It was clear from their investigations that the Xiaoshan airport officials were not the direct source of the alleged UFO photographs, videos, news reports and other material. The initial information implied no visual sightings and only instrumented detection. Later reports then implied the exact opposite. The investigation appears to have confirmed there was no confirmation on radar of the UFO reports, that there were "blind spots" in the airport radar observations, and therefore private, military aircraft and other activities could not be ruled out as the source of the events that lead to the airport shutdown. The investigation confirmed that only limited information was available. The joint investigation team concluded that the widely circulated Mr Ma Shi-jun photos were not of a UFO and that they were of an aircraft, and were not related to the events connected with the airport shutdown.

The joint Beijing and Shanghai UFO group investigations appear to be good examples of cautious direct investigation. It remains to be seen whether further investigation will led to any further clarification on the source of the "UFO" events which shut down the airport. Zhou Xiaoqiang was at this stage only releasing preliminary conclusions.

Chinese web sources (Northnews.cn) on July 17 carried transcripts of a radio interview with Zhou Xiaoqiang indicating that the details of the incident were contradictory, that some pilots did see something that precipitated the airport shutdown. He largely stated what has subsequently emerged in the July 24 preliminary findings release. He confirmed the Ma photo was a plane not a UFO. While he referred to the cause of the airport shutdown as being a UFO he said it was not an "alien spaceship" or "flying saucer." He expanded more generally saying there was a real UFO phenomenon deserving serious scientific investigation.

The call of the UFO

2010-06-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

I've had the call for over 4 decades now. It is the exotic, intoxicating and often toxic siren call of the UFO - an "alien dance" played out in the fields of a bizarre "Great Game." Throughout this period science has been my enduring touchstone, but it has been a strange and often conflicted relationship between science and the UFO phenomenon. While at times it is a sorry and frustrating story, the endurance and the reality of the UFO phenomenon explodes the shackles of ridicule, marginalisation and ignorance. The UFO story is one that most people think they know. The reality is that most people barely know the impressive depth and complexity of the phenomenon. Nor do they appreciate the astounding reality beyond the side shows that are often put up as caricatures of the real mystery.

More than 40 years of engagement with the UFO mystery have for me been a personally enriching and fascinating life experience. The length of that journey has not diminished my interest in the subject. Indeed now I feel a greater sense of making some real progress, albeit tentative and subject to the limits of resources and opportunity.

I have been reflecting on my own research and investigations and have drawn together a somewhat personal and deep meditation on those experiences in the form of a Powerpoint presentation involving some 188 image intensive slides with the title: "An Alien Life: over 4 decades stalking the UFO dragon." An early version was presented at Campbelltown, NSW in April, but an extended and more developed version will be made at a UFO seminar on Saturday June 12, 2010, between 1 pm and 7 pm at 310 South Terrace Adelaide, South Australia. The seminar is being hosted by the AURA (Australian UFO Research Association) with admission being a very reasonable $10. Enquiries & bookings: 0413850645. Also presenting lectures will be Keith Basterfield ("How to research the UFO phenomenon and stay sane.") and AURA project coordinator Roger Koch ("UFO phenomena: A Riddle within an Enigma.")

My primary focuses in my lectures at the Adelaide AURA UFO seminar will be Science and UFO Research and the Alien Abduction controversy, but I will be covering UFO physical evidence, the official Australian engagement with the UFO subject, the Chinese UFO experience and the alien DNA paradigm.

(Images: The low resolution reproduction of my Powerpoint lecture presentation introduction slide includes a montage of photos - myself in 2010, in 1984 with Dr. Allen Hynek at his home in Chicago, in 2005 lecturing at Dalian, China, and in 1982 examining the RAAF Directorate of Air Force Intelligence (DAFI) UFO files at the Department of Defence Russell Offices in Canberra.)

WESTALL '66 - a suburban UFO mystery - a documentary you must see

2010-05-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

The world premiere of a striking documentary about an extraordinary event takes place on the Australian SCI FI channel, Foxtel, 8.30 pm, Friday, 4th June, 2010. WESTALL '66 a suburban UFO mystery deserves a wide audience as it gives a fascinating picture of a haunting UFO incident that took place 44 years ago in the outer Melbourne suburb.

The press kit accompanying the release gives a potent one paragraph summary of the incident

"In 1966, in the Australian suburb of Westall, hundreds of students, teachers and local residents witnessed a UFO hover overhead for several minutes, land and take off again at incredible speed. Silenced by authorities at the time, and still angry about not being believed, they revisit the event as tenacious amateur sleuth Shane Ryan goes back to find an answer to the mystery. With an undercurrent of Cold War paranoia, and a burgeoning military alliance between Australia and America, their story has a deep resonance in the current cover-ups and lies delivered by governments in the interests of national security."

Director Rosie Jones came across the story via a story in the Melbourne Age which connected her to the efforts of Canberra academic Shane Ryan to get to the bottom of the enigmatic events. After 3 years of solid research, filming and editing we now have the opportunity to view the fascinating result of all those efforts.

I watched the documentary on May 24 and was immediately impressed by the style of the film. Shane Ryan's investigation is used as the connecting vehicle for revealing the story, but it is the witnesses' stories that tellingly describe the impact and haunting nature of the affair.

It is a powerful narrative of a reality denied by authority but revealed in compelling ways through the words of the witnesses and the wonderfully inspired decision to use the charcoal drawings and animations of animator Lee Whitmore. Anyone who has seen the film "The Safe House" (which gives an extraordinary perspective on the Petrov affair) will be immediately attracted to this documentary, as it uses Lee Whitmore's artistic skills to great effect. The black and white renderings of the key 1966 Westall events hauntingly evoke the 1960s era and the visions of the impossible witnessed mainly by school children. There were adult witnesses who also share their stories.

It is impossible to tell the full Westall UFO story in one documentary but WESTALL '66 certainly captures the essence of the events and powerfully shows why we should take notice of this story and demand to know what really happened that day - 6 April 1966. I think the documentary will be a powerful catalyst towards achieving that objective.

I should reveal that this is a biased review. I too have been haunted by what happened at Westall in 1966. 1966 was a pivotal year for me as it marked my embrace of the subject in a personal way - my home town of Grafton had a police UFO chase that gained media prominence. It wasn't long before my teenage interests in the UFO subject started to give me glimpses of the 1966 Westall mystery, but the astonishing magnitude of the saga was a slowly revealed thing, mainly because of the effectiveness of the cover-up that clearly took place. It captured my attention even further when it was apparent that the events even feature physical evidence - ground traces - an aspect of the UFO phenomenon that became a central interest for me. It was a case that I returned to many times as leads turned up. By the early 1980s a number of witnesses were starting to create a critical mass of interest. I devoted a lot of pages in my Australian UFO history "The OZ Files" to the Westall affair as I recognised it as a very strong case. But it wasn't until the Internet allowed for a greater communication among researchers and witnesses that the momentum developed into a great tide of information. Shane Ryan was instrumental in drawing these more recently revealed factors together and his persistence has been rewarded with a rich picture of the events. I closely followed the efforts of Shane Ryan, Rosie Jones and her documentary team, assisting where I could.

It is the witnesses though that have told the story and I hope they feel that their extraordinary experiences back in April 1966 have been well served by these efforts and the documentary. The profile of the events will be further enhanced and I hope it will bring further evidence to the surface, particularly the elusive details of the heavy hidden hand that originally supressed the extraordinary events.

Watching WESTALL '66 you will be entertained, intrigued and struck by the realisation that something quite extraordinary took place in Westall on April 6, 1966. I hope it gets you enthralled with the possibilities it reveals. Hoax or hysteria - I don't think so. Experimental aircraft - maybe, but the totality of what occurred there seems to argue for the more extraordinarly possibility - that something that wasn't ours intruded into our world. I know I'm not alone wanting to know what happened. WESTALL '66 - a suburban UFO mystery - is a powerful evocation of the mystery. Don't miss it. There will be a DVD release. Details will eventually appear on http://www.westall66ufo.com.au/

See also my past posts on the 1966 Westall affair: The Westall UFO "Black Swan" and Once upon a time in Westall

UFOs leaving traces - my passion

2010-05-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

Finally a newspaper headline, in the spate of recent UFO media coverage down under, that captures my main passion - "UFOs leaving traces", Hornsby Advocate, May 20, 2010. In my decades of UFO research the quest for physical evidence has always guided my enquiries, whether its checking on "physical traces" from UFO landing sites, or biological trace evidence examined through forensic DNA studies, such as the "Hair of the Alien" incident.

(Thanks Rebecca for your assistance on this one)

David Buching - a catalyst for active UFO investigation - a friend's passing (1946 - 2010)

2010-05-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

An old friend and active UFO researcher during the 1970s has passed away. A tribute appears on my UFOIC site: http://ufoicaustralia.blogspot.com/2010/05/david-buching-friend-and-catalyst-for.html The photo shows David Buching (centre in blue shirt) with his wife Penny and myself (Bill Chalker) beside him among UFO group delegates at the 1975 UFO conference at Terrigal, NSW.

Photo courtesy of Harry Griesberg.

Funeral service: Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Dehli Rd, North Ryde, Northern Chapel, 12.15 pm Friday May 7.

A journey through the UFO theatre

2010-04-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

It is often difficult to predict the fickled nature of mainstream media's attention to the UFO issue but the typical result is often not worth commenting on. Over the last couple of months however the media has been prancing about in rather odd and erratic embraces. The Sydney newspaper "The Sun-Herald" did a profile on myself (February 21, 2010) which at least got in a reasonable quote from me:

"This is a subject that screams out for serious scientific investigation"

but still couldn't avoid X File allusions. Despite this the profile was not too bad.

The TV channel 7 Morning Show got excited with odd clouds and UK UFO file releases getting me in for 2 seperate shows within a week - with Dr. Martin Plowman (who did a recent PhD on ufology of sorts) on 24 February, and with Australian Skeptic Ian Bryce on 2 March. TV channel 9 had me in on the Weekend Sunday show (14 March) for a surprisingly good but short piece which focused on the DNA evidence featured in my book "Hair of the Alien."

Things really got heated up with the explosion of attention centred on photos taken by a Chipping Norton (Sydney suburb) housewife - Fiona Hartigan. The story initially emerged in the Sydney "Daily Telegraph" page 3 story on March 23 "UFOs over Sydney." I was asked to comment for that story but declined, indicating I preferred to actually investigate the incident before commenting. As it turned out I was able to interview Fiona Hartigan on the evening before the Telegraph story came out as well as conduct investigations at the site with her on March 22 and 23. While I felt that her photos were not evidence of "the intergalactic neighbours" dropping by as the Telegraph story headlined, they were interesting enough to generate all sorts of debate from the media and other parties. Sydney got a bout of "UFO fever" with the Telegraph running with the saga for the rest of the week and TV stations and radio chiming in. I resurfaced in the Telegraph on 25 March, again unfortunately with "the Aussie Agent Mulder" tag, but the story linked readers to the online version of the story which also featured an interactive map of New South Wales' "UFO sightings in NSW 1868 - 2010" based on material I supplied to the paper http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/indepth/a-spece-oddity-something-is-out-there/story-e6frewsr-1225844963802

I have included the listing in case the link disappears:

1868 Parramatta Park - engineer & surveyor Frederick Birmingham sees "Flying ark" land in park, taken onboard.
1927 Fernvale near Murwillumbah - family witness strange aerial lights, UFO landing, live stock mutilation and strange creatures in an early version of the "Mothman Prophecies"
1954 August 31 over Goulburn area - Naval Sea Fury pilot encounters 2 UFOs tracked on radar, ground witnesses
1966 January Grafton police witness UFO - widespread witnesses
1969 - Anzac Day, evening - Greenacre Sydney - Mother, daughter & taxi driver observe UFO hovering over park - figures seen inside UFO.
1970 - June - Emerald Beach, near Woolgoolga, NSW - truck driver sees UFO land. Physical evidence verifies the landing.
1971 - Kempsey - beseiged by UFOs - multiple daylight and night sightings. Daylight photo taken there in 1975
early 1970s - Kiama - UFO event with entities seen inside UFO, which also project "solid light" down onto people on beach.
1972 - Bents Basin near Wallacia/Penrith - group of people see UFO on ground & encounter "robot" type entity - car catches fire, witnesses flee area on foot.
1973 February - Norah head, central Coast, NSW - people in car witness UFO close encounter. Car lights effected. Same location in 1975 has UFO with smaller objects coming out of it "attacking" group of young people camping in the area.
1973 - Dorrigo Plateau - Tyringham & Dundurrabin area - heavy localised UFO "flap" witnessed by local farmers and resident, investigated by me while I was at the University of New England, who also witnessed some of the sightings. Photo taken.
1976, October 23 - group witnesses and films UFOs during total eclipse observations at Benboyd National Park near Eden
1978 - Bakers Creek Falls, near Armidale - driver has close encounter with UFO and experiences "missing time"
1988 & 1992 Sydney man Peter Khoury has alien abduction experiences - a biological sample - a hair strand - from the 1992 (Berala Sydney) experience was subjected to detailed DNA analysis which revealed very unusual results (see my "Hair of the Alien" book (2005))
1995 December 28 - major close encounter & sightings in Gosford Central Coast area - witnesses include police - UFO seemed to be sucking up water.
1998 August 10 Quirindi - witnesses observed "dumb bell" shaped object and smaller object issuing "angel hair" - fine white material like spiders web which evaporates and disappears. Similar to my own experience in 1969 at Grafton and striking French cases in 1952.
2007 - January 7 - security guard at Baulkam Hills Sydney factory site captures UFO on photo. Object moves away quickly and disappears
2007 January 26 (Australia Day) Earlwood Sydney - nurse and family witness close encounter with UFO which moves below roof line of units and between their unit and neigbours. Some sort of "communication" occurs during encounter.
2008 - February 29 - Coogee Sydney - man witnesses UFO landing on road - entity seen inside object - appears to burn part of road and nearby tree.
2008 April 9 far north coast near Qld border - woman witnesses UFO on road near her house - close encounter

Yet another "sound byte" outing on the TV Channel 9 morning show with Kerri Anne where I tried to highlight the difference between UFO and "ET craft" and that Fiona's photos might be the former but not the latter, continued the UFO theatre. Trying to convey the idea that investigations often take a while and might actually be subject to changing conclusions or positions depending upon the direction the evidence suggested seemed beyond the ken of the media. The answer "had" to be available immediately or not at all, it seems.

In an article I prepared for the Australian magazine "Ufologist" (due out late April) to describe the results of my investigations to date I wrote:

"As she says Fiona is just a mother from Chipping Norton who took some interesting photos, so much so, that they ignited a wildly popular theatre which played out a potent narrative on the UFO controversy. As I said on the Kerri Anne morning show on TV Channel 9 on Friday March 26, I felt that the photos were most likely not evidence of aliens or ETs, but they might be evidence of UFOs. Perhaps, perhaps not. The show did not allow for the kind of more appropriate dialogue that comes with a reasoned and sensible discussion informed by careful scientific enquiry and research. That takes time and seldom occurs in the time frame driven by “sound bite” 24 hour news cycles of the modern media theatre. While some might think the photos are already explained, depositing them in hoax, misinterpretation or other categories, others are less certain and the debate continues. For me they fall into the probably explainable category, but with some unresolved aspects, subject to further enquiry."

The media milieu encouraged a lot of people to report sightings old and new,
with even a pilot reporting to me his striking encounter with two UFOs that affected his
aircraft while flying near the Chipping Norton area back in 1994. This was his second sighting which he had kept quiet about because he thought it might affect his pilot's licence. It turned out I had investigated his first sighting he had with a friend back in 1991. He told me, "Amazingly, you advised us at this time that we would probably see another incident in our lifetimes."

The UFO theatre often delivers some interesting paydirt making the whole circus worthwhile.

(Group photo: Fiona Hartigan (centre) in front of me, with members of the UFO & Paranormal Research Society of Australia (Darren Broadie, Tiffany Alicajic, Larraine Cilia, Kellie Pataky and Dominic McNamara. I gave a lecture to the group at their April meeting in Campbelltown.)

THE ALIEN DNA PARADIGM

2010-01-20T06:04:00.000-08:00

I have just launched a new site THE ALIEN DNA PARADIGM which will be devoted to research, investigations & commentary focusing on the hypothesis of intelligent alien intervention from a DNA perspective and its key role in the UFO mystery.

The primary catalyst for this fascinating investigation has been the intensive research activities that emerged from the work I undertook from about 1998 to 2005 focusing on the forensic DNA investigations of a number of alien abduction experiences, in particular the extraordinary breakthrough enquiries associated with the experiences of Peter Khoury in Sydney Australia, which were extensively documented in various reports and publications, including my 2005 book HAIR of the ALIEN.

This is both a controversial and fascinating research focus. I will be using the site at http://aliendnaparadigm.blogspot.com/ to reveal and explain the nature and extent of this work. I have found it to be an extraordinary area of enquiry and given the nature of the information uncovered to date I believe it to be a potential breakthrough in UFO research.

I urge you to support this research and the efforts going into uncovering and documenting this alien DNA paradigm.

The January 2010 material will been introductory in nature:

The Alien DNA Paradigm - an introduction
This research programme began as an attempt to test the reality of alien abduction claims by applying a scientific forensic focus. The Peter Khoury case study was found to have startling implications apart from confirming the credibility of Peter Khoury's experience. It provided a breakthrough focus on the possible nature of the alien beings that may be involved and what may be going on in alien abduction experiences. Further, the extraordinary case study revealed a fascinating opportunity at focusing on an alien DNA paradigm and ultimately a global alien DNA nexus, where-in evidence is indicating that there appears to have been "intelligent intervention" by what we refer to as aliens, and that evidence for this may also be found in human DNA signatures, particularly among those indigenous cultures that have potent claims of "sky being" lore, and areas with rich and long historical focuses of UFO activity.The World's first DNA PCR investigation of Biological Evidence from an Alien Abduction (this paper was circulated in 2001. It is used here to provide a brief introduction to the "Hair of the Alien" case study. It is followed by an updated (2009) introduction to the 4 phases of the Alien DNA Paradigm investigation with the Khoury case study as its cornerstone and catalyst).

State-of-the-Art in UFO Disclosure Worldwide & the Australian experience

2009-11-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

Respected Spanish researcherVicente-Juan Ballester Olmos has produced an excellent general overview of the state of UFO "disclosure" activities worlwide, i.e. the extent and chronology of the release and access to government, military and intelligence files on UFOs from around the world.

Quoting from Vicente-Juan's November 1 2009 release notice:
"State-of-the-Art in UFO Disclosure Worldwide". This essay is described and prefaced in: http://fotocat.blogspot.com/ The full paper can be found at: http://www.anomalia.org/disclosure.pdf
I hope you find interesting this research consolidating a general picture of all the official UFO release and declassification programs in the world.

I worked closely with Vicente-Juan to develop a picture of the Australian experience. While the general picture precludes "the devil in the detail" aspects I have included below some of the material which informed the final version of the Australian section of the document.

I welcome any corrections or clarifications. I had to work on the basis of verifiable details which precluded information of a vague or unverifed nature from anonymous parties and from groups and individuals who have not provided detail or evidence of information which may have been referred to in fragmented or limited ways.

(extract) from my UFOs Sub Rosa down under document (on line since 1999)

The blog seems to keep compacting the table data set out below, so these are best seen at the following link towards the end of part 4: http://www.theozfiles.com/ufos_subrosa4.html

THE RAAF UFO DATA

Over 1,612 reports have been received by the RAAF from between 1950 and until June, 1984. The actual figure is somewhat greater due to incomplete records and scattered omissions from the Summary reports periodically produced by the RAAF between 1965 and 1980. Accurate figures for the period 1950 and 1954 are not possible, due to the loss of the original files. It is possible to give a rough statistical breakdown of the RAAF's"total" investigations from 1950 to June, 1984. This needs to be broken upinto 4 periods, due to different sources of information and lack of official"unknown" percentages outside the period from 1960 to 1980 inclusive.

PERIOD 1 (1950 - 1954):

No. %
YEAR No. "unknown" "unknown"
1950 3 0 0
1951 4 2 50%
1952 5 0 0
1953 13 2 15.4%
1954 38 8 20.0%

Records for this period are incomplete with the only surviving records beingthe previously secret "1954 Report on "Flying Saucers"" prepared for the Directorate of Air Force Intelligence (DAFI) at their request by nuclearphysicist, Harry Turner, as a "scientific appreciation" of their reports. Some of reports from this period survive in the old Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) UFO files which were examined by me during November, 1982, at the Melbourne offices of the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation. The total for 1954 is made up 35 from the "1954 Report" plus 3 additional reports, namely 2 from the Ballarat School of Radio and the classic radar visual event over Goulburn, NSW, involving a Naval Sea Fury aircraft. Only the latter is included as an "unknown" in addition to those cited in the "1954 Report".

PERIOD 2 (1955 - 1959)

No %
YEAR No "unknown" "unknown"
1955 3 0 0
1956 9 1 11.1%
1957 14 2 14.2%
1958 7 1 14.3%
1959 24 2 8.3%

Records for only the latter part of 1955 are present in the extant DAFI filesI examined. Reports for 1956 to 1959 appear to be somewhat incomplete. The"unknown" figures are my own estimates and therefore should not be regardedas official figures.

PERIOD 3 (1960 - 1980)

This is the only period in which official "unknown" figures can be supplied,as based on the Unusual Aerial Sighting Summaries, nos. 1 to 12. Summariesnos. 10, 11 and 12 were not generally released but were supplied to me, during my file review in 1982, by the RAAF.

BREAKDOWN OF RAAF UFO INVESTIGATIONS

Total no. no. %
Year of reports "Unknowns"* "Unknowns" Source of Information
1960 20 0 0.0 Summary No. 1
1961 14 0 0.0 Summary No. 1
1962 25 0 0.0 Summary No. 1
1963 17 0 0.0 Summary No. 1
1964 17 1 5.9 Summary No. 1
1965 52 2 3.9 Summary No. 1
1966 74 1 1.4 Summary No. 1
1967 95 0 0.0 Summary No. 1
1968 101 0 0.0 Summary No. 1
1969 94 2 2.1 Summary No. 2
1970 37 4 10.8 Summary No. 3
1971 52 6 11.5 Summary No. 3
1972 87 11 12.6 Summary No. 4
1973 193 4 2.1 Summary No. 5
1974 67 2 3.0 Summary No. 6
1975 39 4 10.2 Summary No. 7
1976 39 4 10.2 Summary No. 8
1977 25 6 24.0 Summary No. 9
1978 118 30 25.4 Summary No.10
1979 45 15 33.3 Summary No.11
1980 47 10 21.3 Summary No.12

TOTAL: 1258 102 8.1% (average)

Some "unknowns" are not included due to low weight status, i.e. insufficientinformation or possible explanation provided was probable.

PERIOD 4 (1981-1984)

Only actual numbers of reports on file with the RAAF can be supplied based onpersonal file inspections and DAFI advice:

YEAR Total No. of reports
1981 44
1982 56
1983 117
1984* 15 (* up till June 1984)

THE CIVILIAN UFO DATA

To properly put the RAAF data into perspective, consider the following.From 1950 to 1984, the RAAF dealt with more than 1,612 reports, and 1,258from 1960 to 1980. One of the best civilian groups in Australia, the Tasmanian UFO InvestigationCentre (TUFOIC), has been keeping valuable statistics on their investigationsfor years. For one small Australian state alone, they have dealt with 2,131reports up to and including 1980.The period 1960 to 1980 has been chosen as it is the only period for which the RAAF have published data. The following table compares the data.

Organisation Total Number Total number % "unknowns"
of reports of "unknowns"

RAAF 1,258 102 8.1%
TUFOIC 1,681 390 23.2%

It is quite apparent that compared to civilian UFO research groups the RAAF has far less claim to having legitimately and comprehensively examined the UFO problem.

In terms of actual "disclosure" or access efforts the following information details some of these activities. Pioneer flying saucer researcher Edgar Jarrold (from Sydney) had a meeting with DAFI (Directorate of Air Force Intelligence) Sqd. Ldr. Peter Birch in Melbourne during 1954. This was a discussion style meeting. Jarrold did not get any access to files. Similarly from Fred Stone a researcher from South Australia. The CAPIO (Commonwealth Aerial Phenomena Investigation Organisation) formed in 1965 as a united civilian front also only received limited information.

Year: 1965-1977
Period covered 1960 to 1977 Archives released: Sighting summaries 1-9 released: 1,048 reports summarised.Comments: The first of the summaries appeared in 1965 listing events from 1960 to 1965. This format continued up to 1968. 1969 marked the first of the annual summary formats, which largely continued up to 1977. These summaries became the form of "public disclosure". A few researchers and groups got some actual case reports such as VUFORS and myself, but the former did not detail any of the material they apparently received.

Year: 1982-1984 Period covered: 1950 to 1984 Archives released: 63 files examined by Bill Chalker which included more than 1,610 reports mainly from RAAF DOD files and limited amount from DoA (Dept. of Aviation) files. Sighting summary No. 9 (1977 reports) was the last publically released. Summaries 10 to 12 covering 1978, 1979 and 1980 (a total of 210 summarised reports) were released to Bill Chalker in 1982. Bill Chalker published extensively on this access and made a set of file papers available to the UFO Research Australia Network (in lieu of the decline of the Australian Centre for UFO Studies).Comments: 18 RAAF files were examined in my first 1982 visit. The total examined through to 1984 were the 63 files mentioned.

Year: 1999 Period covered: 1953-1955 (the "missing" first DAFI file 114/1/197), 1952-1955 (The Casey UFO papers), 1954 (Sea Fury case file), 1952-1957 (CSIRO file), 1952 - 1960 NSW DoA UFO files. Archives released: Bill Chalker examined 114/1/197 file and CSIRO file in Canberra NAA office. Jason Cowland, then a Victorian based researcher, facilitated my access to the Casey papers and the Sea Fury case file, the latter duplicated RAN (Royal Australian Navy) file released to me in 1982.
[During this period Keith Basterfield started using the Archives Act under the 30 year rule to get full copies of early DOD file series.]

Year: 2000 Period covered: 1968 - 1973 (JIB/JIO DOD UFO files) Archives released: Government intelligence files copies given to Bill Chalker from private files of Harry Turner, retired Defence scientist.

Year: 2001 Period covered: 1952, 1969 Archives released: 1952 file re NSW sightings which precipitated Government minister Richard Casey's entry into the UFO controversy.

By 2003 the first of the digitised government UFO files began to appear on the NAA web site.

Year: 2003 to 2008 Period covered: 1950 to 1991 Archives released: 151 files examined by the AUFORN auspiced Disclosure Australia project undertaked by AURA group co-ordinated by Keith Basterfield. Uncertain quantity of reports beyond 1,610, mainly RAAF files, but also including CSIRO, Department of Supply , DoA, JIB/JIO (now DIO - Defence Intelligence Organisation), ASIO and other agencies. Details in the AUFORN website in the Disclosure Australia archive: http://www.auforn.com/

See http://www.auforn.com/MilitaryFiles.html for details re the "UFO Sub Rosa" documented and other material I have written on this aspect.

Interview on the PARACAST with Gene Steinberg & David Biedny

2009-10-25T05:09:00.000-07:00

From the Paracast site:

October 11, 2009: Bill Chalker
You asked for it: UFO researcher Bill Chalker, author of such books as “Hair of the Alien: DNA and Other Forensic Evidence of Alien Abductions.” The bill of fare includes abductions in Australia and the results of DNA tests.

Gene & David have a great line of interviews well worth listening to.

You can listen to their interview with me at: http://www.theparacast.com/podcasts/paracast_091011.mp3

ARJ BARKER - UFOLOGIST - straight talking

2009-10-25T04:06:00.000-07:00

Arj Barker is a great stand up comedian popular in the US and his second home Australia. Recently he contacted me indicating he was doing a different sort of gig to his usual comedy rountine. This one - a strong interest in UFOs - he was taking seriously and wanted to give it a credible airing. His on site Westall interview with two witnesses (Joy Clarke and Suzanne Savage) of the striking April 1966 mass witnessed sighting at Westall high school was his first outing as a resident "paranormal" reporter for the 7 PM Project programme on TV station Channel 10 on October 10, 2009. He did a very good job despite the format limitations. The show's panel were predictably light hearted, but Arj's positive interest shone through.

He invited me along to his Sydney State Theatre show. It was a great show - a very entertaining and funny night to a full house.

Photo: Bill Chalker and Arj Barker back stage at the State Theatre October 22nd 2009

UFO CASES IN CHINA & AUSTRALIA

2009-09-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

Check out the Coast to Coast interview by George Knapp:

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2009/09/20
Date:
09-20-09
Host:
George Knapp
Guests:
Bill Chalker
Australian UFO investigator Bill Chalker discussed UFO cases in China, as well as his continued investigations into alien abductions in Australia. He's conducted extensive research into Chinese sightings, and made trips there in 2002, 2005, and 2006. The recent UFO sighting by Chinese scientists at the Purple Mountain Observatory that occurred during the solar eclipse in July has been somewhat of a "lost in translation" episode in terms of press coverage, he noted. The scientists witnessed an unexplained object in the corona of the eclipse-- it wasn't necessarily a craft, but probably more like an astronomical body, he explained. He spoke about several ET encounter cases in China. In one, a man (Cao Gong) was taken inside a UFO, and made to take part in a healing exercise for a young woman, which involved a solid beam of light. Interestingly, the woman was later tracked down and found to have unusual marks on her body, he reported. Chalker said he's particularly fascinated by cases such as this that involve "solid lights," beams of light that are sometimes used to transport or heal.He reviewed the 1992 Australian alien abduction case (featured in his book Hair of the Alien), in which a man named Peter Khoury received a strange visitation from two naked woman, and recovered a strand of blonde hair after the encounter. This hair underwent DNA analysis and was found to have unusual hybrid qualities-- the shaft was a rare Asian mongoloid sequence, while the root had a rare Gaelic profile, he detailed. Chalker outlined alien connections to various isolated cultures and tribes, which suggests to him that alien interactions have been going for a lot longer than is typically thought, and there may eventually be DNA evidence to demonstrate this.

Photo: Meeting with abductee in Beijing 2005 - left to right, Harvey Zhao, Lu Shi Guang, Bill Chalker, Cao Gong (abductee), and Zhang Jing Ping (Copyright: Bill Chalker)

Talking with George Knapp on Coast to Coast radio

2009-09-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

I'll be talking with George Knapp on Coast to Coast http://www.coasttocoastam.com/ on Sunday September 20 11 pm to 2 am (US Pacific Coast time) and Monday September 21 4pm to 7 pm Australian East coast time.

We will be discussing among other things the Chinese UFO scene. I have conducted extensive research into the Chinese UFO experience and visited China for that purpose in 2002, 2005 and 2006. We will also be discussing my extensive background in Australian UFO research, the progress of my DNA mediated UFO research, the breakthrough focus on an alien DNA paradigm, and the current state of ufology.

George was in Australia in June 2007 lecturing on the "Hunt for the Skinwalker" saga - the monitoring of UFO and other unexplained phenomena on a property in Utah. We had some time together taking in the local wildlife, beaches and pubs, and also managed to discuss UFOs.

Photos: George and an Australian friend; George's close encounter with some of the Aussie wildlife (Photos: Bill Chalker)

UFO in Her Eyes

2009-09-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

Because of my longtime interest in China, it history and its people, as well as its alluring mysteries, I've also been drawn to its literature, both classical and modern. The variety is as rich as all the manifestations of things Chinese.

A new novel from Xiaolu Guo brings together the UFO and the potent force of change. The book is structually and stylistically engaging. It is deceptively simple in its telling but potent in its resonances with the realities of China.

The book's jacket description reveals:

"Silver Hill Village, 2012. On the twentieth day of the seventh moon - the day after National Wiping Out Illiteracy Day - Kwok Yun is making her way across the rice fields on her Flying Pigeon bicycle. Her world is upturned when she sights a UFThing - a spinning plate in the sky - and helps a Westerner in distress whom she discovers in the shadow of the alien craft.

"It's not long before the village is crawling with men from the National Security and Intelligence Agency armed with pointed questions. And when the Westerner that Kwok Yun saved repays her kindness with a large dollar cheque she becomes a local celebrity, albeit under constant surveillance."

The agents' interrogation files provide the story's structure which reveals a "startling parable of change" that imagines "an uneasy future for rural China and its relations not only with Beijing but the wider world beyond.

From the book:

'Have you heard of UFOs?' she asked.

'UFwhat? We had no idea what she was talking about.

'UFOs. Unidentified Flying Objects.'

Yun just stared at her with those big, stupid eyes of hers. Then Chief Chang continued:

'It is thought by some that UFOs carry alien life forms.'

DISTRICT 9 – Alienation, sangomas & “the alien problem”

2009-08-09T03:59:00.000-07:00

I went to a special Sony Pictures Sydney preview of the Peter Jackson produced alien movie District 9 on July 30. The movie’s release date is August 13. While it might not do much for the real “alien problem” – the UFO mystery – I found it to be an entertaining science fiction movie with “a raw, authentic feel”, captured through an impressive blend of “authentic-looking images,” “mockumentary footage” and real, existing footage from actual news agencies. I look forward to seeing it again, to witness the wider reaction to it, and also to a sequel. A unique and unusual film, once you get into it, the story sweeps you along in an unlikely embrace with potent contemporary issues of real alienation, how media shapes our reality, rampant militarism and unchecked exploitation of secret power.

The film’s production information reveals:

“Over twenty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees from their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them.

“Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens’ welfare. MNU will receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens’ powerful weaponry work. So far, they have failed;; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA.

“The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when MNU begins evicting the non-humans from District 9, with MNU field agents responsible for moving them to a new camp. One of the MNU field operatives, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), contracts an alien virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9.”

While the above detail might seem in the “spoiler” category, in reality it is mere teaser for a fine and assured movie directing debut from Neill Blomkamp. District 9’s genesis most directly comes from Blomkamp’s low budget short “mockumentary” Alive in Jo’burg, where he dumps intergalactic aliens into the cultural mix of one of Africa’s most dynamic and then somewhat dystopian cities - Johannesburg. Capturing the reaction of this “alien intrusion” is potently enriched in confronting ways by the very real xenophobia and conflicts evident in the city in response to the problem of illegal alien of the neighbouring country kind. This outing inspires the style, approach and content of District 9.

The hapless Wikus gets the MNU gig of directing the relocation of the aliens from District 9. He describes them clumsily and condescendingly as “prawns.” They are collectively seen as revolting, and habitually scavenging in the dumps within District 9 and its surrounding areas bordering Johannesburg. Incongruously their massive mothership has been hovering above the city for 20 years in a scene reminiscent of “Independence Day.” This and other fleeting resonances with various sci-fi films are soon pushed aside with Blomkamp’s unique style and plot direction. The alien “prawns” can’t go home, and early attempts at inclusion give way to explicit parallels to apartheid and our contemporary treatment of refugees and those different to us. It is a real tribute to the filmmakers here that we have a highly focused and different reaction by films end.

The film captures many levels of action – the plodding heavy handed relocation efforts directed at alien undesirables by the menacing militarised MNU enterprise; the alienation of militarised technology, both alien and human (the latter through MNU’s similarities with private military and security enterprises in conflicts like Iraq); and one man’s confronting and frightening descent into alienation through personal evolution of the bizarre kind.

Another level between the mainstream world of humans and the bizarre world of the seemingly helpless and scavenging aliens is richly realised in the Nigerian underworld lair that runs a gamut of exploitative activities aimed at both humans and aliens. More darkly the Nigerian gang wants the unrealised alien power but try different exotic traditional African approaches. It is here I was fascinated to see a confronting aspect I covered in my own book “Hair of the Alien” where I describe some of more stomach turning activities of African shamans or sangomas, most notably in the taboo initiation rituals of Credo Mutwa. He tells of eating “alien” flesh in an attempt to gain alien power. The Nigerians also try such culinary routes to gain access to the alien’s control over their weaponry.

District 9 is a confronting and wild descent into multiple levels of alienation in unique and striking ways. I think it will be an intriguing and cult style hit at the box office. Films like this that not only engage in interesting and entertaining ways, but also cause us to confront all too familiar real experiences with alienation, are too rare. At the very least District 9 is a dark and gritty example of a very popular and enduring genre of film – the alien and us. Bring on the sequel.

(Images: Copyright Sony Pictures - used on the basis of reviewing the film)

The Passing of South Australia's - "Mr. UFO" COLIN NORRIS (1920 - 2009)

2009-07-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

During Monday evening, July 13th 2009 Colin Norris passed away in Adelaide, South Australia. Although not well known outside of Australia, Colin was long considered in South Australia by the local media as "Mr. UFO."

Born on 30 September 1920, Colin encountered the UFO mystery directly in 1942 at Geraldton Western Australia, where he was stationed with the Royal Australia Air Force. Colin's nephew Mark told me, "I can tell you that Uncle Colin told me many times of his first encounter of a UFO, or foo fighter as the air force called them, during the 2nd world war. Colin was the turret gunner situated at the nose of a Liberator bomber in the Aust. air force over South Pasific. He told me that they were buzzed many times by a flying disc of metallic colour . One night while he was standing on the tarmac, a flying disc hovered over him silently, and beamed a blue light onto his head, after this happened he had a scar on his head he could never explain. Colin was so intrigued by these things going on around him ,that he devoted his entire life to investigating UFO and their existence." Colin described the 1942 UFO a bit further as brown in colour with a purple "U" around its perimeter.

He started studying the subject in more detail as reports of "flying saucers" gained more prominence in Australia during 1952. By 1957 he had joined Fred Stone's Australia Flying Saucer Research Society. Following Fred Stone's departure from AFSRS in 1962 Colin became vice president. In 1963 he was quoted by the Adelaide News newspaper (April 27) saying, "I just think the world might have something to gain from these people, who might be more advanced in knowledge than we are." By the end of the 1960s he had the highest profile of any UFO researcher in the state of South Australia. He lectured at the 1965 Ballarat UFO conference on "History of UFOs" and was a speaker at the 1971 Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) symposium on UFOs, one of the few times mainstream science publically engaged with "the UFO problem."

In 1972 he even came to the attention of ASIO - Australia's domestic spy service - apparently because of his correspondence with Soviet academics and giving a lecture to the Young Socialists League in SA. He was also a focus of RAAF South Australia "counter intelligence" memos which stated,
1. Enclosed is an UFO report forwarded to this Headquarters by "The Australian Flying Saucer Research Society - (Adelaide)", together with an accompanying letter from Mr John Burford which, inter alia, outlines recent moves to amalgamate the various UFO "research" societies in South Australia...
2. As on many occassions in the past, the report arrived at this Headquarters too late to make an investigation possible without considerable embarrassment and possible adverse publicity. The various UFO societies in this State, while aware of the RAAF's responsibility to investigate UFO sightings in an official capacity, are nonetheless reluctant to pass on information on UFO sightings to the RAAF until they have "picked the bones clean". Every attempt has been made by this Headquarters to elicit the co-operation of local UFO organisations, and in particular the AFSRS, in an endeavour to gain some first-hand information on UFO sightings....
4. Also enclosed for your information is a list os alleged sightings investigated by the AFSRS alone in 1971. It is significant that of the 112 sights, not one was reported to this Headquarters in the first instance. Indeed, it was only at the personal whim of Mr. Norris that the RAAF received copies of investigations (without "findings") in the long term. It would appear that, in spite of sparse and rather patronising publicity by the mass media to the effect that the RAAF is the responsible UFO-reporting organisation, and arrangements with the police to have any individual sighting a UFO contact this Headquarters, the public at large in this State remains either ignorant of the correct procedure, or chooses to contact the more glamorous - and credulous - "flying saucer" society. Furthermore, we are not aware of any effort on a national scale by higher authority to inform the public of the RAAF position in this matter, which is very active in South Australia.
5. From the foregoing, it can be seen that, if the proposed amalgamation of UFO groups in this State comes to pass, and timely reports of UFO sightings are passed to this Headquarters as indicated by Mr. Burford's remarks, the volume of work involved in investigating and processing such sightings will increase considerably. In fact, it is doubtful whether the Officer-in-Charge UFO's at this Headquarters (a secondary appointment) would be able to cope with such an increase, without significant and non-acceptable inroads being made into his primary role.
(E.T. PICKERD) Air Commodore, Officer Commanding

Colin Norris's AFSRS changed its name to Australian International UFO Flying Saucer Research" in 1978 and continued to publish a newsletter that recorded summaries of South Australian and other UFO sightings. He continued to maintain a high public media profile through the 1980s and into the 1990s, but as health and age issues started to intrude he became less active.

I described Colin's UFO contribution to Australian ufology in my 1996 book "The OZ Files - the Australian UFO story" as "colourful and controversial." He was never very far from controversial claims and was a favourite of the local media. Although some researchers saw him as regular source of "tantalising glimpses of material but not much detail" I found that Colin was helpful and forthcoming in his own way. He would be a great source of antecdotal information. He described to me in detail his investigations of some controversial abduction cases in South Australia (including the 1979 Nildottie affair and the 1974 Clifton Bore episode which featured the distressing element of possible missing children and the strange element of topological inversion (best captured in popular culture in Dr. Who's Tardis - bigger on the inside than outside. I have come across other cases that feature this element).

When I learnt from other sources at a lecture I gave to the Sydney Space Association in 1992 of a fascinating UFO photographic case at Kangaroo Island South Australia I interviewed the witness and found that she had reported her 1983 close encounter to Colin soon after. He kindly provided me a copy of some of the investigation material. His newsletter had only reported the briefest of details, which included none of the strange elements.

In our correspondence, meetings, and lectures I always found him cordial and full of intriguing stories and claims. His stationary reminded us of his credo, "The visitations of UFOs remind us that there are other planets in the Universe similar to ours." His son Grant told me Colin's philosophy was "investigate, tabulate, correlate" and take a nuetral view, free of occult or religious views. He was indeed a remarkable source of raw data, and it is pleasing that his data and files are in good hands. His son wants to ensure Colin's UFO legacy is preserved.

Colin Norris - a long life dedicated to examining a remarkable enigma - the UFO enigma - in his own colourful and unique way.

THE PHENOMENOLOGIST EMBRACES UFOS

2009-07-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

Issue 2 of a great new publication - the Phenomenologist - has just been released featuring an article I wrote on the remarkable 1868 UFO vision of Parramatta surveyor and council member Frederick Birmingham. It also features an interview with me, commenting on some interesting areas. e.g.

Q: A few years ago there was talk that UFOlogy was dead. Were rumours of its demise greatly exaggerated?
A: Of course - such talk are classic
examples of the dumbing down of media's treatment and science's lack of depth
about the subject. A much deeper and properly focused examination of the UFO
mystery soon alerts one to the fact that the subject is very much alive and
waiting a serious embrace.
The Phenomenologist is the official journal of the Society for Anomalous
Research Australia (SARA). The publication is a benefit of membership
of
SARA. See their web site for details: http://www.sara.org.au/ The issue also
features stories on spirit possession in Malaysia, a SARA ghost watch at
Maitland Gaol, and other fascinating matters. Edited by Ruby Lang the magazine has her great touch of good content and excellent editorial and production quality.
The cover features the wonderful artwork of Tony Albert - "AustrALIEN" (2007) - which featured at the outstanding Penrith Regional Gallery's exhibition "The VISITORS - The Australian Response to UFOS and Aliens" See my posts on this visionary exhibit.

An Australian site devoted to police UFO sightings

2009-07-08T05:55:00.000-07:00

Richard Jones, a civilian police worker working in crime prevention in north Brisbane, was been developing an excellent site devoted to police UFO sightings in Australia.

http://policeufo.com/ provides a forum for police to report sightings and a focus for research into such events. Richard has already tapped into the intriguing number of police related cases already known to researchers.

While police, like any other observers might occassionally misinterprete various stimuli, they have and can be a very credible source of excellent sighting data.

The WESTALL UFO "Black Swan"

2009-01-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

“I am interested in how to live in a world we don’t understand very well –in
other words, while most human thought (particularly since the enlightenment) has
focused us on how to turn knowledge into decisions, I am interested in how to
turn lack of information, lack of understanding, and lack of “knowledge” into
decisions –how not to be a “turkey”. My last book The Black Swan drew a map of
what we don’t understand; my current work focuses on how to domesticate the
unknown.”

This quote is how the controversial modern iconoclast Nassim Nicholas Taleb describes what he does. Equally it could describe the UFO and alien abduction mystery. The UFO mystery we know so little about and have so little control over, is one of those Taleb “Black Swans”, a thing that “lies outside the realm of regular expectations”, “it carries an extreme impact” and “human nature makes us concoct explanations for its occurrence after the fact, making it explainable and predictable.” These are key attributes of Taleb’s “black swans”, events of rarity, extreme impact, and retrospective predictability. It is precisely in the third attribute that mainstream science and media have let us down. They tried to explain the whole phenomenon away, but it is exactly the phenomenon’s ability to remain highly improbable to mainstream perceptions, but to have high impact in incredibly mysterious and profound ways, which should guide us. We have to learn to “expect the unexpected” and learn to understand it and learn from it.

While Taleb has critics, particularly because of his criticisms and comments on the financial world, it is his concepts outside that realm that are of most interest to researchers like me. He writes that most put him “in the wrong box --too much emphasis on the far less interesting, more limited –and rather boring --applications of my ideas to finance/economics, & less on the dynamics of historical events/philosophy of history, artistic success, technological luck, and general uncertainty in society.”

The UFO and alien abduction phenomena are full of “black swan” material, what Lambros D. Callimahos, an almost legendary figure within the National Security Agency and the field of cryptology, called “surprise material.” He wrote two documents - “Blindness to Surprise Material Causing Defect” and “UFO Hypothesis and Survival Questions.” UFOs, a phenomenon publicly ridiculed and rejected by science, had been placed by the NSA analyst in the same category as major historical threatening events. The appendix section of the “Surprise Material” document includes two pages of historical examples of “Blindness to Surprise Material Causing Defect” (eg. Pearl Harbour, the Maginot Line, and the Normandy Invasion (now we would also include the September 11 attacks)). It is important to note that UFOs, in this classified NSA document, are being treated as similar to major threatening events, and not as a trivial aberration. Callimahos founded the Dundee Society - a secret society within the NSA, which proselytised from within that UFOs had probably already visited Earth. According to award winning NY Times journalist Howard Blum, the NSA has since 1972 been “secretly monitoring and often assessing worldwide allegations of UFO activity.”

One of those striking pieces of “surprise material” – an extraordinary “black swan” – nested in the environs of Westall back on April 6 1966.

On 5 July 2008 I was able to undertake an on site detailed investigation and interview at Westall in Melbourne with V. who was a key close encounter witness of part of the striking Westall school event of 6 April 1966. I videoed the interview and got him to do a rough layout map of the incident.

Here he is pointing out the school and oval.

V. holding the rough layout map he made for me
of the 1966 Westall close encounter

V.’s sketch of the UFO (courtesy of Shane Ryan)

my preliminary sketch of the events V. described.

In the incident young V. stood to the left close to the object, while 3 other students stood around in close proximity to the second object. A teacher and at least a dozen other students crowded along the high fence to get a view. The two objects rose up from the grass and took off, one to the west, the other flew up and orbited a small plane before flying down to the south west Grange reserve area, with students in pursuit. My sketch is preliminary and not quite to scale. The UFOs were described as about 1.5 metres in height and approximately 5.4 metres in width. They left behind two circles of burnt grass.

V. went home for lunch straight after this extraordinary experience which swept up the rest of his school. He explained to me that he didn’t need to see any more that day (6 April 1966) because he had seen the exact same object a few years earlier, when as a young child he was trying to take a wooden pallet from a factory site near the Westall Grange area during the early hours of the morning. His escapade was interrupted when a UFO flew over. It was the same looking object he would see during daylight at Westall in 1966 along with many in his school, but it was flying on edge – an appearance captured in a polaroid photo taken near Balwyn 4 days before the Westall incident! There were other similar encounters during this period of the 1960s in the area around Westall and neighbouring isolated suburbs of Melbourne, which in those days was the outer edge of the city. This area still had an isolated almost country feel to it.

I have confirmed that at least one of the key Australian government scientists involved was Dr. Berson (CSIRO – Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation). He suggested in a letter to Robert Low, the coordinator of the notorious US Colorado University Condon UFO study project, the military may have had “foreknowledge” of the 1966 Westall event:

(the extract refers to the element of “D.A. … foreknowledge” of the Westall school event – with “D.A.” referring to Department of Air – the Australian Defence Department – Air Office – equivalent to today’s Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF))

The colour Polaroid photo was taken of a UFO allegedly seen over the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn, at 2.21 pm, on April 2nd, 1966, 4 days before the school landing. The photographer was a local engineering company business man who was also a member of the Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society. He requested that his name not be used, so he was referred to as "James Brown" in some accounts. I have spoken to him on a number of occasions. He impresses as a well credentialed person of wide business and consultancy experience who through a range of extraordinary life experiences has had a remarkable role in the complex and bizarre UFO mystery. "He lived in a 'phenomena soaked' world," according to a family friend who knew him. "I remember (him) very fondly and think of him as someone who in his own way added colour to an often hueless world."

The weather was warm and clear. Suddenly the house garden lit up as if there had been a reflection from some huge mirror. Brown looked up and saw a bright, shiny object coming towards him. He estimated its diameter at being between 20 feet to 35 feet. The object seemed to about 150 feet up in the air. It appeared to float down towards the witness. The strange object resembled a big mushroom with the stalk pointing towards earth. It spun through a 180 degrees angle on its vertical axis, then the witness photographed it. The object then turned slowly through another 180 degrees on its horizontal axis bringing the stalk to face the business man. From what seemed a virtual stationary position it shot off northwards at great speed, seemingly accelerating to be hundreds of miles an hour in seconds. The witness ran and got a carpenter who was working on the house. They heard a boom similar like a sonic boom seconds later.

The VFSRS president Peter Norris knew the witness and interviewed him and the carpenter. The carpenter confirmed Brown's story, stating he had Brown in sight when the photograph had been taken. The two had stood shoulder to shoulder as the Polaroid photo developed. Despite Brown's apparent inclination to keep the story quiet, the photo and story was released to the media. The incident received national press and television coverage. Despite this, there was no public interest apparent from official organisations.
VFSRS issued a report on the photo which indicated that the polaroid photograph and an enlarged copy showed no evidence of a multiple exposure, montage or any other form of tampering. The US organisation, APRO, had their photo consultant examine the photo. Dr. B.R. Frieden, Professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, reported finding "a jagged line of discontinuity running across the centre of the photo, through the cloud field, which suggests that there are actually 2 separate photos joined together and rephotographed to make the one." APRO therefore regarded the photo as a possible hoax. The photo also apparently "failed" the GSW (Ground Saucer Watch) computer enhancement technique. Although aware of these results, Brown still maintains the photo is a genuine one. Given what I have learnt with regard to the circumstances of the photo incident, how it was witnessed, that it was a polaroid photo, and that the GSW analysis technique has been criticised as sometimes being unreliable itself through questionable application and poor methodology, there is considerable evidence that the Balwyn photo may indeed be legitimate. Note also the fact that the Balwyn UFO was captured on the photo flying on edge just as described by the Westall school witness V’s earlier UFO experience.

Brown claims that while there was no public official interest in his photo when it became public, there was intense clandestine interest. He indicated that interest was directly attributed to the fact that his photo showed an object that was ostensibly identical to the Westall object observed 4 days later. Brown described how all hell broke loose when the photo was released to the media without his permission. He claims he came under intense scrutiny by the military and intelligence agents. He alleged that helicopters surveyed the area repeatedly and that he was interrogated by military, intelligence and CSIRO officials on numerous occasions. Brown claims he was taken to a clandestine meeting attended by military, intelligence and CSIRO representatives and at least two individuals noted for their high public profile on the UFO phenomenon as advocates and witnesses. It was at this meeting he claims to have been told about an extraordinary film event at Dry Creek Tracking Station and Woomera during 1963. Brown also told this story to Leonard Stringfield. Allegedly a low level, football shaped UFO apparently caused an electrical outage and radar blot-out at the station and at the Woomera rocket range. The UFO was allegedly witnessed by Australian scientists. Camera-men took 16,000 feet of colour movie film of the UFO, which was ostensibly passed onto Washington, D.C. for further evaluation. While intriguing, none of the information could be substantiated.

While on the more controversial end of this particular “black swan nesting” it is interesting to note that a curious and provocative message was placed on a U Tube comment page connected to an unrelated and foreign US UFO case controversy video. It stated: “My father, who served in the Australian Air Force for 21 years told me just before he died that he had contact with an Alien Ship in Victoria in the 60’s. The event is known as the Westall Incident. He told me our minds are so controlled and dominated by the “Powers That Be”, that no-one has the time or energy to let down their guard for long enough to let the truth sink in. So it’s easier for them to cover up. We have a lot of sheep here in Oz but sadly most of them are Human Beings.” The author writing under the anonymous identifier “Illumani101” has so far not responded to efforts to get a clarification. It is unclear if this message is genuine or fake.

There is little doubt that controversy, intrigue and bizarre elements swirl around the Westall saga. Extensive investigation and research is continuing into this remarkable case, most recently including the efforts of documentary film maker Rosie Jones and Canberra academic Shane Ryan, who I have been working with. I have always seen the Westall case as a striking affair and have undertaken numerous enquiries, investigations and research into the events over the years. Something altogether intriguing and interesting occurred at Westall on April 6 1966. These cooperative efforts are bringing together greater knowledge of the 1966 Westall UFO “black swan” and maybe sometime soon its mysteries will be fully revealed.

At the April 2006 Westall reunion – with Rosie Jones (director) & Carmel McAloon (producer); and with Shane Ryan & George Simpson, AUFORN’s Victorian director.

Thanks to V. (the 1966 Westall school UFO witness), Rosie Jones, George Simpson, Shane Ryan and "James Brown".

The Valentich UFO mystery - after 30 years still unanswered

2008-10-24T03:09:00.000-07:00

Thirty years ago during the early evening of October 21st 1978 pilot Frederick Valentich reported in a radio communication with Steve Robey of Melbourne Flight Service that “a large aircraft” which had “a long shape”, “a green light”, appearing to have a bright metallic lustre and 4 bright lights, travelled variously at high speed, approached his Cessna aircraft, apparently hovered in a stationary manner and also orbited above him. After six minutes Valentich reported his aircraft’s engine was rough idling and the strange object was “hovering and it’s not an aircraft.” Having indicated his intention was to fly on to King Island Valentich’s communication terminated after a 17 second of “metallic” noises. Neither Valentich or the Cessna were ever found. The event became one of Australia’s greatest aviation mysteries and the apparent UFO connection remains unresolved. I have researched and written about the events extensively, including:
“The Missing Cessna and the UFO: a preliminary report on the Bass Strait-King Island Affair”, Flying Saucer Review, Volume 24, No.5, March 1979, pgs. 3-5.
“Vanished – A report on the Valentich – Bass Strait Affair”, Australian UFO Researcher, in 3 parts (No. 56 & 57, No. 58 & 59, No. 60, January 1979 through to December, 1979). This report included details on the widespread UFO activity on the same day as the incident, the precedent for UFO activity over Cape Otway, Bass Strait and King Island, precedents for UFO-related plane disappearances or crashes.
“Valentich-Bass Strait (Australia) affair”, in Ronald Story’s “The Encyclopedia of UFOs”, 1980.
“Vanished? The Valentich Affair re-examined”, Flying Saucer Review, Vol. 30, No.2, 1984.
See also “1978 and the RAAF” and “Frederick Valentich and Delta Sierra Juliet – Vanished?” in my lengthy on line document “UFOs Sub Rosa Down Under” at http://www.theozfiles.com/ufos_subrosa4.html and http://www.theozfiles.com/ufos_subrosa6.html respectively.
I described the affair extensively in my 1996 book “The OZ Files – the Australian UFO Story.”

The areas that feature prominently in the Valentich incident - Cape Otway (his last land call), Bass Strait (the apparent location of his disappearance) and King Island (his apparent destination), all have extensive precedents for UFO activity. During a two month period centred around January, 1978, holiday makers, fishermen, school teachers, local police and lighthouse keepers in the Cape Otway area reported seeing UFOs. During July, 1977, local residents and the lighthouse keeper at Cape Otway, saw an inexplicable brilliant light source, that hovered out to sea for half an hour. We have seen in our history that Bass Strait figured in UFO mysteries particularly in 1920 and 1944. The Melbourne "Argus" newspaper even described many people seeing "cigar-shaped" objects flying over Bass Strait as far back as 1896. King Island's 425 square miles played host to a wave of unidentified nocturnal aerial lights for at least three months prior to Frederick Valentich's disappearance. Oval shaped lights followed cars and mystified local residents. Strange lights or flares appeared off the north of the island. One of the most spectacular close encounters with a UFO in the area, occurred at a wild and uninhabitated part of the King Island coast, near Whistler Point, just before dawn, on April 10th, 1976. "A beam of light" emanating from "a cross-shaped object" approached a duck-shooters car, in a direct line. The light display, eventually receded directly along its line of approach, ending a silent inspection, when it disappeared over the distant skyline.

There is much that suggests a UFO connection but unfortunately a final answer alludes us, preventing the comfort of certainty. Despite the provocative nature of the taped conversation Valentich had with Melbourne Flight Control prior to his disappearance, that refers to a possible UFO presence, the affair still remains a mystery.

The Valentich mystery is punctuated with haunting, or rather more appropriately, taunting clues, that sets one off in all sorts of conflicting directions. Many have come up with all sorts of final solutions, that vary from the bizarre to the sublime. Did a UFO abduct Valentich? Did Valentich contrive the whole affair? Did he, as many think, crash into Bass Strait, leaving no trace? Or are other prosaic explanations involved? A multitude of various lines of enquiry radiate out in all sorts of directions. Most take us away from the facts of the matter, namely that no trace of pilot or plane have yet been found. The mystery resonates in the Australian consciousness in a place reserved for more mythic episodes like the haunting fiction of "Picnic at Hanging Rock". It has inspired dramatic works like the profound and confronting play "Sky" and the bizarre and striking TV mini-series, "Locusts and Wild Honey". We must remind ourselves that a family waits for an answer that so far has never come. I hope that some day they will find that answer.

1947 - earliest modern era Chinese "flying saucer" file? - "Roswell revisited" in Sichuan province: "Its just a weather balloon"

2008-08-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

Reporter Gao Yang Ji-Yong reported on Sichuan Online on August 7 2008 on the "significant discovery" of a July 18 1947 document from Chengdu archives describing the discovery and investigation of a "flying saucer" found by a local farmer. The material was rushed to the Physics Institute of Sichuan University where it was personally examined by the Dean of Physics Zheng Zhanhan. It seemed locals were initially puzzled by the find. Shades of Roswell! The culprit it seems was US hardware - a "high altitude weather measuring" device the report indicated. Or perhaps it was a rogue Mogul array - I'm kidding ... perhaps?

Source of image: Wei photography Sichuan Online http://www.scol.com.cn/

Thanks to Diane Frola of AUFORN for the lead. The story has been carried on a number of other Chinese sites such as http://news.oeeee.com and www.022net.com

2nd part of BOA interview with Bill Chalker

2008-05-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

Tim Binnall has posted up the second part of the interview he did with me back on April 21 2008: http://www.binnallofamerica.com/boaa5.25.8.html

From his site:

Our ultra-long distance conversation with Australian Ufologist Bill Chalker continues. In this installment, we'll cover the history of Australian UFO studies from both a civilian and government perspective. We'll hear about the fascinating story of Edgar Jarrold and, also, Bill's examination of the official Australian UFO files. We'll discuss the media's coverage of the UFO phenomenon in Australia and how the general public feels about Unidentified Flying Objects in the land Down Under. On top of all that, we talk about the world of Chinese Ufology, something that Bill has been investigating for the last few years, and get a glimpse into this mysterious area of UFO research. All that and, of course, tons and tons more.
Standing alongside our examinations of South Africa and France, it's another eye-opening look at the world of UFO studies across the globe. Part 1 of the Bill Chalker interview can be found HERE.
Full Preview: We begin the second half by examining another aspect of Australian Ufology: the history of organized UFO studies Down Under, including the fascinating story of Edgar Jarrold, the "father of Australian Ufology." Looking at the situation in America, where serious minded scientists at first supported UFO studies and then, following the Condon Report, backed away, we find out how closely that situation was mirrored in Australia. This leads to Bill telling us about how he was granted direct access to the Australian UFO files in 1982 and discovered nuclear physicist Harry Turner, who played a pivotal role in clandestine military investigations into UFOs. Bill shares a stunning story of how friction between US Air Force officials and Donald Keyhoe resulted in the derailing of the first official Australian investigation into UFOs during the mid-1950's.
Bill also shares the remarkable story of how Harry Turner almost put together a "rapid intervention team" of military types to investigate UFO sightings and landings in Australia. He also reveals the shocking turn of events that stymied the RIT project, which surrounded the fallout of the Condon Report, that was felt all the way in Australia. We also find out how extensively the government investigated UFOs in the decades after that. Bill talks about an intriguing case, that he uncovered in the official UFO files, from 1973 in Western Australia, which co-incided with a nuclear alert and raised tensions between the US and Russia.
Jumping back to organized UFO studies, we get Bill's opinion on the state of Ufology in Australia today. Bill explains how the situation has changed, as far as organized UFO groups, in Australia since the inception of Ufology there in the 1950's and '60's. He talks about attempts to create a national network of UFO groups in Australia and some of the roadblocks that arose that made such an enterprise difficult.
Looking again at the government's role in investigating UFOs, we find out if there has even been an Australian version of Project Blue Book or an MOD defense desk job similar to the one formerly held in the UK by Nick Pope. Bill compares official Australian UFO investigations with civilian investigations and explains why the civilian ones seem to have more credibility. We get Bill's thoughts on the possibility of a UFO cover-up permeating the Australian government. This segues into some discussion on the Westall School case of 1966 and why Bill thinks it is a good example of potential government cover-up. Wrapping up the government / military discussion, we find out if there is much deference by the Australian officials to the US or UK governments, with regards to UFO issues. On this topic, Bill tells us about the 1953 Drury Film which was sent to America for analysis and returned with large portions of the film deleted.
Getting a little bit wild, we find out what Bill knows about the longstanding rumours of an alien base at Mt. Zeil and/or the Pine Gap facility in Australia.
Following that, we look at the next big pillar of influence on Ufology in Australia: the media. Bill tells us about how the media coverage of the UFO phenomenon has changed over the years in Australia. Bill details his observation that there is a "dumbing down" process at work and not engaging the substantial nature of the phenomenon. He talks about some of his experiences working with the media in Australia. We then find out how extensive the paranormal media is in Australia as compared to in the US.
Tackling the last puzzle piece in the big picture of Australian Ufology, we discuss the perspective of the everyday public with regards to the UFO phenomenon. Bill details some interesting poll numbers that have surfaced in Australia with regards to belief in UFOs. Scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel, we discuss UFO skeptics, creatures that sadly exist in Australia as well.
Going off in a whole 'nother direction, we discuss the world of Chinese Ufology, which Bill has investigated. He gives some great insight into how the world of civilian Ufology had developed in China since the 1970's. He reveals the remarkable popularity with which the subject has been embraced in the country. We discuss the difficulties of the language barrier between these two worlds, as most of the key Chinese Ufologists don't speak English. Given the perceived tyrannical nature of the Chinese government, we find out how they feel about the civilian UFO research groups that have sprung up in that country. Bill reveals what he has learned about official government investigations into UFOs in China including a bizarre story of an alleged alien infestation in one small town.
Wrapping things up, we find out what's next for Bill Chalker in the near and distant future.

Binnall of America audio interview with Bill Chalker

2008-05-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Tim Binnall undertook a lengthy interview with me back on April 21 2008, which was placed up on BoA from May18, 2008:

From his site: http://www.binnallofamerica.com/boaa5.18.8.html

BoA:Audio returns to Down Under for a lengthy conversation with Australian Ufologist Bill Chalker. In this first installment, we'll be discussing the history of the UFO phenomenon in Australia, from Aboriginal times to key pre-1947 cases to noteworthy sightings from the UFO boom of the 1950's to the explosion in abduction research of the 1990's and onward. We'll hear about key cases like the 1954 "Sea Fury Incident", the Father Gill case, and the Mundrabilla case of 1988. Bill will also describe, in-depth, his forensic investigation into an alleged abduction that spawned the book "Hair of the Alien."
It's another international showcase for BoA:Audio as we continue our investigation of the global aspect of Ufology.
Full Preview: We kick things off with the usual bio/background on Bill Chalker and find out how he got interested in the UFO phenomenon. We begin our investigation of Australian Ufology by first finding out about the history of the phenomenon Down Under. He tells us about a key case from 1868 in Australia which resembled a contactee-type event and another key case from 1927 which resembled "an early version of the Mothman prophecy." We also talk about some of the Aboriginal history related to UFOs.
We compare and contrast the evolution of the UFO phenomenon in Australia with its American counterpart. This includes some fascinating perspective on how the UFO subject was viewed by the Australian media and public during the early years of the "modern UFO era." Bill tells us about the first big national UFO flap in Victoria, Australia in 1954. We find out if there has been any change in description of UFOs, as has seemed to be the case here in America.
Next, Bill talks about one of the key cases in Australian UFO history, starting with a detailed recounting of a 1954 sighting by an Australian Royal Australian Naval pilot, which drew national attention in Australia and was studied by famous US Ufologists Dr. Jim McDonald and J.Allen Hynek. We find out about the uniqueness of UFO waves in Australia, which Bill says "have a pretty distinct pattern." Bill tells us about the "Father Gill case" from 1959 in Papua New Guinea, then an Australian colony. Bill recounts the 1978 Valentich case, which saw a pilot disappear after a UFO encounter, a story which gained global prominence in UFO circles.
We also find out about the Mundrabilla case of 1988, another UFO encounter that gained worldwide prominence. Bill explains how this case changed the tenor of UFO reports in Australia and served as a cautionary tale for UFO witnesses in the country. Looking at the 1990's, Bill tells us about how the abduction phenomenon took the country by storm and pushed UFO reports to the wayside. We then find out about the two most prominent abduction cases in Australia, starting with the Kelly Cahill case. Bill shares a decision he made, with regards to the case, that he later says he grew to regret.
The other key abduction case discussed is Peter Khoury's abduction experience. Bill recounts Khoury's initial confusion over the abduction and the revelation of what had happened after seeing a billboard for the paperback release of "Communion" in Australia. This leads to Bill talking about Khoury's 1992 experience, that resulted in the recovery of physical evidence, the research of which would become the basis for Bill's book "Hair of the Alien."
Bill gives a detailed account of the testing done on the hair and the results from those tests. He goes over, in-depth, the four phases of the investigation into the purported ET hair and the bizarre DNA results that have come back from the testing of the hair. He also updates us on the progress of the case since publication of "Hair of the Alien." We find out the extent of which the DNA findings have been verified by outside researchers. He also talks about some of his other esoteric forensic investigations, including the "alien claw" case and Bill gives details on the results of his investigation into this case. He also talks about his forensic investigation into the Betty and Barney Hill case.
Bill Chalker Bio
Bill Chalker, born in Grafton, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, was educated at the University of New England, graduating with a Honours Science Degree (B.Sc. Hons.) with majors in Chemistry and Mathematics. Since 1975 he has worked in the food industry as an industrial chemist, laboratory manager and quality manager.
Bill Chalker is one of Australia's leading UFO researchers and has written extensively on the subject. He is a contributing editor for the International UFO Reporter and coordinates the NSW UFO INVESTIGATION CENTRE (UFOIC). He was the Australian representative for the Aerial Phenomena Research Organisation (APRO) from 1978 to 1986 and NSW state representative for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) from 1976 to 1993.
In 1996 Bill Chalker's book on the Australia UFO experience, "The OZ Files: the Australian UFO story", was published in Australia by Duffy & Snellgrove. 2005 saw the publication of his second book "Hair of the Alien" which details his forensic investigation into the Peter Khoury abduction case.
His websites are http://www.theozfiles.com/ and ozfiles.blogspot.com

Next Week :
Bill Chalker (Part 2) Australian Ufology

Our ultra-long distance conversation with Australian Ufologist Bill Chalker continues. In this installment, we'll cover the history of Australian UFO studies from both a civilian and government perspective. We'll hear about the fascinating story of Edgar Jarrold and, also, Bill's examination of the official Australian UFO files. We'll discuss the media's coverage of the UFO phenomenon in Australia and how the general public feels about Unidentified Flying Objects in the land Down Under. On top of all that, we talk about the world of Chinese Ufology, something that Bill has been investigating for the last few years, and get a glimpse into this mysterious area of UFO research. All that and, of course, tons and tons more.
Standing alongside our examinations of South Africa and France, it's another eye-opening look at the world of UFO studies across the globe.

New Posts on the UFOIC & UFO History Keys Blogs

2008-05-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

I have placed new posts on my UFOIC and UFO History Keys blog sites:

UFOIC mates - then and now - retro blast from the past

The Arrival of the saucers down under & "Condign", Condon, meteors & plasma blues

Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained

2008-05-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

In the current newstand edition of the Australian magazine Ufologist in my UFO History Keys column I wrote a piece entitled "The general sum of knowledge - UFO Encyclopedias." It surveyed the encylopediac treatments of the UFO subject.

Just after completing this piece I came across another interesting book that took a different approach. The Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained came out of the UK late in 2007 and has just appeared in bookshops in Australia. It is a weighty 760 page hardback with over 1,300 entries that tries to give a "wide ranging and balanced guide to unexplained phenomena." Edited by Una McGovern with contributions from the likes of Jenny Randles, Bob Rickard and Karl Shuker it gives a good general coverage of the UFO subject. Its dictionary format has each entry beginning with a "definition" followed by paragraphs which expands on the subject.

I was surprised to see myself getting an entry, definition and 4 paragraphs. I am "defined" as:

"Possibly the most celebrated UFO researcher in the southern hemisphere, Chalker has spent four decades collating alleged physical UFO evidence in Australia."

While "physical evidence" has been a primary focus for my research - from UFO landing cases ("physical traces") through to forensic DNA mediated investigations of alleged alien abduction cases (a possible "alien DNA paradigm"), I was pleased to see references to some of my other focuses such as historical cases (1868 Parramatta) and official investigations (specifically my comprehensive access to the Australian government UFO files between 1982 and 1984).

While a single general "unexplained phenomena" volume cannot give a comprehensive coverage of individual subjects the Chambers volume is a welcome and informative addition to reference works that cover this fascinating area. Others include "The Rough Guide to Unexplained Phenomena" by Bob Rickard and John Michell and "Unexplained!" by Jerome Clark. All three in their own ways excel in many areas and give readers insights into the diversity of the unexplained.

Did a UFO land in Coogee a seaside Sydney suburb?

2008-04-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

I have been investigating an account of a landing/entity encounter case at Coogee, a seaside Sydney suburb. According to the information so far available, the alleged incident occurred at about 4 am on February 29th this year. A man walking down a street, observed a flash of light. In that direction he saw a large spherical shaped object sitting on the street T intersection. He could see a little man in a window at the top of object. The witness became frightened, retreating behind a large electrical signal box. The being appeared to move a lever, a “shutter” came down over the window area, and the object took off at tremendous speed at about a 45 degree angle. The bitumen road surface appeared to have a white circle effect left behind and at least one nearby tree appeared to have been burnt. The witness reported noticing heat coming from the object. The duration of the incident was about 5 minutes. The road surface was repaired soon after by local council road maintenance crew as the road is a very busy route mainly during the day. I met the witness on March 19th. I first visited the site on the night of March 19th and have revisited the area on a number of occasions since then. I have samples of the burnt tree bark. I was also advised that soon after the incident a new electricity telegraph pole was placed at the intersection and repair work was undertaken on the electrical wiring connections. Further investigations will be undertaken to see if these matters are related to the February 29th event. The witness is a shy man of nervous disposition and seems unlikely to be the type that would make up a story of a UFO incident, and does not appear to have much knowledge of the UFO subject.

I was very struck by the similarity of the Coogee witness’s description and drawings to two overseas cases – Cussac, France (August 29, 1967) and Goffstown, New Hampshire, USA (November 2, 1973). The Goffstown NH 1973 encounter also occurred around 4 a.m. The Cussac France 1967 encounter – the beings “floated” into the top of theUFO.

The photo in this post was taken by me on location in Coogee. I have superimposed a rough drawing of the object. The drawing of the Goffstown incident with the UFO hovering over the car was done by Brian James. See the APRO Bulletin January February 1974, pg. 6.

Gonzo UFO investigation & research - the UFO HUNTER shows

2008-02-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to view the two new UFO HUNTERS shows aired in the same time slots on the Sci-Fi and History channels last Wednesday January 30 2008 in the United States.

Both scored well as entertainment but in terms of presenting solid and reliable UFO data, well, it was a mixed performance.

The NY-SPI (New York - Strange Phenomena Investigations) team featured in the Sci-Fi programme came across as approximating the investigation efforts of some of the better UFO groups, somewhat in the same way as the TV show franchise CSI approximates real crime scene investigations. The NY-SPI indicate they have a relationship with Budd Hopkins Intruders Foundation. That background and the team approach played out in the two investigations showed in the first programme give the casual viewer an insight into some of the investigation dynamics that occur in real investigations. As it is packaged and mediated by entertainment pressures and factors, some questionable aspects surface for the more demanding and informed viewers. These seemed most evident to me in the so-called Carteret case. One had to be paying attention and using a pause button on replay to catch that here we were dealing with a case from 2001, being reinvestigated/presented in 2007-2008. The show presented as "hidden official" data material from a report "uncovered" by one of the NY-SPI team members, which in fact was from a report by NIDS, the National Institute for Discovery Science, a privately funded civilian group, not a government organisation. The show could have, indeed should have, reported on the true nature and source of the data being presented here. Connected with the case was the NY-SPI investigation of the alien abduction experience of John Predovan, who has already written a book on his experience - "Curved Memories - The Chronicles of the Lights over New Jersey" published back in June 2006.

The other UFO Hunters show, from the History channel, had all the accroutrements of a History Channel production, and seemed particularly well served by CGI recreations. The historical focus came with the UFO Magazine team investigation of the notorious Maury Island affair, which was branded by USAF Project Bluebook head Captain Ruppelt as the "dirtiest hoax in UFO history." You don't get this aspect in the History Channel rendering, instead these aspects if touched upon at all, are glossed over, and instead one gets what seems an over zealous force-fit search for physical evidence 60 years after the controversial events, both with regard to the "UFO" event and the tragic crash of the USAF plane which killed the two USAF officers who had been investigating the case. The "force-fit" comes with trying to suggest that the presence of a small box of alleged "flying saucer slag" debri may have caused the plane crash.

As an advocate of physical evidence investigations for many years I had mixed feelings about seeing such themes being played around with in these shows. I certainly agree with the approach, but the application and interpretation, are the critical issues here.

One hopes that future programmes will more transparently and accurately present the real investigation efforts, difficulties, and results in solid cases. An entertaining start to a new genre, inherited from obvious "reality shows" and TV "documentary milieus." Perhaps, but lets hope the phenomena of "UFO Hunters" shows develops to better serve the accurate representation of UFO investigations, rather than serving the altar of entertainment. Looks like an entertaining ride, but one that I hope serves the legitimising of UFO research. I suspect the shows will better serve to an extent the popularisation of "UFO investigations." Given that such attention often channels money and resources into "investigations", albeit tied to restrictive entertainment agendas, rather than research and investigation agendas, maybe some benefit might emerge. Optimistic perhaps?

UFOs, aliens, media & science

2008-02-01T03:15:00.000-08:00

Themes of UFOs, aliens, media and science are juxtaposed in the "sound bit" serving from News.com.au found at: http://www.news.com.au/feature/1,,5015786,00.html put together by reporter Jolleh Abshar. The internet piece was titled, somewhat underwhelmingly and uninspiringly, "MARS ATTACKS: UFOs ARE BACK" and was presented in 3 brief segments - "Believers" (4.20 minutes): "Alien assaults, ufologists and pilot encounters ... an insight into the underground culture of Australian UFO research", "Sceptics" (2.29 minutes): "Only amateurs see UFOs," and "Westall UFO Incident" (3.03 minutes) - a brief account of the Westall school case of 1966 from the perspective of Canberra academic Shane Ryan who has been undertaking a detailed retrospective on this classic case - a daylight suburban Melbourne UFO incident that was witnessed by many school children, some teachers and locals. A landing (or more than one landing) was described with evidence of possible landing sites ("physical traces"), along with claims of extensive official presence and intrusion and "cover-up."

So how well served were each of these themes?

UFOs:

I was able to make brief mention of the famous Sea Fury case of 1954. For a fuller internet account see Bill Chalker's UFO Top Ten at: http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/516/bill_chalkers_ufo_top_ten.html
and in my UFO SubRosa Document at: http://www.theozfiles.com/ufos_subrosa2.html
Peter Khoury briefly mentioned the forensic DNA study of the "hair of the alien" case documented in my 1999 International UFO Reporter (IUR) article "Strange Evidence" (see the PDF copy at: http://www.cufos.org/strange_evidence.pdf ), in my 2005 book "Hair of the Alien" (available through Amazon.com), and briefer reports such as "Hair of the Alien - the DNA Paradigm" at: http://www.auforn.com/Bill_Chalker_35.htm
Shane Ryan was able to discuss the 1966 Westall case and make a request for any official participants (military, government or police) to make contact.

The "Believer" segment was somewhat devalued by the use of filler footage and photos that were mainly low weight, dubious or hoax material. Given the opportunity, the UFO research community could have readily assisted News.com.au in advising on better photographic and film material.

I wondered about the silly choice of headline: "MARS ATTACKS", but my expectations weren't very high. Maybe News.com.au and its editors were in a "dumbing down" moment or didn't see fit to exercise any serious thought and decided to go with the unimaginative "entertainment fodder" line. Perhaps they were inspired by the context of the interviews of Peter Khoury and myself. We were interviewed at the opening of the VISITORS exhibition back in early December 2007. I was interviewed with artist Simon Champ's wonderful "Mac Attack 2007" painting as a back drop. He states in the exhibition catalogue, "I make secret drawings of people in Maccas or Hungry Jack. Politically I'm opposed to these places. I detest them, but they're about the last place the poorest and the richest, the sane and the mentally ill get to stand together in the same place." See http://www.penrithregionalgallery.org/entry.htm

Aliens:

Here we just got a bit of typical low weight popular cultural stereotyping. The only actual case reference was material via Peter Khoury's interview.

Media:

Well this was what the piece was all about - the media's handling of the subject.

While the "sound bit" interviews - Shane Ryan, Peter Khoury, myself and the "skeptics" served to give the semblance of balance, it was clear that the "skeptics" were not very well informed about the subject of UFOs. This was most evident in Dr. Nick Lomb's statements. He is an expert on astronomy, but he is clearly uninformed about serious UFO research when he makes a comment along the lines that no serious observer, particularly astronomers or even amateur astronomers, has ever seen a UFO! Anyone seriously acquainted with the UFO subject would dispute this statement. eg. Clyde Tombaugh the discover of Pluto reported UFO sightings, Dr. Hynek undertook an early 1950s survey which revealed some atronomer's sighting, and Professor Peter Sturrock's survey during the 1970s revealed further evidence of UFO sightings by astronomers. Dr. Hynek once took photos of UFOs himself. He couldn't explain what he captured on film from a plane window. My own 1996 book "The OZ files - the Australian UFO Story" describes a 1957 Mount Stromlo sighting, of which the assistant director of the observatory, Dr. A.R. Hogg stated, "it was the first time the observatory had sighted what might be called an unidentified flying object. What it was remains an open question." Much earlier, 1902 in fact, Adelaide observatory astronomers reported a "UFO." I even describe a UFO sighting made by the late Dr. John Dawe, who was the manager of the Sidings Springs Observatory. He described his sighting near Merriwa in the Sydney Morning Herald of 11 January 1995, stating it was "classic stuff ... It was something I still cannot explain. But I am 99.99 percent certain it was nothing alien." A UFO still - a UFO being an unidentified flying object.

It was a pity the piece could have been well served by some fact checking before release on the net. The dubious footage and photos used for the story would have been criticised by most informed UFO researchers. I certainly would have told them to describe me not as a biochemist, but rather more accurately as an inorganic chemist.

Despite these flaws the piece at least gave exposure to a cross section of opinions about the subject and put a bit of a spotlight on a few cases, in particular the 1966 Westall school case.

Science:

Well science was casually served given the "sound bit" platform. The skeptics got to give "armchair" mainstream scientific consensus, which I put into perspective:

"Science and UFOs has kind of really had a pretty sorry history ... It's kind of slowly creeping I guess towards a sort of critical mass where I think eventually its going to be seriously looked at. Scientists in the future will look back at it and will say we lost a lot of opportunities of looking at something really interesting, and perhaps we should have looked at it a little bit more, in more detail perhaps."

More indepth reviews of science and UFOs can be found in the following books:
Bryan, C.D.B. Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind – Alien Abduction and UFOs – Witnesses and Scientists report Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1995
Chalker, Bill, Hair of the Alien, Paraview Pocket Books, New York, 2005
Clark, Jerome The UFO Encyclopedia - The Phenomenon from the Beginning 2nd Edition, Omnigraphics, Detroit, 1998
Denzler, Brenda The Lure of the Edge University of California Press, 2001
Emmons, Charles At the Threshold Wildflower Press, 1997
Hall, Richard The UFO Evidence – A Thirty-Year report Scarecrow Press, Lanham, 2001
Hynek, J. Allen The UFO Experience – a scientific enquiry Abelard-Schuman, London, 1972
Jacobs, David (edited) UFOs & Abductions University Press of Kansas, 2000
Sturrock, Peter The UFO Enigma – A new review of the Physical Evidence Warner Books, New York, 1999

THE VISITORS

2007-12-22T18:29:00.000-08:00

The Visitors art and evidence exhibition had its official opening on December 8 2007 - a great opening event and evening entertainment. If you are hovering in the Sydney Australia airspace you might like to check out the Penrith Regional gallery at 86 River Road Emu Plains. Its free, open daily 10 am to 5 pm and all lifeforms are welcome. It will run over the Australian festive season and summer period until Sunday February 17 2008 when I'm scheduled to give a closing exhibition artwork and evidence tour from 3 pm. I worked closely with the curators Anne Loxley and Regina Walter to set up the "evidence" room, which features original research, investigation and sighting material from my personal collection and UFOIC files. The room also features a Powerpoint presentation I prepared. The room also has "case files" of UFO events I selected from across Australia from 1868 to 2007. There is also a large screen featuring film about a range of UFO events. Overall the "evidence" rooms is very informative.

While you are there you should pick up a copy of the glossy 68 page exhibition catalogue which features a range of the artworks on display and essays by the curators and myself. The artworks are diverse, enertaining and intriguing - an artistic Australian response to UFOs and aliens - an extraordinarily enduring phenomenon.

Photos: Bill Chalker with co-curator Regina Walter at the opening of the exhibition (copyright Bill Chalker)

UFO HISTORY KEYS

2007-12-04T00:15:00.000-08:00

I have started a new blog devoted to airing the issues raised in my regular "UFO History Keys" column from the Australian newstand magazine. Take a look at: http://ufohistorykeys.blogspot.com

Its primary focus is discussion of UFO history issues with a focus on Australia and the region.

The Visitors: The Australian response to aliens and UFOs

2007-11-20T04:19:00.000-08:00

The coming Australian summer of 2007 - 2008 (from 8 December 2007 to 17 February 2008) will have an unusual and intriguing attraction - The Visitors: The Australian response to aliens and UFOs - "a multi-faceted artistic examination of the ufology phenomenon featuring the work of sixteen contemporary artists. Material documenting a selection of the most authenticated UFO cases in Australia is presented in 'evidence' rooms," writes curator Anne Loxley and artist Regina Walter in their essay for the exhibition catalogue - Close Encounters of the Contemporary Kind. The exhibition is housed at the Penrith Regional Gallery & Lewers Bequest at 86 River Road, Emu Plains, New South Wales, at the foot of the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney.

My essay for the catalogue - The OZ Files Unbound - looks at the UFO mystery and some of the evidence presented in the evidence room at the gallery. I have worked closely with the gallery to present a cross section of evidence of UFO cases that span Australia from 1868 to 2007 - 139 years of extraordinary events - "a potent expression of the visitor experience."

The gallery has a beautiful outlook over the Nepean River. It is fitting that just down the river back in January 1966 just days before Australia was smitten by news of the Tully UFO "nest" encounter a man and his two young sons camping beside the river had a remarkable experience. An intense light appeared outside their tent. The man and one of the sons went to investigate and saw a large disc shaped object with a revolving turret hovering above the water about 100 metres away. The object had oval "portholes" and an arc blue light was emanating from within it. The craft went through a series of colour changes before vanishing in the darkness. My friend David Reneke (now news editor of the excellent publication Sky & Space - Australia's best astronomy magazine) for our group UFO Investigation Centre in 1979 when the witnesses came forward. David's sketch closely based on the witness originals is shown here.

From the UFO evidence to the alien expression the Visitors exhibition captures the UFO and alien phenomenon in potent ways. An example of the artwork on display is Tony Albert's wonderful AustrALIEN - Alien holding 3 spears - a reworking of souvenir-style image from a set of playing cards. Tony Albert's use of the alien theme is metaphorical but he explains that his interest is in "both idigenous and non-idigenous Australian identity and the notion of 'Australia' itself." This is just one of the wonderful works that feature in this fascinating exhibition.

See: http://www.penrithregionalgallery.org/

Imagery: Tony Albert AustrALIEN 2007 Copyright Tony Albert

David Reneke/UFOIC - sketch of Penrith 1966 UFO - copyright UFOIC

"Aussie Saucer Spying" & "Ufologists Defiled?"

2007-09-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

Nick Redfern commented on the ASIO UFO file on the UFO Mystic site (Sep 14) "Aussie Saucer Spying": http://www.ufomystic.com/

I have written an article on this file: "Ufologists Defiled? UFOIC, ASIO and alien McCarthyism" (Sep 18) which can be found on my UFOIC web log site: http://ufoicaustralia.blogspot.com/

Photo: Frank Cain's 1994 book "ASIO - An Unofficial History"

The Alien DNA Paradigm to be presented at UFOCUS NZ's FUTURE PERSPECTIVES Conference 2007

2007-09-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

I will be delivering the following lecture: Alien Odyssey – the alien DNA paradigm and other UFO impacts at the New Zealand International "FUTURE PERSPECTIVES" conference at Rotorua on 30 September 2007.

My speech outline:
Bill Chalker takes you on an extraordinary odyssey researching the alien paradigm, anchored in the remarkable and provocative “alien hair” case of Peter Khoury in Australia, which has yielded breakthrough evidence that appears to support the idea that alien hybrids might be at the heart of the alien abduction controversy.

Bill will also describe some of his research from the last 3 decades, including his focus on physical evidence, history, military & official investigations and the fascinating Asian UFO experience.

An interesting line up of lectures is scheduled including the following UFO orientated presentations:

Suzanne Hansen "Corroborative Evidence of Contact", Diane Frola "From Dreamtime to Now: Australia's UFO Connections", Roger Leir "Alien Implants: the Final Scientific Word", Mary Rodwell "Awakening to our Multidimensional reality" and Graeme Opie "NZ UFO Sightings."

Full details of the conference can be found at the UFOCUS NZ web site: http://www.ufocusnz.org.nz/

Photo: Bill Chalker in Chang Mai northern Thailand 2007 undertaking research into Phase 3 of the research programme connected with the "Hair of the Alien" case

Reverend William (Bill) Booth Gill (1928-2007)

2007-08-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

Reverend William (Bill) Booth Gill
(5 January 1928 – 13 June 2007):
a man of service and integrity;
a potent and compelling witness to the extraordinary 1959 UFO “visitants” of Boianai Papua New Guinea.

I am saddened to report on the passing of Reverend William (Bill) Gill on 13 June 2007 at the age of 79. His funeral service was held at the Church of Holy Trinity, Anglican Parish of Surrey Hills, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Reverend Gill became known to the UFO field for his famous UFO sightings at Boianai Papua New Guinea in June 1959. The sightings of June 26 and 27 1959 became widely recognised as some of the best in the history of the UFO mystery. Because of that status the sightings of the “Boianai visitants” also became the focus of attempts to explain them in diverse prosaic terms. They also became the target of often ill thought sceptical and debunking attempts. None of these adequately addresses the reality of the Boianai UFO entity sightings. Reverend William Gill’s observations were supported by 37 members of his native mission.

Over the decades I got to know Bill Gill I learnt that he was an honest and thoughtful man, who was very tolerant of others, particularly when it came to consideration of his famous UFO sightings. We met on a number of occasions, talked extensively about his experience and corresponded over the years, about the Boianai events and other matters, beyond UFOs. He was a thoroughly likeable and impressive person.

William Booth Gill’s life was an impressive testimony of a commitment to service and integrity. He got involved with professional stage work between 1933 to 1940 and was with the Air League/Army cadets between during the war years. He was educated at Mont Albert Primary, Trinity Grammar, studied Theology at Brisbane, Queensland’s St. Francis College (1948-1950) and education at Queensland University. He attended Monash University, Mercer House Teacher’s College and the Melbourne Victoria College of Divinity. Later in life Bill Gill undertook sociological research between 1986 and 1987 at Latrobe University. Academically he was very well accredited with a B.A., Th.L., Adv. Dip.Theology., Dip. R. Ed. Bill’s working life was just as impressive. He began teaching in Papua New Guinea in 1948. Bill Gill became an ordained priest in Queensland in 1950 and returned to mission work in Papua New Guinea, where he was also in educational administration between 1952 and 1959. Reverend Gill was the founding head of St. Francis’ Educational Centre at Port Moresby between 1953 and 1954. He even was a sessional broadcaster on 9PA radio at Port Moresby in 1953 and between 1959 and 1962 he tried his hand at freelance writing with the Brisbane Sunday Mail.

Upon his return to Australia after his mission and education career in Papua New Guinea he taught at Essendon Grammar (1960-61), Camberwell Grammar (1962-1980) and St. Michael’s Grammar (1981-1987). In his travels Rev Gill apart from his lengthy stay in Papua New Guinea, he visited South Australia, Tasmania, Perth, Western Australia, the Australian east coast to Cairns, Thailand, England (where he did educational survey work and temping at Magdelan College in Oxham during 1971). He visited the United States during 1977 and 1978, lecturing in Chicago at North Western University, about his 1959 UFO experience. Reverend Gill talked about his experience in a documentary – “UFOs are Here” made in 1977 by Guy Baskin (a documentary in which I made an appearance as well – definitely a youthful “seventies” look).

An article written at the time of his retirement from teaching, by “A.R.C.H” of St. Michael’s Grammar school in Melbourne, Victoria, highlighted, “(Father William Gill) worked (in Papua New Guinea) for almost a decade, including seven years as a Head Teacher and Sub-District Education Administrator. Because of his dedicated hard work, he won a fine reputation for himself, and deep affection from many Papuans and New Guineans as well as his fellow Europeans…. (At St. Michael’s) he taught English, History and Christian Education … His pastoral work was always quiet, unobtrusive and effective…. Father Gill was an excellent classroom teacher …. His most definitely has been a career distinguished by kindness and loyalty.”

My last face-to-face time with Bill Gill was at the June 2003 Brisbane UFO conference which he gave his final UFO lecture. He had mixed feelings about giving this lecture and had asked me about whether to do it. I had mixed feelings about it as well, but for me apart from the personal side, wanting to meet up with him again, there was a firm sense of history. I told him that his presence would be a determining factor of my own decision to attend the conference. I assured him that he would be well received, even though the audience would be a mixed crowd. I videoed his Brisbane lecture – which is now a record of his last UFO lecture, a record I have made available to his family. Bill enjoyed the occasion. It was a great opportunity to catch up with him again and see him present his account of these remarkable sightings.

By any measure Reverend William Gill was a remarkable man, with a life full of service and integrity. His intersection with the UFO mystery with the 1959 Boianai PNG UFO “visitants” was a potent and credible expression of the UFO mystery.

Thanks Bill for a life well lived and for your wonderful testament to one of life’s great mysteries. Best wishes and good journeying …

Here is my 1996 manuscript account of Rev Gill’s story for my book “The OZ Files – the Australian UFO Story”:

THE BOIANAI VISITANTS OF 1959

In 1959 Papua New Guinea was still a territory of Australia. June of that year saw the spectacular "entity" sightings of Reverend Gill and members of his Boainai mission.

Reverend Gill made notes about the experience and sent a copy of his own report - 8 closely typed foolscap pages - to Rev. Crutwell at Menapi Mission, who in turn sent a copy to Mr. D. H. Judge, a Brisbane member of the Queensland Flying Saucer Research Bureau. The report was released to the media and accounts appeared in the media during mid August, 1959, causing a sensation.

I was privileged to have had two extended opportunities to interview Reverend Gill and discuss the events at Boianai. I was impressed with his quiet and certain manner in relating the events.

To maintain the integrity of the original events I have quoted from the Reverend William Gills own account. Only the day before he had composed a letter to the Reverend David Durie, Acting Principal of St. Aidan's College, Dogura, to accompany a report and statement regarding a UFO sighting made by Stephen Moi, an assistant teacher at the mission on June 21st, 1959:
Dear David,
Have a look at this extraordinary data. I am almost convinced about the "visitation" theory. There have been quite a number of reports over the months, from reliable witnesses. The peculiar thing about these most recent reports is that the UFO's seem to be stationary at Boianai or to travel from Boianai. The Mt. Pudi vicinity seems to be the hovering area. I myself saw a stationary white light twice on the same night on April 9th, but in a different place each time. I believe your students have also sighted one over Boianai. The A.D.O., Bob Smith and Mr. Glover have all seen it, or similar ones on different occassions - again, over Boianai, although I think the Baniara people said they watched it travel across the sky from our direction. I should think that this is the first time that the "saucer" has been identified as such.
I do not doubt the existence of these "things" (indeed I cannot now that I have seen one for myself) but my simple mind still requires scientific evidence before I can accept the from-outer-space theory. I am inclined to believe that probably many UFO's are more likely some form of electric phenomena - or perhaps something brought about by the atom bomb explosions, etc. That Stephen should actually make out a saucer could be the work of the unconscious mind as it is very likely that at some time he has seen illustrations of some kind in a magazine, or it is very possible that saucers do exist, but it is only a 50/50 chance that they are not earth made, still less that they should carry men (more likely radio controlled), and it is still unproven that they are solids.
It is all too difficult to understand for me; I prefer to wait for some bright boy to catch one to be exhibited in Martin Square.
Please return this report as I have no copy and I want Nor. (Rev. Norman Crutwell - B.C.) to have it.
Yours,
Doubting William

Anglican Mission,
Boianai.
27/6/59
Dear David,
Life is strange, isn't it? Yesterday I wrote you a letter, (which I still intend sending you) expressing opinions re the UFO's - Now, less than 24 hours later I have changed my views somewhat. Last night we at Boianai experienced about 4 hours of UFO activity, and there is no doubt whatsoever that they are handled by beings of some kind. At times it was absolutely breathtaking. Here is the report. Please pass it round, but great care must be taken as I have no other, and this, like the one I made out re Stephen, will be sent to Nor. I would appreciate it if you could send the lot back as soon as poss.
Cheers,
Convinced Bill
P.S. Do you think P. Moresby should know about this? (N. Cruttwell is at present in the Daga country and will not be returning home until 16th July at earliest.) If people think it worth while, I will stand the cost of a radio conversation if you care to make out a comprehensive report from the material on my behalf!! It's interesting Territory news if nothing else.
W.B.G.
-------------------------
26/6/59 U.F.O. Boianai
DATA (1)
Sky Time (p.m,)
Patches 6.45 Sighted bright white light from front direction N.W.
of low cloud;
clear over 6.50 Call Stephen and Eric - Langford.
Dogura and 6.52 Stephen arrives. Confirms not star like other night.
Menapi Coming closer, not so bright. Coming down 500 ft?,
orange?, deep yellow?
6.55 Send Eric to call people.
One object on top, move - man?
Now three men - moving, glowing, doing
something on deck.
Gone.
7.00 Men 1 & 2 again.
7.04 Gone again.
Cloud ceiling 7.10 Man 1,3,4,2 (appear in that order.)
covered sky Thin elct. blue spot light.
c. 2000' Men gone, spot light still there.
7.12 Men 1 & 2 appear - blue light.
7.20 Spot light off, men go.
7.20 UFO goes through cloud.
Clear sky 8.28 UFO seen by me overhead. Call station people.
here, heavy Appeared to descend, get bigger.
cloud cover Not so big, but seemed nearer than before.
over Dogura 8.29 Second seen over sea - hovering at times.
8.35 Another over Wadobuna village.
Clouds forming ? Another to the east.
again 8.50 Big one stationary and larger - the original (?) Others
coming and going through clouds. As they descend
through cloud, light reflected like large halo onto
cloud - no more than 2000', probably less.
Clouds All UFO's very clear - satellites?
patchy "Mother" ship still large, clear, stationary.
9.50 Nos. 2,3,4 gone
9.10 "Mother" ship gone - giving red light.
No. 1 gone (overhead) into cloud.
9.20 "Mother" back.
9.30 "Mother" gone across sea towards Giwa -
white,red,blue, gone.
9.46 Overhead U.F.O. re-appears, is hovering.
10.00 Still there, stationary.
10.10 Hovering, gone behind cloud.
10.30 Very highm hovering in clear patch of sky between
clouds.
10.50 Very constant overcast, no sign of U.F.O.
11.04 Heavy rain. 1QA!!!
Data sheet of observation of U.F.O's
6.45 - 11.04 p.m
26/6/59.
(sgd.) William B. Gill.

As indicated by his notes made at the time and in numerous interviews, Rev. Gill saw a bright white light in the north western sky. It appeared to be approaching the mission. The object appeared to be hovering between three and four hundred feet up. Eventually 38 people, including Rev. Gill, Steven Gill Moi (a teacher), Ananias Rarata (a teacher) and Mrs. Nessie Moi, gathered to watch the main UFO, which looked like a large ,disc-shaped object. It was apparently solid and circular with a wide base and narrower upper deck. The object appeared to have 4 "legs" underneath it. There also appeared to be about 4 "panels" or "portholes" on the side of the object, which seemed to glow a little brighter than the rest. At a number of intervals the object produced a shaft of blue light which shone upwards into the sky at an angle of about 45 degrees.

What looked like "men" came out of the object, onto what seemed to be a deck on top of the object. There were 4 men in all, occassionally 2, then one, then 3, then 4. The shaft of blue light and the "men" disappeared. The object then moved through some clouds. There were other UFO sightings during the night.

Rev. Gill described the weather at variable sky - scattered clouds to clear at first, becoming overcast after 10.10 pm. He estimated the height of the clouds at about 2,000 feet. The first sighting over the sea, according to Rev. Gill, seemed no more than 500 feet above the water at times. When the main UFO was at its closest point, Rev. Gill determined that the relative size at arms length was a full hand span or about 8 inches. He modified that estimate to 5 inches. It was clearly visible and seemed mostly stationary during 25 minutes of observation.

Astonishingly the aerial visitor put in a repeat performance the following night, June 27th. Rev. Gill prepared a statement:

"Large U.F.O. first sighted by Annie Laurie at 6 p.m. in apparently same position as last night (26/6/59) only seemed a little smaller, when W.B.G. saw it at 6.02 p.m. I called Ananias and several others and we stood in the open to watch it. Although the sun had set it was still quite light for the following 15 minutes. We watched figures appear on top - four of them - no doubt that they are human. Possibly the same object that I took to be the "Mother" ship last night. Two smaller U.F.O's were seen at the same time, stationary. One above the hills west, another overhead. On the large one two of the figures seemed to be doing something near the centre of the deck - were occassionally bending over and raising their arms as though adjusting or "setting up" something (not visible). One figure seemed to be standing looking down at us (a group of about a dozen). I stretched my arm above my head and waved. To our surprise the figure did the same. Ananias waved both arms over his head then the two outside figures did the same. Ananias and self began waving our arms and all four now seemed to wave back. There seemed to be no doubt that our movements were answered. All mission boys made audible gasps (of either joy or surprise, perhaps both).
"As dark was beginning to close in, I sent Eric Kodawara for a torch and directed a series of long dashes towards the U.F.O. After a minute or two of this, the U.F.O. apparently acknowledged by making several wavering motions back and forth. Waving by us was repeated and this followed by more flashes of torch, then the U.F.O. began slowly to become bigger, apparently coming in our direction. It ceased after perhaps half a minute and came no further. After a further two or three minutes the figures apparently lost interest in us for they disappeared "below" deck. At 6.25 p.m. two figures re-appeared to carry on with whatever they were doing before the interruption (?). The blue spot light came on for a few seconds twice in succession."

Reverend Gill has described how he and the mission people called out to the men, even shouting at them, and beckoned them to descend, but there was no respond beyond what has already been noted. Two smaller "UFOs" higher up remained stationary. By 6.30 p.m. the scene had remained largely unchanged. Rev. Gill records that he went to dinner. At 7.00 pm, the "No.1 UFO" was still present "but appeared somewhat smaller". The group of observers went to Church for Evensong. After Evensong (about 7.45 pm) visibility was very limited with the sky covered in cloud. Nothing else was seen that evening. At 10.40 pm, a very penetrating "earsplitting" terrific explosion woke up people on the station. It sounded like it had come from just outside the window of the mission house. Rev. Gill felt it did not sound like a thunderclap. Nothing had been seen, but the whole sky was overcast. Other less compelling activity occurred the following night. Then it seemed the Boianai visitants had gone. The controversy had just begun.

Reverend Gill was at the time of his sightings already scheduled to return to Australia. This presented civilian groups with an excellent opportunity to assess the bonafides of the reports. All investigators found Gill to be very impressive. His credibility was enormous. This lead one of the leading civilian groups, the Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society, to view the Gill reports as constituting the most remarkable testimony of intensive UFO activity ever reported to civilian investigators in the entire history of UFO research. VFSRS indicated that they were unique because for the first time, credible witnesses had reported the presence of humanoid beings associated with UFOs. The VFSRS report concluded that the Boianai UFOs were advanced craft, manned by humanoid beings, capable of a fantastic aerodynamic performance. VFSRS now felt that UFO researchers no longer needed to enquire as to the nature of UFOs, now only their origin was to be determined.

The major civilian groups of the day, in a spirit of new found cooperation inspired by the significance of the Boianai observations, distributed copies of Reverend Gill's own sighting report to all members of the House of Representatives of Australia's federal parliament. A circular letter accompanied the report, signed by the presidents of the participating civilian UFO groups, urging members of parliament to press the Minister for Air for a statement about the attitude Air Force Intelligence had of the New Guinea reports.

On November 24th, 1959, in federal parliament, Mr. E.D. Cash, a Liberal politician from Western Australia asked the Minister for Air, Mr. F.M. Osborne, whether his department (specifically Air Force Intelligence) had investigated "reports of recent sightings of mysterious objects in the skies over Papua and New Guinea." The Minister's reply did not address this question, but instead he focused on the general situation indicating that most sightings were explained and "that only a very small percentage - something like 3 percent - of reported sightings of flying objects cannot be explained".

Peter Norris, VFSRS president, was advised by the Directorate of Air Force Intellience that the Department was awaiting "depth of evidence" on the New Guinea sightings. However the department hadn't even interviewed Father Gill. Given the growing political fallout, the Minister for Defence requested a report on "the alleged sightings of UFOs in the Boianai area of NG by Rev. W.B. Gill." The RAAF finally visited Rev. Gill on December 29th, 1959. Rev. Gill's recollections of the visit were that the 2 RAAF officers from Canberra talked about stars and planets and then left. He indicates that he heard no more from them. The interviewing officer, Squadron Leader F.A. Lang, AI1 DAFI, concluded after what could have only been best described as a cursory investigation that:

"Although the Reverend Gill could be regarded as a reliable
observer, it is felt that the June/July incidents could have
been nothing more than natural phenomena coloured by
past events and subconscious influences of UFO
enthusiasts. During the period of the report the
weather was cloudy and unsettled with light thunder
storm. Although it is not possible to draw firm
conclusions, an analysis of rough bearings and angles
above the horizon does suggest that at least some of
the lights observed were the planets Jupiter, Saturn
and Mars. Light refraction, the changing position
of the planet relative to the observer and cloud
movement would give the impression of size and rapid
movement. In addition varying cloud densities could
account for the human shapes and their sudden
appearance and disappearance".

A close analysis of the reports argues powerfully that the RAAF "explanation" of "either known planets seen through fast moving cloud, or natural phenomena" was unsatisfactory.

Over the years there have been a number of attempts to explain the Boianai sightings, including astronomical misidentifications, hoax, cargo cult effects, and that Rev. Gill had myopia and astigmatism (Rev. Gill was wearing correctly proscribed glasses). None of these explained have satisfactorily adress the evidence. Astronomer and former US Air Force consultant, Dr. Allen Hynek, and his Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), went to great lengths to investigate and research the affair. Dr. Hynek and Allen Hendry, the then chief CUFOS investigator, concluded the "lesser UFOs' are attributable to bright stars and planets, but not the primary object." Its size and absence of movement over three hours ruled out an astronomical explanation. My own discussions with Rev. Gill led me to the same conclusion. Most recently there was an attempt at explaining the whole affair away as Rev. Gill and the other witnesses being confused by a false horizon, and that all they had been watching was a brightly lit squid-boat and crew too busy to do more than just wave at the people on shore. This idea is not tenable when one realises that Rev. Gill was certain that the object he saw was at a 30o elevation in the sky. Only a massive tidal wave might have elevated the horizon ocean line to have a boat high enough to fit that viewing perspective. I suspect Rev. Gill and the Papuans may have noticed that! A mirage is also not tenable given the circumstances of the event.

The Boianai visitations are even enshrined in a classic piece of Australian fiction. Award winning Australian novelist Randolph Stow's 1979 book"Visitants", which has the Boianai visitations as a backdrop to a striking story of confrontation and disintergration, emerged from Stow's experience as a cadet patrol-officer in Papua-New Guinea. He was an assistant to the Government Anthropologist. His novel opens with this sentence, "On 26 June 1959, at Boianai in Papua, visitants appeared to the Reverend William Booth Gill, himself a visitant of thirteen years standing, and to thirty-seven witnesses of another colour."

The Boianai "visitants" still stand as remarkable evidence for an impressive aerial anomaly and are regarded as some of the best entity reports on record. At the time of writing I spoke again with Rev. Gill. He still remains puzzled by what he saw and was pleased that an authority like Dr. Hynek had independently interviewed him and some of the other witnesses and travelled to the site. While he accepts that the sightings remain unexplained, Rev. Gill questioned my characterisation of some attempts to explain them as "silly". He felt that these "explanations" were serious attempts to bring understanding to the events. I think that attitude encapsulate the integrity of Rev. Gill and the reality of the affair.

The clipping is from the Sydney newspaper the “Sun-Herald” August 16 1959.

The image is from a video I took from Rev Gill's last UFO lecture, Brisbane, 14th June 2003. I have prepared a memorial DVD of that last presentation. If there is interest in this DVD please contact me for details.

Spotlighting the UFO controversy - the Australian experience

2007-05-14T07:55:00.001-07:00

In a continuing series the Australian "Ufologist" magazine (see www.ufologistmagazine.com ) has begun a historical examination of how Australia as a nation and as individual states has sought to examine the UFO mystery. I have written the first two articles - "The National Spotlight on UFOs" (Vol.10 No.6 2007) and "The New South Wales (NSW) spotlight on UFOs". I recommend this series to you and the magazine in general for its Australian and international take on the UFO subject. Other researchers will contribute to the continuing series. I think the covers are striking with their closing views of the earth, Australia and New South Wales. More to come.

Flying Saucerers - A social history of UFOlogy

2007-05-14T06:19:00.000-07:00

Irrespective of what you think UFOs are all about, one constant has been that there are people who are interested in the subject. Some of these people have had major influences on how the subject has developed over the decades. Indeed many have shaped the way how we are informed about it, sometimes in encouraging ways and others in ways that have underminded the credibility of the subject.

Many times I have said that if you thought the UFO mystery is strange, just consider a lot of the people who study the subject and even many of those who seek to inform us what the mystery is all about. Many are far weirder (if thats possible - it seems so some of the time) than the subject itself.

English researchers Dr. David Clarke and Andy Roberts have focused on this aspect of the UFO controversy with their book "Flying Saucerers - A social history of UFOlogy" from Alternative Albion - a leading publisher of folklore, mythology and cultural studies in the UK.

As a social history this well researched book focuses on the social dimensions of the UFO controversy in the United Kingdom from its beginnings in the 1940s through to the end of the 1970s. It alludes to more recent developments in a brief concluding chapter which argues for a decline in the popularity of the subject - "the death of ufology" mantra - essentially reducing the subject to a modern myth peculiar to the second half of the 20th century: "faith in flying saucers and aliens is ultimately a product of our time" - "just one manifestation of humanity's long and lonely quest to find an answer to the vexed question:'Are we alone?' it remains to be seen if that question will finally be answered in the new millennium which lies ahead of us." One gets the distinct impression that the focus of the book - the period from the late 1940s through to late 1970s - does not inspire much confidence that ufolology as the authors present it will be a part of ultimate answer to the vexing question.

In my opinion that is not a bad thing. The ufology described in "Flying Saucerers" is largely populated by eccentrics and fringe dwellers who cling to extreme and skewed views of what the UFO phenomenon is all about. "The saucer's apprentice" of Clarke and Roberts' social history is Desmond Leslie, who helped launch George Adamski on the world stage, and their partnership helped popularised the wild and wooly world of the flying saucer contactee, which contributed substantially to the marginalisation of the UFO subject. Their toxic embrace even infected "the great and good" - the English Royal family and some of the English elite, such as Lord Mountbatten and Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding. There were steadying influences such as scientist and intelligence expert R.V. Jones, but some them, such as astronomer Patrick Moore, may have even contributed to the saucery descent, with deliberate hoaxing. However much of this is overstated in its impact, after all "Credic Allingham's" "Flying Saucer from Mars" never held much sway. Likewise George King's Aetherius Society played to the alienated fringes of society, and one has to wonder about the rationality of Special Branch's interest in the organisation, again a sign of the times? The uncritical embrace of things saucerian such as the extraterrestrial "ley legacy", Peter Caddy's Findhorn "saucer" roots, "flying saucers from hell" and the predictably uncritical "new age" ET eclecticism dominate the book.

Each of these aspects are well described, but seldom is the UFO phenomenon itself evident in any serious way. This is not expected in such a "social history" but when these fringe extremes are utilised to argue for the overall lack of credibility for the UFO phenomenon itself (such as "Slouching for Warminster" (the 1960s "flying saucer" "grand central" of the UK) and "In preparation for the landing" (which focuses on the so-called "Welsh Triangle" saga)) the "psycho-social" heart of the book is most in evidence. The serious side of the UFO endeavour in the UK does not get much of a hearing, except where it is enlisted in the argument that there is not really much to UFOs after all, except for fascinating social histories.

This is a welcomed social history of part of the UK UFO story. It represents a social template that has some ultility on the wider UFO story witnessed around the world. However it is far from the full story of the UFO phenomenon itself. While it contains important UFO narratives and perspectives, it does not confront the complexity evident in the core UFO phenomenon. I see "flying saucery" in a lot of places in the history of mankind's flirtations with the UFO mystery. If it was the main story behind the UFO controversy, I doubt if I would have maintained my decades long interest in the subject, except for my own passion for UFO history, both "natural history" and "social history". It is the strength of the "natural history" of the subject - seen in such works as Richard Hall's two "UFO Evidence" titles - 1964 and 2001 - that sustains me more.

However contributions like this social history inform us well of the lessons that should be learnt in our embrace with this extrordinary mystery. There is a potent social history and there is also a potent and mysterious UFO phenomenon. Lets hope that the new millenium's embrace with the UFO phenomenon does better than the eccentricities that have often dominated the 20th century's efforts. The UFO phenomenon, it seems, still awaits the time when a serious examination of the phenomenon itself dominates rather than our humanised obssessions. A potent and robust mystery awaits.

THE GRAY ALIENS 1963!

2007-04-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

Recently in the library of Sydney fringe culture collector Jamie Leonarder I came across a title that caught my attention. It was a 1964 English paperback entitled "The Grey Aliens" (Mayflower UK) by J. Hunter Holly. It was originally published in the US as "The Gray Aliens" in 1963 by Avalon Books. It was a science fiction novel with a strange alien abduction twist. People were being taken by "the shadows - the grey aliens! The ghost makers". Well the novel was readable, but I was more interested in the title - "The Gray Aliens". The term "gray alien" is iconic in UFO alien lore, but the grays of UFO encounters were generally understood by researchers to be a more recent manifestation largely sharing the chronological trajectory of alien abduction claims - becoming most prominent during the 1980s. The now familiar gray alien appearance while hinted at in some of the earlier entity encounters of the fifties, sixties and even the seventies, did not seem to emerge out of the shadows in full iconic gray form until the 1980s. Earlier encounters described retrospectively seem to include the "grays" but in a contemporary sense with books like "The Humanoids" edited by Charles Bowen (1969) and "Flying Saucer Occupants" by Coral and Jim Lorenzen (1967) descriptions that fully equate to the current imagery of the grays are missing. Why?

2nd Chinese World UFO Conference planned for September 2007 in Beijing

2007-03-05T03:58:00.000-08:00

The second World UFO Conference is planned for Beijing in September 2007. This venture is being spearheaded by the energetic Dalian UFO Research Association, which was behind the first World UFO Conference held in Dalian during September 2005. I attended that conference (see my blog archives and my report "The UFO Experience in China" which can be read at http://www.auforn.com/Bill_Chalker_36.htm ) and while there were "lost in translation" effects it afforded an excellent opportunity to further develop contacts with key Chinese UFO researchers and witness various manifestations of Chinese ufology.

Jan Fan of the Dalian group is helping drive the effort to hold the new conference. An official opening is planned to be held at the Great Hall of the People, which should attract attention. The experience of the first conference should help the conference organisation committee to address particularly the "lost in translation" issues, and facilitate an important opportunity to showcase Chinese ufology and important international perspectives and issues in UFO research.

The 2005 conference allowed me to undertake detailed interviews with key Chinese researchers such as Sun Shili, Zhang Jingping, Professor Ling Huan Ma and Professor Chen Gongfu, and to undertake detailed reviews of key Chinese cases. I was able to further build on this momentum through on going translation efforts particularly via a Beijing based interpreter and a researcher meeting organised for me in Beijing during my last visit there in October 2006. A detailed picture of Chinese ufology is emerging through these efforts.

Photos: (copyright Bill Chalker) (An unusual view of the Great Hall of the People I captured in Tiananmen Square in October 2006 - a large scale model of a dam complex obscures the building; Just down the road an unusual dome complex caught my eye - no not a UFO touchdown, but rather the new home of the Beijing Concert Hall, the National Theatre Dome; the Beijing teahouse UFO researcher meeting organised for me in October 2006; Jan Fan and myself at the first World UFO Conference hotel venue in September 2005.)

Sydney Security officer photographs UFO

2007-02-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

Early Sunday evening January 7th 2007 , a security guard at a factory in Baulkham Hills, a north west suburb of Sydney captured a UFO with a digital camera. James ___ has 31 years experience in security work and had been working at this factory site for a number of years. At around 7.40 pm local daylight saving time it was dusk with the diminishing light evident on the horizon. He was in the entrance security office which is situation on the entry road immediately inside the factory gate. The gate was closed. James had looked to the south - the entry gate direction and saw a clear sky. After looking away for about 5 seconds he was surprised to see a "long black thing" in the sky just above the powerlines. It seemed to have a grey halo or cloud around it. As the object seemed to be moving towards his position James grabbed his digital camera - A Pentax Optio 3.3 mp 3x200m Pentax lens - and walked outside the office. He could see that there appeared to be a cloudy light inside the halo moving from end to end across the top surface of the black shape. He got the impression that there was like a heat haze simmering effect. James took one photo. Then suddenly the object seemed to go in reverse, approximately along the light of sight, decreasing in apparent size and within about 3 seconds had disappeared from view.

Examining the photo James found that the image had caputured the apparent angular size of the object but had not recorded the halo effect he had observed. He sent some information to some internet UFO sites, and Anthony Clarke of UFO Research (NSW) alerted me to the incident. I was particularly interested because the object had seemingly shown movements witnessed in an event I was investigating from January 26th (details of this later event will be posted on this site shortly). I spoke with James on February 1st and conducted an on site interview with him later that day. The incident is unexplained at this stage of the investigation, and despite his experience with the location and the night sky James is unable to reconcile the strange object with any known source. He gave me permission to put the photo up on my site. The image is copyright to James __ . I have included a lighter copy of the image, a close up of the image (adjusted to enhance some differences that are apparent on the object image), and a drawing James did for on site. Image Copyright James _____ Investigated by Bill Chalker UFO Investigation Centre (UFOIC).

UFO flap deja vu

2007-01-28T03:52:00.000-08:00

I talk with Mike Williams on his Sydney 2UE radio programme on a semi regular basis. He has an open mind on the subject and supports the approach I have in examining the UFO subject from an objective scientific point of view. Tonight (Sunday 28 January 2007) we talked about a subject close to my heart, namely the phenomenon of intense localised UFO flaps.

It is the sense of the classic mainstay of the scientific method, namely the repeatable experiment, that attracted me to try to confront the reality behind UFO flaps. Here was the opportunity for researchers to witness UFO phenomena directly rather than just replying on UFO witness testimony.

For me the opportunity to interact with the UFO phenomenon in the form of an unfolding intense localised UFO flap came in 1973 while I was attending the University of New England at Armidale New South Wales (NSW) doing a science degree majoring in chemistry and mathematics. I developed an informal network and we soon started getting reports passed through to us. I was by then "UFO central" on the university campus for UFO reports. Reports came in from the north coast and New England regions of NSW.

A local area electronics technician who lived near the small village of Tyringham contacted me about strange lights seen over the local area by local people. Some had been photographed and they were sometimes seen to be landing nearby. I began a detailed investigation and discovered than an intense localised UFO flap was unfolding, which ultimately would have me witnessing a broad spectrum of some of strange phenomena involved (including strange agile lights in the night sky, aerial objects, auditory phenomena, and seemingly paranormal phenomena) The investigation and my own experiences convinced me that something quite extraordinary was going on, but it also seemed bizarrely elusive. See www.theozfiles.com/editorial_comments.html

So when I learnt of the "Skinwalker" ranch saga being played out in Utah and the elusive but confronting phenomena being encountered there, I certainly experienced a strong sense of deja vu. The key scientist involved in the attempt to scientifically examined the Utah ranch events Dr. Colm Kelleher teamed up with Las Vegas journalist George Knapp to write the book "Hunt for the Skinwalker". Even though I would have preferred to read more of the science involved the book provides a provocative insight into intense UFO flap activity.

George Knapp will be lecturing in Sydney at the 2nd International Scientific & Metaphysical Symposium on June 2-3 2007 at the Lidcombe Workmens Catholic Club.
Tyringham UFO photo taken by Marwin Copland (courtesy of M. Copland) and the drawings by myself are from my Tyringham investigation file - copyright B. Chalker

UFO reports discussed on Sydney radio

2007-01-17T06:03:00.000-08:00

I have been assisting a witness to a fascinating UFO event seen from the Milperra area of Sydney over the Bankstown area to try to track down the date of his UFO event. He thinks it might have occurred in either 1969 or 1970. My UFOIC blog site (see links opposite) describes part of the 1969 "UFO nest" saga in northern NSW. The witness spoke on Graeme Gilbert's radio 2 SM Talk Show on Wednesday night January 17, 2007. That appearance attracted some callers that might have contributed an accurate date in April 1970. This has yet to be confirmed. Another caller recollected the newspaper report that featured a photograph of the alleged UFO landing site - with 3 anticlockwise grass circles about three and half paces across. Also fascinating was a caller named Fred who described a striking daylight sighting from Swansea NSW from 1944!
It is fascinating to see the power of radio in action helping contribute some possibly helpful information about UFO sightings from the recent and distant past.

UFO INVESTIGATION CENTRE AUSTRALIA

2007-01-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

I have started a new blog site devoted to the Sydney Australia based UFO group UFOIC - the UFO Investigation Centre. It will be used to describe the history, research and investigation activities of the group.

The link to this new site is at my LINKS list (opposite): the official UFOIC blog site

2006 What a year .... 2007? Bring it on ....

2006-12-23T23:08:00.000-08:00

Reflecting on the past year I realise why some things just didn't get done. If I haven't contacted you or followed up please consider the following good reasons (which are only the tip of the 2006 "iceberg"):

1) Interest in my new book "Hair of the Alien", published in the US during 2005, remained strong into 2006, with lots of enquiries and requests for lecturing and information.
2) During March I gave a lecture on the Gold coast in Queensland, which also allowed me to catch up with the AUFORN Qld team.
3) An "Oz files" piece in the magazine Take 5 during March generated a lot of feedback, with many interesting sightings, which I'm still following up. For those I haven't contacted yet, my apologises, but I will get there eventually. In the interim thank you to those great people who reported their UFO experiences, which all helps to enrich our understanding of the UFO experience. In August I scored an entry in Sydney's "City Weekly" magazine in "Sydney's coolest jobs - the most intriguing jobs around" as a humble "UFO researcher".
4) I got involved with the History channel filming their "UFO files - Deep Sea Red Alert" programme, which also allowed me to make contact with a local freelance camera man who had his own UFO connection and interest.
5) I had a great time in Melbourne during April with the Westall UFO "reunion" which brought together a lot of witnesses, interested parties and researchers all focused on the fascinating 1966 Westall school case.
6) During late May and early June I undertook another Outback expedition focusing on the 1969 "UFO crash saga". Further interesting data was gathered.
7) During July I gave another lecture at the Sydney Powerhouse museum to the Sydney Space Association - "UFOs - the great & secret show".
8) Extensive research and investigation preparations for a proposed expedition to Thailand & China was undertaken, but just before leaving in early October I was able to make it up to Brisbane to attend the UFO conference there. This fortunately allowed me to spend some time with British author Tim Good and Brazilian researcher A.J. Gevaerd, as well as many other researchers and interested parties. One of the highlights of the conference for me was to be able to make contact again with Albert Pennisi, the owner of the site of the famous 1966 Tully UFO "nest" event. Albert also gave a lecture which provided a great overview of the extraordinary UFO milieu that developed. It was also great to be able to discuss the Tully events with Albert's sons Adrian & Shane.
9) During the rest of October I was in Thailand and China on a fascinating expedition which focused on what could be called Phase 3 of the "Hair of the Alien" investigation (Phase 1 being the 1999 "Strange Evidence" publication of the hair shaft data; Phase 2 came with the hair root data and the publication of my book on the case "Hair of the Alien" and the focus it engendered, namely the alien DNA paradigm) which focused on some of the strange aspects of the fascinating DNA results that emerged from the investigation - particularly the possible Lahu connection.
(I have included a picture here of myself with researcher & writer Jim Goodman (right) in Chang Mai in northern Thailand. See above. Thanks Noi for taking the photo. Jim has lived in the region for many years and has written a number of good books that have focused on the hill tribes in northern Thailand and southern China. He wasn't phased by the strangeness of my enquiries about the Lahu and help me and my guide out with solid information. Thanks Jim & good luck with your continuing endeavours in documenting the wonderful hill tribe peoples of the region)
10) Since returning to Australia I seem to be in permanent catch-up mode, but I am looking forward to the new year which will again be full of research, investigation and sharing the results.
11) Amongst all this and family life I am still working on a history of the Sydney based UFO Investigation Centre UFOIC (1956-2006), which in itself has been a fascinating journey into the past and present.
12) Meanwhile I'm going to seriously try to catch up with my never-ending reading list, with includes all sorts of intriguing and sometimes bizarre content - all grist for the mind mill: such as "The Discovery of the Hobbit" by Mike Morwood & Penny Van Oosterzee, "Entangled Minds" by Dean Radin, Stanislav Grof's "When the Impossible Happens", "The View from the Center of the Universe" by Joel Primack & Nancy Abrams, "The High Road to China" by Kate Teltscher, "The Jokes Over" by Ralph Steadman, "In the Naga's Wake" by Mick O'Shea (I found this in Sydney just after returning from my own embrace with the Naga's "wake" - in my case the wonderful and often intriguing Naga light festival on the Mekong), "The Shark God" by Charles Montgomery, and a lot of UFO related stuff - "the good, the bad and the ugly" - such as the Fatima trilogy by Joaquim Fernandes & Fina D'Armada ( I've read "Heavenly Lights" and getting into "Celestial Secrets"), "Mysterious Sky" by Philip Mantle & Paul Stonehill, "Hidden Truth, Forbidden Knowledge" by Steven Greer (a glutton for punishment, I decided my brain may have turned to "mush" upon my first reading of this "memoir", so a "retake" was in order) and a number of other books. Lately I find I have to occassionally reread books like Allen Hynek's "The UFO Experience" and Richard Hall's "The UFO Evidence" (the 1964 original and the 2001 followup) to get a "reality check" on what UFOs might really be all about. Mind you my ongoing case investigations anchor me well enough in that fascinating ongoing reality.
Have a great Christmas and New Year.
(Photos: copyright B. Chalker - also included is myself on the Great Wall at Badaling, near Beijing, China and friends in Beijing - Irene, my translator and Harvey, Zhang Jingping's associate, at the tea house UFO researcher gathering in October 2006.)

Naga fireballs, hill tribe meetings and UFO discussions & lectures - journeys in Thailand & China

2006-11-06T05:33:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from my October visits to Thailand and China: The Naga fireballs of the Mekong captured on video; hill tribe meetings; meetings and lectures (Yunnan University & Beijing University) in Kunming & Beijing in China. All photos copyright: Bill Chalker

The Mekong Fireballs of northern Thailand October 2006

2006-10-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

This is a brief message from Udon Thani in northern Thailand. I returned from Nong Khai and Phon Phisai where the spectacular Naga light fireball festival was in full swing on the Mekong river looking towards Laos. I was in Phon Phisai on Saturday night October 7 for the anticipated fireball display. The human part of the light show - fireworks, rockets, large fire balloons, fireboats etc - was in great evidence, but when the Naga fireballs started emerging, they were strikingly different to the easily discernable human displays - very straight vertical flights out of river to a great height and then disappearing after a few seconds. Each appearance was greeted with a huge roar from the thousands of people lining the river at evey vantage point along the Mekong.

This phenomenon has a tremendouis social and human dimension and while it is tempting to try to explain the lights, however correctly or incorrectly- planted "rockets", "submarine" firings, Naga Dragon speaking - they all seem to fall short of entirely convincing explanations. The UFO researcher in me calls for an explanation, and I have to wonder about the presence of the manned fireboats plying the river prior to the appearance of the Naga lights, but from my observations it seems difficult to see how they do it and what kind of item is utilised, given nothing seemed to be at the localities around the various exit points in the river for some time either side of each Naga light appearance. The emotional response to these lights on site is to inevitably get caught up in the chaotic flow of the evening events. It is easy to get caught up in the moment and loose objectivity. Perhaps thats why they write books like "Mad about the Mekong". It is a great area full of extraordinary sights and experience, not the least of them being the Naga Light show during the full moon glow over the river.

I saw the lights about 8 times and while I'm still going through my video footage, I did manage to record them several times. I will report further upon my return.

UFOIC - the UFO Investigation Centre (1956 - 2006) - an extraordinary odyssey

2006-09-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Back in May this year I gave a lecture presentation to the 2006 National UFO conference held at Campbelltown entitled "UFOIC - the UFO Investigation Centre (1956-2006) - an extraordinary odyssey" which had the following abstract:

Through the lens of the evolution of the Sydney based group UFOIC from 1956 to 2006 (fifty years), from historical to current cases and research, a rich harvest of UFO material is presented. History, controversy and research is covered in roughly equal measure. The 1868 Parramatta case will be covered, along with the 1927 Fernvale affair - a "prophecy" of the coming of the "flying saucer era" twenty years later in 1947, and the Mothman Prophecy events of around 1967. A Chinese connection - a "Dragon Seed" - will be examined from its earliest manifestation through the pioneer UFOIC researcher Andrew Tomas through to my research in more recent times, through to the strange breakthrough research into the unusual rare Chinese ethnic minority DNA turning up in the "Hair of the Alien" saga - a wild ride through an extraordinary odyssey spanning more than half a century.

The group UFOIC has had a long complex and fascinating history. It emerged out of the original Australian flying saucer group, pioneer researcher Edgar Jarrold's Australian Flying Saucer Bureau (AFSB), based in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW). Andrew Tomas joined AFSB in January 1954. The group attracted future UFOIC members such as Dr. Clifford and Dr. Miran Lindtner. With the departure of Edgar Jarrold in curious circumstances, Andrew Tomas reorganised the remenants of AFSB as a NSW state branch of Fred Stone's Adelaide based Australian Flying Saucer Research Society (AFSRS). In November 1956 the UFO Investigation Centre (UFOIC) was formed from this history, with Dr. Clifford serving at its first president until December 1958. Dr. J. Greenwell was briefly president, then Dr. Miran Lindtner took up the group presidency, continuing an energetic and dynamic period of research and investigation, until his untimely accidental death in 1969. Fred Phillips took over as President in this difficult time. The group went into a bit of a decline but by 1973 it had been reorganised and energised under the leadership of David Buching. By 1975-76 Michael Smyth and I were cordinating the groups activities. In line with some other state groups, we adopted the group name UFO Research, with a NSW identification - UFO Research (NSW).

By the early 1980s the group was reconfigured, adopting a networking type approach, rather than continuing the traditional public group format. This change worked well with a good working relationship with the national networking organisation ACUFOS - the Australian Centre for UFO Studies - and later with UFORA (UFO Research Australia) when ACUFOS became a shell of its original self.

The original UFOIC name was readopted in 1991 when a name change was forced by a new group registering the UFO Research (NSW). UFOIC continued its research and investigation, preferring a successful model of a "low profile" active network, rather than a public relations group format. This approach has served the group well and continues today under my direction. I originally joined UFOIC back in the late 1960s as a country member, joining the committee in 1975 when I moved to Sydney.

This brief outline of the history of UFOIC reveals a complex but fascinating evolution, driven by changing research and investigation strategies and focuses. Many striking UFO cases have been undertaken by the group during its rich history. UFOIC has made a potent contribution to UFO investigation and research in Australia.

I am currently researching a history of UFOIC and would welcome contact and contributions to this effort from past members and observers of the group.

Photos: Bill Chalker lecturing on UFOIC's history in May 2006; UFOIC in 1957 - (right to left) Dr. Miran Lindtner, Fred Phillips, Andrew Tomas & Gordon Deller (People, 1957); UFOIC publication - UFO Bulletin March 1958 illustrating "the holy grail of Australian ufology" - the famous 1953 PNG Drury UFO film incident; UFOIC - six years of the Australian Flying Saucer Review; one of the 1978 UFOIC/UFOR(NSW) publications I edited.

The Fourth Level and the Fourth Kind

2006-09-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of the most interesting books I have read recently is "TREADING LIGHTLY The hidden Wisdom of the world's oldest people" (2006) by Professor Karl-Erik Sveiby (a specialist in Knowledge Management) and Tex Skuthorpe (an aboriginal Nhunggabarra cultural custodian).

The book represents "a unique journey into traditional Aboriginal life and culture, and offers a powerful and original model for building sustainable organisations, communities and ecologies. It is a compelling message for today's world."

This central message of the book is well worth your time to explore. Indeed it is of vital importance.

The different explorations of Karl-Erik Sveiby and I intersected rather unusually in 2004 when he approached me and researcher Steve Walters to get our opinions on a strange photographic anomaly - a possible aerial anomaly - he had recorded during April 2004 at Mount Oxley near Bourke New South Wales while in the company of Tex Skuthorpe and his partner. Karl-Erik presents the unusual photo in the book as a possible manifestation of the Fourth Level of meaning in aboriginal stories - the spiritual realm. Through the fascinating aboriginal story of How the Nhunggabarra got flowers Mount Oxley (or Wubi-Wubi) was a focus of shamanic contact between aboriginal men of high degree (or wiringins) and the ancestral being Baiame (Baayami) .

Mount Oxley had already become an interesting place for me. I visited it back in September 2003 exploring its fascinating sense of presence and its enigmatic lore of strange phenomena. I was already aware of the legend of the flowers through the renderings of K. Langloh Parker of local aboriginal tales she collected in the late 1890s and it was fascinating to see the story retold through the words of local custodian Tex Skuthorpe and its "Fourth Level" of meaning, and its beautiful evocation through Tex's great paintings.

While prosaic explanations may be evident for the photo anomaly Karl-Erik recorded it is fascinating to consider the context he and Tex explore in their important book. I certainly do not want to distract from the central message of "Treading Lightly" given its significance as a potent intersection between a remarkable old culture and modern knowledge management theory.

However I suspect there are fascinating resonances between the concepts of "Fourth Level" (through "Treading Lightly" - shamanic spiritual interactions) and "Fourth Kind" (through "alien abductions") - intersections I have been contemplating for some time. See for example my article "Alien Abductions: A Shamanic Perspective of UFOs" in Nature and Health magazine (August 1980) see: http://www.theozfiles.com/ufo_shaman.html

Most importantly though there are powerful and important matters that need to be focused upon by our modern culture. Explore some of these in the book "Treading Lightly" and through the related web site. See: http://www.treadinglightly.sveiby.com/TheLearningTracksPaintingsandphotos/7THEFOURTHLEVEL/tabid/134/Default.aspx
The book and its message is worth your detailed exploration.

Photos: the mysterious rock "craters" on Mount Oxley (September 2003) and Mount Oxley in view (photos copyright Bill Chalker).

The Devil in the detail ....

2006-09-04T05:37:00.000-07:00

Denise Blazek of Ghost Radio has a knack for doing a hell of a good interview. Check out her archive of interviews at http://www.ghostradiox.com/phantom/archives_blazek.asp Denise's interview with me, which focused on the breakthrough case of the Peter Khoury 1992 experience featured in my book "HAIR of the ALIEN - DNA and other forensic evidence of alien abduction" was originally aired on Ghost Radio on May 21, 2006. I am sure you will find this interview and the others on the site of interest.