WHAT WAS IT UP IN THE SKY?
1963

Source: © Sunday Mail January 6th

EYES ON THE SKY as farmer Tom Hoey and his wife studied as unidentified flying object which was seen yesterday in the sky above the Clifton - Allora area, on the Darling Downs. Mr Heoy has a farm 10 miles from Clifton

DOWNS residents yesterday reported a "large, very bright object, close to earth" above the Clifton - Allora area. Mr Tom Heoy, a farmer 10 miles from Clifton spotted the "thing" at 1.30 am yesterday. Several people reported keeping it in sight for hours. Cloud then obscured it.

Witnesses included a Toowoomba photographer. Mr. Norman Miller. The object was reported above an area about 40 miles south of Toowoomba.

'Brightest'

First sighting came from Mr.Tom Hoey, who has a farm 10 miles from Clifton.
"It appeared as the brightest star in the sky," Mr. Hoey said, "But it was closer to the earth than is the moon.
"It was very large, very bright and was fringed on one side by an orange glow." Mr Hoey telephoned The Sunday mail at 10.30a.m yesterday. He said the mystery object then was sill visible, and had not moved since his 1 am sighting.

Mr. Hoey, "It's clearly visible overhead, but it has now risen very high. "About 3.30 a.m. a smaller duller light started to move slowly away from the larger one. It changed course several times, and finally disappeared below the horizon. "The smaller light seemed to be quite close."

Mr. Hoey said he had not seen the smaller light return to the main object.

'Something'

Mr Norman Miller went to the spot for The Sunday Mail. The object was defined clearly, he said. Mr. Miller said: "There was definitely something there, it looked like a shinning disc. A neighbour of Mr. and Mrs. Hoey, Mr Bruce Burge, described it was "a large white disc.

An Air Force spokesman at Amberley Air Base said yesterday the R.A.A.F airfield - approach radar there lacked the ranger needed to pick up the Clifton object. The Queensland Flying Saucer Research Bureau president (Mr. R Royal) and another member left Brisbane for Clifton yesterday afternoon to investigate.

Didn't see

Toowoomba Aero Club pilots could not see the object yesterday afternoon. They were flying below cloud which` extended up to 10,000ft.
Mrs. Roy Farley of Abbott Street Ascot last night reported seeing a "Brilliant", electric-blue object in the north-west at 7.20 p.m on Thursday. It had a five-feet-long tail.

Mr. John Teunissen, of Bald Hills and his brother Robert saw a "What pear shaped object," stationary between Warwick and Toowoomba at about 2.a.m yesterday.