Hi all,
Following on from a previous post,"Where did your interest come from?" (click here to read) my thinking then progressed to "Which type of interest do you have?"
Offhand I thought of the major approaches to our subject, which I had come across, e.g. scientific ufology; skeptical. I then recalled that I had once read a much more detailed and thoughtful list in a book by US folklorist Eddie Bullard.
So, off I went to find my copy of "The Myth and Mystery of UFOs," by Thomas E(ddie) Bullard, published in 2011 by The University Press of Kansas. Lawrence, Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1729-6.
In the introduction to the book, Bullard has a section titled "Approaching the problem" which sets out ten different approaches to the phenomenon. I found it an excellent list, and I think you will too, so I present it here for your edification.
1. Scientific ufology:
"For this group UFOs are a phenomenon accessible to rational inquiry. These people pursue in-depth case investigations, critical examination of evidence, comparison of collected data and rigorous research projects to determine if any UFO reports describe an unknown phenomenon." (p.15.)
2. Explorers:
"A larger and more impetuous group than the scientific ufologists explorers care about evidence but only insofar as it supports their beliefs." (pp15-16.)
3. Interested followers:
"This group consists of the consumers rather than the producers of ufology." (p.16.)
4. Activists:
"They regard the existence of UFOs and their extraterrestrial origin as established facts and care only about the implications of alien visitation." (p.16.)
5. Specialists:
"The people who concentrate on one aspect of ufology are sometimes helpful and sometimes harmful to the field." (p.16.)
6. Interlopers:
One type of specialist enters the UFO field for a while, promotes some special interest, and then leaves." (p.16.)
7. Skeptics:
"To counterbalance the believers, there are the disbelievers, the skeptics and debunkers who attack UFOs as a social delusion. (p.17.)
8. Critics:
"The critics who do not reject UFOs as a philosophical creed nevertheless expect convincing evidence and continue to doubt because they have not found sufficient reason to change their minds." (p.17.)
9. Experiencers:
"...the people who claim to have witnessed UFOs." (p.18.)
10. Insiders:
"...an individual who claims privileged information about UFOs." (p.18.)
End note:
There is obviously a spectrum of interest, so where do you fit into the scheme of things?
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Social media and UAP research
Hi all,
Networked:
I am currently reading a book titled "Networked:The New Social Operating System" by Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman, published by The MIT Press, Cambridge MA in the USA, in 2012. ISBN is 978-0-262-0179-0. (Click here.)
It's a fascinating read which takes a look at today's technological world where many of us are exposed to incoming emails; text messages; and tweets. We also update our Facebook page; participate in Yahoo and Google groups; and Skype, amongst other aspects of technology. Some of us, this author included, blog.
The authors of "Networked" set out evidence to suggest that this new style of networking with others, provides opportunities for increased personal interaction; further learning; assistance with decision making by the obtaining of additional information; and the resolution of issues which may be troubling us, with the support of others.
"Where commentators had been afraid that the Internet would wither in-person ties, it is clear that they enhance and extend them." (p.255.)
Rainie and Wellman provide a large volume of statistics, balanced by interesting case studies of individuals. They also provide hints as to how you can "Thrive as Networked Individuals." These include:
* "Invest in existing relationships..." (p.263.)
* "Use ICTs enthusiastically and nimbly." (p.263.) (ICT is short for information and communication technologies.)
* "Use technology to develop your access to a wider audience..." (p.264.)
Application to UAP research:
I can attest to the value of Social Media networking in a couple of ways.
Blogging:
Firstly, the comments which I receive on posts to this blog. These have included:
* 3 May 2013 post re the 1942 "Tromp" case.
I was looking to locate the children of the witness to an intriguing observation from 1942. I suspected the witness himself would, unfortunately by now, have passed away. I thought the children of Willem Jan Methorst may have some family knowledge or indeed some documentation in the form of diary entries of the event. I posted a piece and received a comment which provided the names and locations of three Methorst children. (Click here for more on the case.)
* 22 Jan 2013 post re "Navy Looks Into UFO Story."
In response to a post on a rare case where the Australian Navy was said to have investigated a UAP report, Keith Roberts of the Tasmanian UFO Investigation Centre got in touch to inform me that he had been the original investigator on the case and knew it well.(Click here for more.)
* 4 Jan 2013 post re National Archives.
A correspondent advised me that the Archive Act now allowed files to be released after 20 years,. rather than the 30 years I mentioned in the associated post. (Click here.)
* 8 Feb 2011. Cold case Bass Strait 1944.
A Mr R T H Royal was piloting an aircraft across Bass Strait when he had a close encounter with a UAP.I started looking for any children to see what they knew of the event, when I received a very nice email from one of his daughters, who had some material which I had never seen before. (Click here.)
It is very doubtful, without the blog, whether I would have ever been able to find the information which individuals responding to blog posts, gave to me. Hence the value of social media.
Facebook:
Another example of the value of social media to UAP research is the use of Facebook posts and subsequent threads.
Recently, a post appeared on the Facebook "Westall Flying Saucer Incident" page (click here.) In the post, an individual provided what appeared to be two newspaper clippings hand dated 2001. These told the story of an alleged incident at Fountain Gate in Melbourne.
Members of the Facebook page went about investigating the alleged event. Between them, they:
* Set about trying to find original copies of the named newspapers via online newspaper databases, and contacting libraries.
* Pointed out that the newspaper clippings did not conform to the standard format of a newspaper story, in that there was no associated journalists name, and they contained numbers which suggested they were in fact, not a news story, but an advertisement.
* A Melbourne member visited the hotel and spoke to a management representative about the story.
* Another pointed out that a similar story from Sydney in the early 1970's had involved a UFO, and that they vaguely recalled the Fountain Gate story as a promotional display.
All in all, the investigation cast strong doubt on the authenticity of the newspaper accounts. The latest, is that the original poster has now withdrawn the original post and subsequent threads.
This is an excellent example of the power of social media in the pursuit of UAP research.
Have readers other examples they would care to share with us?
Networked:
I am currently reading a book titled "Networked:The New Social Operating System" by Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman, published by The MIT Press, Cambridge MA in the USA, in 2012. ISBN is 978-0-262-0179-0. (Click here.)
It's a fascinating read which takes a look at today's technological world where many of us are exposed to incoming emails; text messages; and tweets. We also update our Facebook page; participate in Yahoo and Google groups; and Skype, amongst other aspects of technology. Some of us, this author included, blog.
The authors of "Networked" set out evidence to suggest that this new style of networking with others, provides opportunities for increased personal interaction; further learning; assistance with decision making by the obtaining of additional information; and the resolution of issues which may be troubling us, with the support of others.
"Where commentators had been afraid that the Internet would wither in-person ties, it is clear that they enhance and extend them." (p.255.)
Rainie and Wellman provide a large volume of statistics, balanced by interesting case studies of individuals. They also provide hints as to how you can "Thrive as Networked Individuals." These include:
* "Invest in existing relationships..." (p.263.)
* "Use ICTs enthusiastically and nimbly." (p.263.) (ICT is short for information and communication technologies.)
* "Use technology to develop your access to a wider audience..." (p.264.)
Application to UAP research:
I can attest to the value of Social Media networking in a couple of ways.
Blogging:
Firstly, the comments which I receive on posts to this blog. These have included:
* 3 May 2013 post re the 1942 "Tromp" case.
I was looking to locate the children of the witness to an intriguing observation from 1942. I suspected the witness himself would, unfortunately by now, have passed away. I thought the children of Willem Jan Methorst may have some family knowledge or indeed some documentation in the form of diary entries of the event. I posted a piece and received a comment which provided the names and locations of three Methorst children. (Click here for more on the case.)
* 22 Jan 2013 post re "Navy Looks Into UFO Story."
In response to a post on a rare case where the Australian Navy was said to have investigated a UAP report, Keith Roberts of the Tasmanian UFO Investigation Centre got in touch to inform me that he had been the original investigator on the case and knew it well.(Click here for more.)
* 4 Jan 2013 post re National Archives.
A correspondent advised me that the Archive Act now allowed files to be released after 20 years,. rather than the 30 years I mentioned in the associated post. (Click here.)
* 8 Feb 2011. Cold case Bass Strait 1944.
A Mr R T H Royal was piloting an aircraft across Bass Strait when he had a close encounter with a UAP.I started looking for any children to see what they knew of the event, when I received a very nice email from one of his daughters, who had some material which I had never seen before. (Click here.)
It is very doubtful, without the blog, whether I would have ever been able to find the information which individuals responding to blog posts, gave to me. Hence the value of social media.
Facebook:
Another example of the value of social media to UAP research is the use of Facebook posts and subsequent threads.
Recently, a post appeared on the Facebook "Westall Flying Saucer Incident" page (click here.) In the post, an individual provided what appeared to be two newspaper clippings hand dated 2001. These told the story of an alleged incident at Fountain Gate in Melbourne.
Members of the Facebook page went about investigating the alleged event. Between them, they:
* Set about trying to find original copies of the named newspapers via online newspaper databases, and contacting libraries.
* Pointed out that the newspaper clippings did not conform to the standard format of a newspaper story, in that there was no associated journalists name, and they contained numbers which suggested they were in fact, not a news story, but an advertisement.
* A Melbourne member visited the hotel and spoke to a management representative about the story.
* Another pointed out that a similar story from Sydney in the early 1970's had involved a UFO, and that they vaguely recalled the Fountain Gate story as a promotional display.
All in all, the investigation cast strong doubt on the authenticity of the newspaper accounts. The latest, is that the original poster has now withdrawn the original post and subsequent threads.
This is an excellent example of the power of social media in the pursuit of UAP research.
Have readers other examples they would care to share with us?
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Kimba, South Australia - a very intriguing case
Hi all,
I am sometimes asked what one Australian UAP case has intrigued me the most. My answer, is that it was one that happened on 4 February 1973 at Kimba, South Australia.
The discovery:
I am sometimes asked what one Australian UAP case has intrigued me the most. My answer, is that it was one that happened on 4 February 1973 at Kimba, South Australia.
The discovery:
This
case first came to light through a newspaper clipping from the “Whyalla News”
newspaper of 16 Feb. The story didn’t reach us until 24 Feb. We telephoned Mr.
H. in Kimba, one of the witnesses, but he wasn’t available. A reply paid telegram was sent and a reply
received. Finally, we made arrangements to interview Mr. H. and Miss F. on 3
Mar.
The investigation:
The investigation team, which headed to Kimba, consisted of myself, Ray Brooke, Dean Piovesan and
Peter Powell.
On
the road between Iron Knob and Kimba we stopped at the sighting location. The
terrain consisted of flat land, with three to six metre high trees and smaller
scrub set in a deep-reddish-orange coloured, dry soil. A barbed wire fence line
lay some twenty to thirty metres from, and parallel to, the road at this point.
Visibility was limited to about fifty to one hundred metres into the scrub,
depending on your angle of vision with respect to the trees.
We
then travelled into Kimba and firstly called on Miss F. Her father confirmed
that on the night in question the couple had returned there are about 10.30
p.m. He had noticed that Mr. H. was white faced and trembling so much that he
was unable to light a cigarette for himself. The couple had then related the
occurrence, as a result of which the police were contacted. We then made a
telephone call to the local police constable, constable Summerton. His wife answered and suggested
that her husband come over to join us.
When
he had arrived, the young couple again related what had occurred on the night
in question. The events relating to the police participation were confirmed by
the constable. He advised us that he had been out to the site and inspected it,
but had found no evidence on which to base a conclusion.
The young couple:
The
couple we interviewed, Mr. H. and Miss F., were travelling together in one car.
In front of them, as later determined, was a Mr. I. Following both cars was a
semi-trailer driven by a Mr. D.
Firstly,
the young couple. They were driving between Port Pirie and Kimba, and the
incident occurred some kilometres out of Kimba. Mr. H., who was driving,
noticed what he at first called a red flare, to their right and forward, just
off the road in a clearing. As he passed he had a brief look at what was there.
He reported seeing a rectangular shape, orange-red in colour, three metres high
by one point five metres wide, with a sharply defined figure in what he called
a “white spacesuit”, floating in the middle of the shape.
Below is a sketch drawn for Constable Summerton by Mr H.
This
figure looked like an ordinary human being in respect of shape and outline; and
appeared to be motionless a metre or so above the ground, with a metre of
orange colour below him. His arms and legs were pointing slightly downwards, covered all over in white.
It should be remembered that this description is based on, at the most, a two
to three second observation.
The
driver accelerated the car from the ninety km/hr he had been doing. At the same time he motioned Miss F’s attention
to their right. It was some seconds before she understood, but then she turned
in the seat to look.
She
related that she saw a deep orange coloured, rectangular shaped thing, with a
white blob on top of it, in the clearing. She turned around to comment on it
and, upon turning back, observed that the orange glow now appeared to extend
right across the road behind them. Several seconds later she looked again, but
they had gone over a slight rise and nothing was now to be seen. At this time
Mr. H. had been concentrating on driving.
The
couple drove to Miss F’s house in Kimba. Her father heard the story, and
shortly afterwards the local police were called. Police Constable Peter
Summerton attended the call, and took the couple back out to the clearing.
The
three arrived back there by 11.10 p.m. and they undertook a good look around.
The ground was searched for tracks but none of any kind could be found. No
evidence for a hoax was evident.
The third witness:
In
the days that followed, a truck driver related to the Kimba police that he had
passed the same spot at about 10 p.m. He said that inside the fence line there
was something which had appeared to be a brightly lit “caravan doorway,” except
that it was much taller than a normal doorway; giving it a rectangular shape
that was twice as high as wide. It had a white, outlined shaped inside it. He
did not stop to take a look.
Mr.
H. related that a car had passed them just prior to their reaching the
clearing. The driver of this vehicle, when located, says that as he passed the
clearing he saw: “A glow of light, rectangular shaped, orange in colour,” which
would have been, a chain or two outside the normal fence line.
Constable
Summerton produced his notebook and advised us of the details he had noted down
that night, including a sketch of the object and the “man” as drawn by Mr. H.
Two other people had subsequently reported to him that they had also seen the
same or similar object on the same stretch of road that night.
His
notebook showed that a Mr. D., the semi-trailer driver, confirmed that he
passed the clearing at about 10 p.m. that evening; that he had noted a large”caravan
doorway” with a figure in it, in the middle; and that there were no sides, top
or bottom, to this doorway as a normal caravan would have. He had not stopped
at all.
The fourth witness:
Mr.
I. the driver of the second car, stated in a letter to us, that he saw an orange
glow on the right hand side of the road. It was a: “Glow of light , rectangular
shape, orange in colour.” He said he would have placed the clearing some fifty
to fifty two kilometres out of Kimba. The couple, after seeing the object,
stated they had travelled about three kilometres before they saw a signpost
saying fifty kilometres to Kimba and they considered their location accurate.
He wrote that he thought it could have been an accident so slowed down. He
realised that something wasn’t quite right and, since there was another car
following (Mr. H’s) he decided to wait and see if they stopped at the
“accident.” As the car following accelerated after passing the clearing, so did
he, and arrived in Kimba first.
Out to the site:
Constable
Summerton then took us out to the clearing he had inspected on that night. The
clearing itself was semi-circular, about one hundred metres across. It was
clearly visible from the roadway once you were level with it, but not when
approaching it. The following side was fairly open and would fit in with the
young woman’s description of being able to turn back to have a look.
We
conducted a rigorous search of the ground and the trees and scrub. No marks,
depressions, burns, or rope marks on trees, were revealed. However, it should
be remembered that we were there four weeks after the event, and there had been
rain in between.
All
in all, we were left with the impression that some real event did indeed occur,
and that it was so unusual that not one of the witnesses decided to stop and
have a closer look. This was a great pity because, if they had, it would no
doubt have given us a wealth of other details.
RAAF file:
I located RAAF papers about the case on National Archives of Australia file series A703 control symbol 580-1-1 part 21. There was a report dated 5 Feb 1973 by Constable Summerton to the OIC No 21 Division of the South Australian Police. This report, together with a map, and a sketch of the "entity" as drawn by Mr H. made its way from Police Headquarters to the local RAAF base and thence to the Department of Air. Unusually, RAAF Headquarters asked Police Constable Summerton for additional information. This usually occurred when the case was mystifying to Headquarters, and the case seemed to challenge them.
What did the RAAF think caused the event?
In a letter dated 2 May 1973, from C J Odgers, Director of Public Relations, RAAF, to Constable Summerton, the RAAF official conclusion on the case was "...the investigating team has been unable to conclusively determine the cause...a possible theoretical cause is a sighting of the phenomenon known as IGNIS FATUUS - methane gas released from decaying vegetation and spontaneously ignited..."
For information on "Ignis Fatuus" otherwise known as swamp gas - click here. The Kimba event occurred in an arid part of South Australia in the hottest month of the Australian summer, in an area totally devoid of swamps, bogs and marshes.
In conclusion:
The case intrigues me still, 41 years after the event.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
The Corona spy satellite program, and an Australian Government file
Hi all,
Introduction:
In an earlier post (click here) by my former co-blogger, Pauline Wilson, she raised the possibility that the Westall incident of 1966 could have had something to do with the then very secret US Government spy satellite program named "Corona." For an excellent US Government document which provides full details of the Corona program click here. After doing her research she concluded that the Westall incident did not involve a Corona photographic capsule falling to earth where it should not have. At the time of her post back in Jan 2012 I had not come across any Australian Government files in the National Archives of Australia (NAA) which even remotely suggested any Australian knowledge of this spy satellite program. Recently, thanks to the outstanding efforts of Paul Dean, a researcher from Melbourne we may just have found a hint.
NAA file:
One of the files which caught Paul's eye in the NAA's RecordSearch was file series A432, control symbol 69/3298, barcode 6971481 held by the NAA's Canberra office. The title was "US Emergency Flights Relating to the Recovery of Space Capsules." The file originated with the Attorney General's Department.
In 1968 (the Corona program ran up till 1972,) The US Government requested approval from the Australian Government for "Short term notice clearance for USAF aircraft to stage search and recovery operations for unmanned space capsules..." (Department of Supply memo dated 3 Jun 1969.)
What were these capsules? On 1 Apr 1969 the US Embassy in Canberra wrote to the Australian Department of External Affairs responding to a series of questions asked by the Australian Department of Defence, about these "capsules."
"The recoverable capsules vary in shape, size and weight. Typically they are conical in shape, measure approximately 36 by 30 inches, and weight several hundred pounds."
Note No. 315 from the US Embassy, dated 14 Oct 1968 added further information:
"The capsules will contain valuable (and in the case of the Department of Defence capsules , highly classified scientific experimental equipment.) Preparation has been made for their aerial recovery by specially equipped C-130 aircraft. Normally such recovery is to be made in the vicinity of Hawaii..However, due to malfunction the capsule may not land as planned ...a logical zone to attempt such recovery is the general area around and including Australia and New Zealand."
My reading of the documents on the file, together with the US document at click here, suggest to me that some of the "capsules" to be air recovered as they drifted down under a parachute, near Hawaii, could well have been Corona photographic capsules.
In the end, it didn't matter, as the US withdrew its request for emergency flights relating to such capsules.
Introduction:
In an earlier post (click here) by my former co-blogger, Pauline Wilson, she raised the possibility that the Westall incident of 1966 could have had something to do with the then very secret US Government spy satellite program named "Corona." For an excellent US Government document which provides full details of the Corona program click here. After doing her research she concluded that the Westall incident did not involve a Corona photographic capsule falling to earth where it should not have. At the time of her post back in Jan 2012 I had not come across any Australian Government files in the National Archives of Australia (NAA) which even remotely suggested any Australian knowledge of this spy satellite program. Recently, thanks to the outstanding efforts of Paul Dean, a researcher from Melbourne we may just have found a hint.
NAA file:
One of the files which caught Paul's eye in the NAA's RecordSearch was file series A432, control symbol 69/3298, barcode 6971481 held by the NAA's Canberra office. The title was "US Emergency Flights Relating to the Recovery of Space Capsules." The file originated with the Attorney General's Department.
In 1968 (the Corona program ran up till 1972,) The US Government requested approval from the Australian Government for "Short term notice clearance for USAF aircraft to stage search and recovery operations for unmanned space capsules..." (Department of Supply memo dated 3 Jun 1969.)
What were these capsules? On 1 Apr 1969 the US Embassy in Canberra wrote to the Australian Department of External Affairs responding to a series of questions asked by the Australian Department of Defence, about these "capsules."
"The recoverable capsules vary in shape, size and weight. Typically they are conical in shape, measure approximately 36 by 30 inches, and weight several hundred pounds."
Note No. 315 from the US Embassy, dated 14 Oct 1968 added further information:
"The capsules will contain valuable (and in the case of the Department of Defence capsules , highly classified scientific experimental equipment.) Preparation has been made for their aerial recovery by specially equipped C-130 aircraft. Normally such recovery is to be made in the vicinity of Hawaii..However, due to malfunction the capsule may not land as planned ...a logical zone to attempt such recovery is the general area around and including Australia and New Zealand."
My reading of the documents on the file, together with the US document at click here, suggest to me that some of the "capsules" to be air recovered as they drifted down under a parachute, near Hawaii, could well have been Corona photographic capsules.
In the end, it didn't matter, as the US withdrew its request for emergency flights relating to such capsules.
Another rare Australian Government Navy UAP file digitised
Hi all,
One of the two known Australian Government Navy UAP files on the 1954 Goulburn, radar/visual case has just been digitised. Again, we have Melbourne researcher Paul Dean to thank for paying for the National Archives of Australia (NAA) to digitise the papers.
NAA file series SP338/3 control symbol 13/4/10, barcode 938582, is titled "Unidentified Objects [Flying-report of] [10 pages - 1954.] The file originated with the Flag Officer-in-Charge, East Australia Area of the Department of Defence's Naval Office.
The digitised version is 10 pages long, and provides original documentation on the 31 Aug 1954 radar/visual observations, near Goulburn, by 723 Squadron, Royal Australian Navy Air Station Nowra, pilot Lt J A O'Farrell. I have previously posted at length on this case (click here and here to read these posts.)
The contents of two of the pages on this file have long been known to Australian UAP researchers, however, it is invaluable to be able to read the other associated documents on the file, which includes:
1. A report by O'Farrell.
2. A report by the radar operator, R.P.I. K E Jessop.
3. Copies of internal Navy minutes by various Navy personnel.
You too can read the file by:
1. Visiting http://naa.gov.au
2. Click on 'search the collection.'
3. Click on "Begin your search."
4. Click on "RecordSearch Advanced search.'
5. Click on 'items.'
6. In the barcode box type "938582' and enter.
7. Read the digital file.
One of the two known Australian Government Navy UAP files on the 1954 Goulburn, radar/visual case has just been digitised. Again, we have Melbourne researcher Paul Dean to thank for paying for the National Archives of Australia (NAA) to digitise the papers.
NAA file series SP338/3 control symbol 13/4/10, barcode 938582, is titled "Unidentified Objects [Flying-report of] [10 pages - 1954.] The file originated with the Flag Officer-in-Charge, East Australia Area of the Department of Defence's Naval Office.
The digitised version is 10 pages long, and provides original documentation on the 31 Aug 1954 radar/visual observations, near Goulburn, by 723 Squadron, Royal Australian Navy Air Station Nowra, pilot Lt J A O'Farrell. I have previously posted at length on this case (click here and here to read these posts.)
The contents of two of the pages on this file have long been known to Australian UAP researchers, however, it is invaluable to be able to read the other associated documents on the file, which includes:
1. A report by O'Farrell.
2. A report by the radar operator, R.P.I. K E Jessop.
3. Copies of internal Navy minutes by various Navy personnel.
You too can read the file by:
1. Visiting http://naa.gov.au
2. Click on 'search the collection.'
3. Click on "Begin your search."
4. Click on "RecordSearch Advanced search.'
5. Click on 'items.'
6. In the barcode box type "938582' and enter.
7. Read the digital file.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
German scientists, "flying discs" and Australian UAP
Hi all,
The Internet is full of stories of advanced German World War Two secret weapons, including the possibility of "flying discs."
Nick Cook:
One of the classic searches for evidence that wartime UAP sightings were "..reflected in work the Germans had been doing in their research facilities and factories ..." (p.63) was undertaken by then aerospace consultant Nick Cook, of Jane's Defence Weekly, as outlined in his 2002 book "The Hunt for Zero Point," published by Arrow of London. ISBN 0-09-941-498-8. (Click here.)
Cook examined Rudolf Lusar's book "German Secret Weapons of World War Two," ( click here) which suggested that the Germans had built "flying discs." He went on to look at the claims in the book by Italian Renato Vesco, (click here) titled "Intercept But Don't Shoot." From there he proceeded to track down a copy of, and read, the official United State's Air Force's file "...on the state of the German Air Forces's secret weapons work at the end of the war." (p.68.) This was the "Luffwaffe Secret Technology" (Lusty) report. (Click here.)
Cook dug deeply into this whole area and concluded "That the Germans had been working on technology that far exceeded published accounts of their aeronautical achievements in the second world war." (p.103.)
His research included a look at the work of German Dr Hans Kammler (click here). Cook travelled to Europe to do so. He met with, and studied the work of, Polish researcher Igor Witkowski (click here.). Cook wrote "Witkowski's research led him...to conclude that a number of these facilities had been used by the SS for nuclear research work." (p.224.) However, one site seemed different, and to suggest something else had been worked on, in "... a chamber hundreds of metres below ground...a bell-shaped device.." (p.264.)
Finally, Cook located the work of one Viktor Schauberger (click here), and concluded "Couple the Schauberger evidence with what i had seen in the Lusty files and suddenly it wasn't so hard anymore to believe that the Germans had developed prototype remote-controlled vehicles." (p.318.)
Throughout the book, Cook examined the possibility that there was an anti-gravity aspect to all this work, and brought the possibility into the 21st century by interviewing top people currently working in the aerospace industry.
German scientists in South Australia?
After re-reading Cook's excellent book, I recalled a story which I had been told several years ago, by an Adelaide truck driver. A friend of mine, interested in UAP research, arranged for the two of us to meet. The truckie's story was that he had come across a group of German scientists who were experimenting with UAP in the north of South Australia.
The truck driver's account was purely anecdotal, with absolutely no supporting evidence behind it. At the time I filed it in the "We'll never know if any of this is true" basket.
Cook's research made me reflect on the truckie's account. I started to wonder if his story might have some merit after all. The Woomera rocket range was in the north of South Australia. It has been used, almost continuously, since 1947 as an experimental test range for aircraft, missiles, rockets, bombs, pilot less aircraft and who knows what else?
In the USA, Operation paperclip (click here) , moved German scientists from Europe to the USA where they assisted kick-start the American rocket and missile program. I wondered if the same thing had happened in Australia? Were there any German scientists brought out to Australia to help run the programs at Woomera?
Amazingly, in the National Archives of Australia (NAA) I located a file series 1038/2 control symbol DRAWER 2/26 with the tantilising title of "Shadow Organisation- Top Secret - German Scientists"! In short, the file tells the story that yes, the Australian government did indeed think of importing German scientists to work on various pieces of scientific research in Australia. However, little seems to have come of the idea. It seems we were a little late, following the success of Operation Paperclip and a similar program in the USSR.
I didn't find any evidence that would back up the Adelaide truckie's account. Despite reading a number of NAA files originating from Woomera, and viewing various Internet sites, I couldn't find anything linking German scientists and Woomera.
Westall - a German connection?
I went off to look for any other Internet accounts suggestive of any links between German scientists and Australian UAP. Oddly, I found a comment on YouTube as part of a post by Zoink 555, titled "Greatest UFO Mystery in Australia." (Click here.)
Commenting on the origin of the UAP in question, "oceansandsurf" posed the question "Could it have been German? The Nazis did develop and fly a Bell (can't remember its real name) at end of WWII..And you know those smart Germans - I'm sure another 15 years on and they had developed their technology further."
I then checked the subject matter being commented on, and was surprised to find it was the April 1966 Westall High School object.
Cook's talk of German remote controlled vehicles made me recall a comment on this blog. It referred to a post by more former co-blogger, Pauline Wilson, on the 6 Apr 1966 Westall incident. The comment referred to radio controlled drones. The anonymous comment read:
"In 1966 at Westall Victoria UFOs landed at a primary school. I can say with great confidence that these vehicles were early drone technology to coordinate control around the Earth like a high tech radio controlled plane, these electric machines use Dr Tesla design and highly classified, if you think it's all lies then ask yourself why was the US military there within two hours on Australian soil..."
I searched around the net for similar keywords, and found to my surprise that I was back at the same YouTube post about Westall, where I found:
"I know the truth about Westall, it was early Tesla drone technology developed by the Americans. Remote control drone via satellite, apparently there were about 3 drones that flew around the world to test effectiveness of satellites positioned around the earth during the cold war with the Soviet Union. If you think I'm lying ask yourself the question who was there within 2 hours of the event, no it wasn't Australian Army was an American special unit, its a 12 hour flight."
The mention here of remote controlled drone recalls Nick Cook's page 318 comment about "prototype remote-controlled vehicles" of German origin.
"Popular Mechanics" article:
Fellow member of the Australian UFO Research Association, Jeff Fausch, pointed out to me that an Australian connection was raised in the November 2000 edition of the magazine "Popular Mechanics." It carried an article titled "America's Nuclear Flying Saucer." (Click here for article.)
The article in part, stated "...it seemed reasonable to U.S. Defence planners that the Soviet Air Force, which lacked a nuclear bomber, would try to adapt German disc technology. The United States, was after all, doing exactly the same thing with the V-2 and Nazi rocket scientists, it had spirited away in Operation Paperclip." (p.67.)
The article concerned the Lenticular Re-entry Vehicle (LRV) which was proposed as a US manned nuclear bomber in earth orbit. The magazine wrote "In our July 1997 cover story "Roswell Plus 50" Popular Mechanics detailed how Air Force interest in duplicating Nazi technology led to two American flying disc projects... Project Silver Bug...Project Pye Wacket (click here) ...Documents declassified since then point to a third secret project, a 40ft "flying saucer"..." (p.68.)
"The project is managed out of Wright Patterson Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio, where German engineers who had worked on the rocket plane..." (p.68.) The article was therefor suggesting that German scients may have worked on the LRV.
Was the LRV ever built? The magazine suggested a line of evidence to propose that it might have been. What was the evidence? Interestingly, they said it came from Australia! "However, what is far the most compelling evidence that the LRV, or a flying prototype was actually built comes from Australia." (p.71.) What occurred for the magazine to conclude this?
"In 1975, Jean Fraser found an odd bit of honeycomb-like debris on her family's ranch south of Brisbane. The area was in the vicinity of what was then a secret Australian test range where the British and American's conducted some of their most secret atomic experiments." (p.71.)
"Local legends claim the honeycomb was debris from a flying saucer which exploded over the test area in 1966." (p.71.)
"PM became interested in revisiting the Australian debris analysis when we noticed a similarity between a photograph of the mysterious honeycomb and a cross-section diagram in the LRV engineering study." (p.71.)
To summarise at this point, the Popular Mechanics article reported on a proposed US spacecraft, which had links to German scientists. Furthermore, the magazine suspected that the LRV had been built, because of material found in Australia, which they then imply, but do not openly state, may have come from an exploding LRV.
Alien honeycomb:
Can we find anything more about this suggested link with Australia? Indeed, we can, from a book titled "Alien Honeycomb: the First Solid Evidence of UFOs" written by John Pinkney and Leonard Ryman, published by Pan Books, London in 1980. ISBN 0-330-27003-6. (click here.) Here we learn:
* In Late Nov 1966 a Mrs Fraser of Greenbank, Queensland, just 29 kms from Brisbane, reported seeing a light, noiselessly passing over her property
* In early 1968, Mrs Fraser's husband found a piece of honeycomb-like material, with more found at the end of 1968
* In 1975, farmers in North Queensland found fragments from an aerial object which was analysed by a Paul Brixius of the Queensland University.
No explosion is mentioned in the 1966 account. However, Mr Fraser is quoted as saying "...whatever these pieces came from must have exploded in the air because we found them spread over more than 3 kilometres."
The Popular Mechanics article mixes these pieces of information together. Nothing was actually seen to explode in 1966, but this possibility is deduced from the distance over which the found material was distributed.
Secret test range?
A search both off and on the net, failed to find any evidence of a "secret Australian test range" in the vicinity of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The British government did test nuclear bombs at both the Monte Bello Islands, off the coast of Western Australia ( click here) and at Maralinga, South Australia (click here) in the 1950's.
A review of a file in the National Archives of Australia, file series M1148 control symbol "USA- General" barcode 31415823 titled "USA-General" which contained details of all known American projects based in Australia, found no projects relevant to such a secret test range.
One item, however, which was potentially relevant to this post, was dated 14 Jun 2001. The New Scientist magazine in the UK published an article in which it claimed that a nuclear bomb may have been detonated in Queensland in 1963. Could this have been at our secret test range?
However, it turned out that this was referring to a joint project between Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA which detonated 50 tons of TNT on 18 Jul 1963 at Iron Range, North Queensland rain forest to simulate a nuclear explosion. The Operation was named Blowdown (click here) and you can read an account of it in the National Archives of Australia on file series A5268 control symbol 1962/660, which is available in digitised format. In addition, there are some videos of it on YouTube (click here.)
In conclusion:
Where does this leave us on the subject of German scientists, flying discs and Australian UAP?
* An unconfirmed anecdote from an Adelaide truck driver
* A question "Could it have been German " on a YouTube video about the 1966 Westall object, plus additional comments mentioning remote controlled objects and Westall
* A suggestion in "popular Mechanics" that a proposed US nuclear manned earth orbiting bomber, with possible German scientists scientific assistance exploded over Queensland in 1966.
Have any blog readers come across any other material suggestive of a link between Australian UAP and German scientists?
The Internet is full of stories of advanced German World War Two secret weapons, including the possibility of "flying discs."
Nick Cook:
One of the classic searches for evidence that wartime UAP sightings were "..reflected in work the Germans had been doing in their research facilities and factories ..." (p.63) was undertaken by then aerospace consultant Nick Cook, of Jane's Defence Weekly, as outlined in his 2002 book "The Hunt for Zero Point," published by Arrow of London. ISBN 0-09-941-498-8. (Click here.)
Cook examined Rudolf Lusar's book "German Secret Weapons of World War Two," ( click here) which suggested that the Germans had built "flying discs." He went on to look at the claims in the book by Italian Renato Vesco, (click here) titled "Intercept But Don't Shoot." From there he proceeded to track down a copy of, and read, the official United State's Air Force's file "...on the state of the German Air Forces's secret weapons work at the end of the war." (p.68.) This was the "Luffwaffe Secret Technology" (Lusty) report. (Click here.)
Cook dug deeply into this whole area and concluded "That the Germans had been working on technology that far exceeded published accounts of their aeronautical achievements in the second world war." (p.103.)
His research included a look at the work of German Dr Hans Kammler (click here). Cook travelled to Europe to do so. He met with, and studied the work of, Polish researcher Igor Witkowski (click here.). Cook wrote "Witkowski's research led him...to conclude that a number of these facilities had been used by the SS for nuclear research work." (p.224.) However, one site seemed different, and to suggest something else had been worked on, in "... a chamber hundreds of metres below ground...a bell-shaped device.." (p.264.)
Finally, Cook located the work of one Viktor Schauberger (click here), and concluded "Couple the Schauberger evidence with what i had seen in the Lusty files and suddenly it wasn't so hard anymore to believe that the Germans had developed prototype remote-controlled vehicles." (p.318.)
Throughout the book, Cook examined the possibility that there was an anti-gravity aspect to all this work, and brought the possibility into the 21st century by interviewing top people currently working in the aerospace industry.
German scientists in South Australia?
After re-reading Cook's excellent book, I recalled a story which I had been told several years ago, by an Adelaide truck driver. A friend of mine, interested in UAP research, arranged for the two of us to meet. The truckie's story was that he had come across a group of German scientists who were experimenting with UAP in the north of South Australia.
The truck driver's account was purely anecdotal, with absolutely no supporting evidence behind it. At the time I filed it in the "We'll never know if any of this is true" basket.
Cook's research made me reflect on the truckie's account. I started to wonder if his story might have some merit after all. The Woomera rocket range was in the north of South Australia. It has been used, almost continuously, since 1947 as an experimental test range for aircraft, missiles, rockets, bombs, pilot less aircraft and who knows what else?
In the USA, Operation paperclip (click here) , moved German scientists from Europe to the USA where they assisted kick-start the American rocket and missile program. I wondered if the same thing had happened in Australia? Were there any German scientists brought out to Australia to help run the programs at Woomera?
Amazingly, in the National Archives of Australia (NAA) I located a file series 1038/2 control symbol DRAWER 2/26 with the tantilising title of "Shadow Organisation- Top Secret - German Scientists"! In short, the file tells the story that yes, the Australian government did indeed think of importing German scientists to work on various pieces of scientific research in Australia. However, little seems to have come of the idea. It seems we were a little late, following the success of Operation Paperclip and a similar program in the USSR.
I didn't find any evidence that would back up the Adelaide truckie's account. Despite reading a number of NAA files originating from Woomera, and viewing various Internet sites, I couldn't find anything linking German scientists and Woomera.
Westall - a German connection?
I went off to look for any other Internet accounts suggestive of any links between German scientists and Australian UAP. Oddly, I found a comment on YouTube as part of a post by Zoink 555, titled "Greatest UFO Mystery in Australia." (Click here.)
Commenting on the origin of the UAP in question, "oceansandsurf" posed the question "Could it have been German? The Nazis did develop and fly a Bell (can't remember its real name) at end of WWII..And you know those smart Germans - I'm sure another 15 years on and they had developed their technology further."
I then checked the subject matter being commented on, and was surprised to find it was the April 1966 Westall High School object.
Cook's talk of German remote controlled vehicles made me recall a comment on this blog. It referred to a post by more former co-blogger, Pauline Wilson, on the 6 Apr 1966 Westall incident. The comment referred to radio controlled drones. The anonymous comment read:
"In 1966 at Westall Victoria UFOs landed at a primary school. I can say with great confidence that these vehicles were early drone technology to coordinate control around the Earth like a high tech radio controlled plane, these electric machines use Dr Tesla design and highly classified, if you think it's all lies then ask yourself why was the US military there within two hours on Australian soil..."
I searched around the net for similar keywords, and found to my surprise that I was back at the same YouTube post about Westall, where I found:
"I know the truth about Westall, it was early Tesla drone technology developed by the Americans. Remote control drone via satellite, apparently there were about 3 drones that flew around the world to test effectiveness of satellites positioned around the earth during the cold war with the Soviet Union. If you think I'm lying ask yourself the question who was there within 2 hours of the event, no it wasn't Australian Army was an American special unit, its a 12 hour flight."
The mention here of remote controlled drone recalls Nick Cook's page 318 comment about "prototype remote-controlled vehicles" of German origin.
"Popular Mechanics" article:
Fellow member of the Australian UFO Research Association, Jeff Fausch, pointed out to me that an Australian connection was raised in the November 2000 edition of the magazine "Popular Mechanics." It carried an article titled "America's Nuclear Flying Saucer." (Click here for article.)
The article in part, stated "...it seemed reasonable to U.S. Defence planners that the Soviet Air Force, which lacked a nuclear bomber, would try to adapt German disc technology. The United States, was after all, doing exactly the same thing with the V-2 and Nazi rocket scientists, it had spirited away in Operation Paperclip." (p.67.)
The article concerned the Lenticular Re-entry Vehicle (LRV) which was proposed as a US manned nuclear bomber in earth orbit. The magazine wrote "In our July 1997 cover story "Roswell Plus 50" Popular Mechanics detailed how Air Force interest in duplicating Nazi technology led to two American flying disc projects... Project Silver Bug...Project Pye Wacket (click here) ...Documents declassified since then point to a third secret project, a 40ft "flying saucer"..." (p.68.)
"The project is managed out of Wright Patterson Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio, where German engineers who had worked on the rocket plane..." (p.68.) The article was therefor suggesting that German scients may have worked on the LRV.
Was the LRV ever built? The magazine suggested a line of evidence to propose that it might have been. What was the evidence? Interestingly, they said it came from Australia! "However, what is far the most compelling evidence that the LRV, or a flying prototype was actually built comes from Australia." (p.71.) What occurred for the magazine to conclude this?
"In 1975, Jean Fraser found an odd bit of honeycomb-like debris on her family's ranch south of Brisbane. The area was in the vicinity of what was then a secret Australian test range where the British and American's conducted some of their most secret atomic experiments." (p.71.)
"Local legends claim the honeycomb was debris from a flying saucer which exploded over the test area in 1966." (p.71.)
"PM became interested in revisiting the Australian debris analysis when we noticed a similarity between a photograph of the mysterious honeycomb and a cross-section diagram in the LRV engineering study." (p.71.)
To summarise at this point, the Popular Mechanics article reported on a proposed US spacecraft, which had links to German scientists. Furthermore, the magazine suspected that the LRV had been built, because of material found in Australia, which they then imply, but do not openly state, may have come from an exploding LRV.
Alien honeycomb:
Can we find anything more about this suggested link with Australia? Indeed, we can, from a book titled "Alien Honeycomb: the First Solid Evidence of UFOs" written by John Pinkney and Leonard Ryman, published by Pan Books, London in 1980. ISBN 0-330-27003-6. (click here.) Here we learn:
* In Late Nov 1966 a Mrs Fraser of Greenbank, Queensland, just 29 kms from Brisbane, reported seeing a light, noiselessly passing over her property
* In early 1968, Mrs Fraser's husband found a piece of honeycomb-like material, with more found at the end of 1968
* In 1975, farmers in North Queensland found fragments from an aerial object which was analysed by a Paul Brixius of the Queensland University.
No explosion is mentioned in the 1966 account. However, Mr Fraser is quoted as saying "...whatever these pieces came from must have exploded in the air because we found them spread over more than 3 kilometres."
The Popular Mechanics article mixes these pieces of information together. Nothing was actually seen to explode in 1966, but this possibility is deduced from the distance over which the found material was distributed.
Secret test range?
A search both off and on the net, failed to find any evidence of a "secret Australian test range" in the vicinity of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The British government did test nuclear bombs at both the Monte Bello Islands, off the coast of Western Australia ( click here) and at Maralinga, South Australia (click here) in the 1950's.
A review of a file in the National Archives of Australia, file series M1148 control symbol "USA- General" barcode 31415823 titled "USA-General" which contained details of all known American projects based in Australia, found no projects relevant to such a secret test range.
One item, however, which was potentially relevant to this post, was dated 14 Jun 2001. The New Scientist magazine in the UK published an article in which it claimed that a nuclear bomb may have been detonated in Queensland in 1963. Could this have been at our secret test range?
However, it turned out that this was referring to a joint project between Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA which detonated 50 tons of TNT on 18 Jul 1963 at Iron Range, North Queensland rain forest to simulate a nuclear explosion. The Operation was named Blowdown (click here) and you can read an account of it in the National Archives of Australia on file series A5268 control symbol 1962/660, which is available in digitised format. In addition, there are some videos of it on YouTube (click here.)
In conclusion:
Where does this leave us on the subject of German scientists, flying discs and Australian UAP?
* An unconfirmed anecdote from an Adelaide truck driver
* A question "Could it have been German " on a YouTube video about the 1966 Westall object, plus additional comments mentioning remote controlled objects and Westall
* A suggestion in "popular Mechanics" that a proposed US nuclear manned earth orbiting bomber, with possible German scientists scientific assistance exploded over Queensland in 1966.
Have any blog readers come across any other material suggestive of a link between Australian UAP and German scientists?
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
"Fairy rings" and Delphos
Hi all,
Delphos:
One of the most well known physical trace case is the Delphos, Kansas, USA landing event of 2 Nov 1971.
A boy named Ronald Johnson, reported observing an object, initially on the ground, and then taking off into the sky. His parents also saw the object when it was in the sky. A glowing ring was seen on the ground. (Click here for full details.)
A sample of the soil was found to have a white filamentous substance in it, about which, researcher Jacques Valle, wrote, in March 1974 "...that no one had taken the trouble to identify in the years elapsed since the landing." (Vallee. Forbidden Science Vol II, p.242. Click here.) Vallee had the sample analysed and reported the findings. "An analysis of the white matter in the glowing ring left after the sighting disclosed the presence of a Nocardia fungus that seemed to have been stimulated by an unknown radiation." (p.250.) This raises the possibility that the trace in this case was in fact of fungal origin.
"Fairy rings":
Based on my own investigation of a number of unusual ground traces within Australia, a number of these do indeed seem to be due to "fairy rings."A catalogue of Australian UAP cases I prepared (click here) has many examples, e.g. Ca. 1950, Bostobrick; 27 Jan 1969 Wasleys; Early June 1971 Tellebang.
The fungi are a large group of plants and are characterised by two important features. They are non-green plants devoid of chlorophyll and the plant body is characteristically composed of branching and thread-like structures termed hyphae. Fungi thrives in any environment that provides proper conditions for growth. They thrive in soil, in leaves, and in dead remains of plants and other organic materials such as foods and leather.
The ground markings they cause are found mainly in fields, paddocks, on reserves and lawns. The fruiting bodies of the gill and other fleshy fungi grow in lawns and paddocks, and can either produce single or circular colonies of mushrooms and toadstools. These rings of fruiting bodies are known as "fairy rings." Legend has it that if you step into such a rind you can hear fairies singing, and that they can abduct you and take you off to "fairyland." Sometimes, never to return. Even if you do return,, time as you know it will be different from that in fairyland. You might spend a week in fairyland, come back, only to find hundreds of years have gone by in your time. (For more on the folklore aspect click here and here.)
The perennial mycelium (the collective interlacing tangle) of the fungus begins growth in the centre of the ring to be, and then over time spreads outwards (causing the dead perimeter ring). Other mycelium in the inside of the ring die, when the organic matter in the soil has all been used up. After the soil regenerates due to water, fertilisers etc., you see a dead doughnut shaped band, with a more healthy greener centre and a healthy outside. Thus the ring increases in diameter, year after year, if the conditions are right.
The diameter of such rings varies with age and growth rate. One Internet source (click here) cites a French 600m diameter ring. Based on average annual growth rates it has been estimated that some fairy rings are 600-700 years old (click here.)
This is the time of the year:
In South Australia, the month of May usually has the prefect conditions for "fairy rings" to be noticed.
The three photographs included with this blog post were taken by my wife and myself, at the property named "Carrick Hill" in suburban Adelaide in the month of May one year. There were literally dozens of rings and thousands of fungi on the surface. I have never seen anything like it before, or since.
So, if you get a call to come take a look at an unusual ring shaped trace in a paddock, reserve or lawn, then consider the possibility that it is a "fairy ring" with or without mushrooms/toadstools. Look out for:
* A bare band of soil with seemingly normal grass growth inside and outside the band
* The presence of white threads in the soil
* The finding of mushrooms/toadstools in the mark
* Rings of super rich growth.
If in doubt, take a soil sample and photographs and head off to your local Department of Agriculture; Botanical Gardens or the CSIRO (in Australia) to have them analyse the material for you.
Delphos:
One of the most well known physical trace case is the Delphos, Kansas, USA landing event of 2 Nov 1971.
A boy named Ronald Johnson, reported observing an object, initially on the ground, and then taking off into the sky. His parents also saw the object when it was in the sky. A glowing ring was seen on the ground. (Click here for full details.)
A sample of the soil was found to have a white filamentous substance in it, about which, researcher Jacques Valle, wrote, in March 1974 "...that no one had taken the trouble to identify in the years elapsed since the landing." (Vallee. Forbidden Science Vol II, p.242. Click here.) Vallee had the sample analysed and reported the findings. "An analysis of the white matter in the glowing ring left after the sighting disclosed the presence of a Nocardia fungus that seemed to have been stimulated by an unknown radiation." (p.250.) This raises the possibility that the trace in this case was in fact of fungal origin.
"Fairy rings":
Based on my own investigation of a number of unusual ground traces within Australia, a number of these do indeed seem to be due to "fairy rings."A catalogue of Australian UAP cases I prepared (click here) has many examples, e.g. Ca. 1950, Bostobrick; 27 Jan 1969 Wasleys; Early June 1971 Tellebang.
The fungi are a large group of plants and are characterised by two important features. They are non-green plants devoid of chlorophyll and the plant body is characteristically composed of branching and thread-like structures termed hyphae. Fungi thrives in any environment that provides proper conditions for growth. They thrive in soil, in leaves, and in dead remains of plants and other organic materials such as foods and leather.
The ground markings they cause are found mainly in fields, paddocks, on reserves and lawns. The fruiting bodies of the gill and other fleshy fungi grow in lawns and paddocks, and can either produce single or circular colonies of mushrooms and toadstools. These rings of fruiting bodies are known as "fairy rings." Legend has it that if you step into such a rind you can hear fairies singing, and that they can abduct you and take you off to "fairyland." Sometimes, never to return. Even if you do return,, time as you know it will be different from that in fairyland. You might spend a week in fairyland, come back, only to find hundreds of years have gone by in your time. (For more on the folklore aspect click here and here.)
The perennial mycelium (the collective interlacing tangle) of the fungus begins growth in the centre of the ring to be, and then over time spreads outwards (causing the dead perimeter ring). Other mycelium in the inside of the ring die, when the organic matter in the soil has all been used up. After the soil regenerates due to water, fertilisers etc., you see a dead doughnut shaped band, with a more healthy greener centre and a healthy outside. Thus the ring increases in diameter, year after year, if the conditions are right.
The diameter of such rings varies with age and growth rate. One Internet source (click here) cites a French 600m diameter ring. Based on average annual growth rates it has been estimated that some fairy rings are 600-700 years old (click here.)
This is the time of the year:
In South Australia, the month of May usually has the prefect conditions for "fairy rings" to be noticed.
The three photographs included with this blog post were taken by my wife and myself, at the property named "Carrick Hill" in suburban Adelaide in the month of May one year. There were literally dozens of rings and thousands of fungi on the surface. I have never seen anything like it before, or since.
So, if you get a call to come take a look at an unusual ring shaped trace in a paddock, reserve or lawn, then consider the possibility that it is a "fairy ring" with or without mushrooms/toadstools. Look out for:
* A bare band of soil with seemingly normal grass growth inside and outside the band
* The presence of white threads in the soil
* The finding of mushrooms/toadstools in the mark
* Rings of super rich growth.
If in doubt, take a soil sample and photographs and head off to your local Department of Agriculture; Botanical Gardens or the CSIRO (in Australia) to have them analyse the material for you.
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