They're perhaps not the kind of visitor tourism bodies are looking to attract to the region – they don’t come through customs, they arrive in non-regulation aircraft and never spend any money in the local economy. But if the many reported sightings of their visits are to be believed, UFOs are making regular visits to the Sunshine Coast.
UFO Research Queensland has been compiling data related to sightings throughout Queensland since 1956, and Lee Paqui from the organisation confirmed to Finda that the Sunshine Coast and Glasshouse Mountains area receives a lot of reports.
“Balls of orange or white light are the most frequently reported UFO in the area. These balls of light usually appear singly, but also in triangular, boomerang or straight-line formations, and occasionally they’re seen travelling in clusters of up to 20 or more objects. But while glowing balls of light dominate, there have been a number of far more unusual objects and phenomena sighted as well,” Lee said.
Reported Sightings
According to UFO Research Queensland in 1999, campers on Bribie Island witnessed a glowing green object at midnight that “turned the night into day.” The object was circular, hovered just above the ocean and lit up the sea and the nearby town of Caloundra with a green light for about eight seconds.
In 2004, a group was out four-wheel-driving in the Glasshouse Mountains. They drove along a fire road when one of them screamed. Hovering just above the trees, was a capsule shaped object roughly the size of a petrol tanker truck's trailer. It was emitting a low humming noise and glowing like a dull fluorescent light just above the trees. It was “close enough to throw a rock and hit it”. After a few minutes it tilted forward and drifted west like a balloon down into a ridge. They followed in their car and got out to look for it but it was gone and so was the humming sound.
In 2001 a woman travelling at night towards Bli Bli pulled off the road to allow what she thought was a brightly lit car behind her to overtake. However, instead of overtaking, the lights behind her moved backwards and changed into a crescent shape before disappearing into the sky.
In early 2000 a Caloundra resident reported an object in the sky that looked like “castles joined together,” and estimated it to be about the size of four football fields.
In 2007 a couple witnessed an oval object the size of a football field hovering over Burpengary. It was brightly lit, red on the bottom and white on top, and tilted itself on an angle before disappearing.
(Reported sighting information provided by UFO Research Queensland).
Advice
We asked Lee at UFO Research Queensland what advice he would give to people if they spot something.
“The first thing is to not panic. Our experience has shown that people are not harmed by their encounters with UFOs, in fact, they can come away with a feeling of elation. So, don't panic, don't run, simply stand and watch and observe.
“Try and work out how large the object might be, and how far away it is from you. Hold your arm out and see how big it is compared to your thumb. Notice any discernible markings, what the shape is, if it is glowing or not, what colour it is, does it change colour or shape while you're watching.
“Try to time how long the object is visible for, and how does it disappear. Does it simply vanish like a light going off or does it take off in a particular direction? Try and see what is happening to the world around you - is the sky cloudy or clear, are dogs barking, or have the birds stopped singing? Is there anybody nearby that you could point the object out to? And, most importantly, does anybody have a camera?”
"Of course, expecting people to do all this when they have only a few seconds to think about it could be asking a bit much, but if they can let us know as much as they can about their experience that’s the main thing,” Lee said.
UFO Research Queensland has been compiling data related to sightings throughout Queensland since 1956, and Lee Paqui from the organisation confirmed to Finda that the Sunshine Coast and Glasshouse Mountains area receives a lot of reports.
“Balls of orange or white light are the most frequently reported UFO in the area. These balls of light usually appear singly, but also in triangular, boomerang or straight-line formations, and occasionally they’re seen travelling in clusters of up to 20 or more objects. But while glowing balls of light dominate, there have been a number of far more unusual objects and phenomena sighted as well,” Lee said.
Reported Sightings
According to UFO Research Queensland in 1999, campers on Bribie Island witnessed a glowing green object at midnight that “turned the night into day.” The object was circular, hovered just above the ocean and lit up the sea and the nearby town of Caloundra with a green light for about eight seconds.
In 2004, a group was out four-wheel-driving in the Glasshouse Mountains. They drove along a fire road when one of them screamed. Hovering just above the trees, was a capsule shaped object roughly the size of a petrol tanker truck's trailer. It was emitting a low humming noise and glowing like a dull fluorescent light just above the trees. It was “close enough to throw a rock and hit it”. After a few minutes it tilted forward and drifted west like a balloon down into a ridge. They followed in their car and got out to look for it but it was gone and so was the humming sound.
In 2001 a woman travelling at night towards Bli Bli pulled off the road to allow what she thought was a brightly lit car behind her to overtake. However, instead of overtaking, the lights behind her moved backwards and changed into a crescent shape before disappearing into the sky.
In early 2000 a Caloundra resident reported an object in the sky that looked like “castles joined together,” and estimated it to be about the size of four football fields.
In 2007 a couple witnessed an oval object the size of a football field hovering over Burpengary. It was brightly lit, red on the bottom and white on top, and tilted itself on an angle before disappearing.
(Reported sighting information provided by UFO Research Queensland).
Advice
We asked Lee at UFO Research Queensland what advice he would give to people if they spot something.
“The first thing is to not panic. Our experience has shown that people are not harmed by their encounters with UFOs, in fact, they can come away with a feeling of elation. So, don't panic, don't run, simply stand and watch and observe.
“Try and work out how large the object might be, and how far away it is from you. Hold your arm out and see how big it is compared to your thumb. Notice any discernible markings, what the shape is, if it is glowing or not, what colour it is, does it change colour or shape while you're watching.
“Try to time how long the object is visible for, and how does it disappear. Does it simply vanish like a light going off or does it take off in a particular direction? Try and see what is happening to the world around you - is the sky cloudy or clear, are dogs barking, or have the birds stopped singing? Is there anybody nearby that you could point the object out to? And, most importantly, does anybody have a camera?”
"Of course, expecting people to do all this when they have only a few seconds to think about it could be asking a bit much, but if they can let us know as much as they can about their experience that’s the main thing,” Lee said.
