UFO fever is gripping the world right now.
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But did you know Nowra once had its own brush with something mysterious in the sky?
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The year was 1954: the space age was burgeoning, and a pilot by the name of Jim 'Seamus' O'Farrell was based at HMAS Albatross.
August 31 had started out as a standard evening shift for the young Lieutenant, and by all accounts it was a beautiful night for flying - calm, clear and starry, with no moon.
![A picture of Lt Jim 'Seamus' O'Farrell, from the HMAS Albatross 723 Squadron Line Book. The Line Book is a scrapbook of daily life in the squadron, often featuring newspaper clippings, jokes, drawings, and pictures of members. A picture of Lt Jim 'Seamus' O'Farrell, from the HMAS Albatross 723 Squadron Line Book. The Line Book is a scrapbook of daily life in the squadron, often featuring newspaper clippings, jokes, drawings, and pictures of members.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/165949827/ecd98869-f27b-43ea-a1ee-e11dc56c530b.JPG/r0_0_6000_4000_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He made a scheduled 'cross country' flight in his Hawker Sea Fury, taking off from Nowra and making a loop through checkpoints over Young, Temora, and Yass, before turning homeward.
During the return cruise, Lt O'Farrell radioed Nowra base just after 7pm, letting them know his position south west of Goulburn.
Immediately after, Lt O'Farrell saw something unexplainable.
A bright light approached his aircraft rapidly, and crossed his flight path, before it appeared to 'orbit' around something in the distance; it was followed by a second moving light.
He described the incident in an official report:
"After contacting Nowra at approximately 1910, I noticed a very bright light closing fast from 'one o clock'. This bright light crossed ahead of me and continued to a position on my port beam where it appeared to orbit,: Lt O'Farrell's report read.
"At the same time I noticed a second and similar light at 'nine o clock', which made a pass about a mile ahead of me and then turned in the position where the first light was sighted.
"I contacted Nowra and asked if they had me on radar, hoping they would confirm that other aircraft were in the vicinity. They replied that they had 3 echoes and advised me to turn 180 degrees (course), to be identified if I required a homing.
"At this stage the two bright lights reformed at 'nine o clock', from me and disappeared on a North Easterly heading.
"I saw no other lights and was only able to make out a v ague shape with the white light situated centrally on top.
"Their apparent crossing speed was the fastest that I have ever experienced, and at the time I was indicating 220 knots."
![A report written by Lt O'Farrell on the alleged UFO sighting on his 1954 flight. Picture by National Archives of Australia. A report written by Lt O'Farrell on the alleged UFO sighting on his 1954 flight. Picture by National Archives of Australia.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/165949827/01e067f5-99b8-4a8d-8922-c09de0033c88.jpg/r0_0_826_1167_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
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From the get-go, believers and sceptics were divided on Lt O'Farrell's report of UFOs, both in Navy circles and among the wider public.
According to Navy records, radar did corroborate a sighting; someone on the ground also saw the lights and they were considered to be a credible witness.
Though the Captain at Nowra dubbed the alleged incident as "flying sauceritis', according to a minute paper in the Fleet Air Arm Museum records.
The minute paper did note that while no other RAAF aircraft were in the vicinity of Lt O'Farrell's plane on that night, there was one commercial plane: a TAA Convair.
Nevertheless, newspapers across Australia took the UFO angle and ran with it. Articles published through December of 1954 declared "flying saucers' were legitimate and spotted near Nowra.
Lt O'Farrell even became the butt of jokes among his own 723 Squadron for a while, as the incident blew up in the media.
Members preserved pictures of Lt O'Farrell, along with newspaper clippings about the "flying saucers" and drawings, in their Line Book.
The Line Book was a living record of day-to-day life in the Squadron; it is one of many which remains preserved at Nowra's Fleet Air Arm Museum.
As museum manager Stuart Harwood explained, reporting something outrageous like a UFO sighting would have taken a fair amount of fortitude.
"You've got to give it to him - when you see lights in the sky at night, I think there might have been some reticence to talk about them," Mr Harwood said.
"And that sort of comes out in this file [the line book]... this shows what someone might expect when they come back with a UFO sighting.
"Basically, the squadron has had a little bit of fun at his expense.
"We get a lot of official records, but the Line Book has a more personal story behind it... and this was an interesting time in Navy history."
![Fleet Air Arm Museum manager Stuart Harwood shows the 723 Squadron Line Book, which is preserved in the local archive. Picture by Jorja McDonnell. Fleet Air Arm Museum manager Stuart Harwood shows the 723 Squadron Line Book, which is preserved in the local archive. Picture by Jorja McDonnell.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/165949827/6fb1400f-1ade-4cd1-8045-2e61a1a95eb8.JPG/r0_0_6000_4000_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Harwood told the Register that Lt O'Farrell remained steadfast about his possible UFO sighting right up until his death in 2017.
Fortunately, neither the report, nor his conviction hurt his career at all.
O'Farrell went to on receive several promotions to high-ranking positions within the Navy.
During the 60s, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and then Commanding Officer of 723 Squadron at Nowra; Commander (Air) at HMAS Melbourne; and Deputy Director of Naval Aviation in Canberra.
In 1971, the promoted Captain O'Farrell became Director of Naval Aviation Policy, and in 1978 was awarded an Order of Australia for his service.
By late 1978 he was promoted to Commodore, and posted to Washington DC as the Australian Naval Attaché to the United States Navy.
This was followed by a brief stint back in Canberra, as Director General Operations Requirements in the RAN. In 1982 Commodore O'Farrell was appointed Naval Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Commodore O'Farrell retired from military service in 1984, after an illustrious 37 year career in the Navy.
As for the lights he saw on that August night? They remain a mystery to this day.
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