Ron Sullivan – Victoria – April 1966

Hi all,

On April 4, 1966, Ron Sullivan was driving by car at night when he saw a ‘light’ in an adjacent paddock. He then stated that the headlights of his car veered to the right for no apparent reason. Later inspection revealed an unusual area of disturbed soil in the paddock where the ‘light’ had been observed.

The incident was recorded at the time in:

1. The ‘Melbourne Age.’ 7 & 12 April 1966.


2. The ‘Ballarat Courier.’ 12 April 1966.


3. The ‘Maryborough Advertiser.’ 15 April 1966.


4. APRO Bulletin. May 1966. p.1.


5. Australian Flying Saucer Review (Victorian edition) No. 5, p.12. July 1966.

 

James E McDonald interview

The following is drawn from an audio recording with Ron Sullivan, by James E McDonald, during a visit to Australia in 1967.

Identification

Code/CD: 3T16S204/CD52

Date

Recorded: July 1967

File Size: 21.0

MB

Interview Duration

(m:s): 21:55

Interview

Details: James McDonald interviews Ronald F Sullivan

Sighting Date:

7 April 1966

Sighting Time:

Ca. 2030 hrs

Location of

Sighting: Maryborough to St Arnaud Road, Victoria, Australia

Duration of

Sighting: Not stated during recording

Witness(es):

Ronald F Sullivan

Image courtesy Whereis?

 

Sullivan

was driving long a bitumen road in a 1965 Ford Falcon sedan, at approximately

60 mph (96 km/hr) speed.  The sky was

very clear.  There was no moonlight and

there was a slight breeze.  He first saw

a light and thought it was the rear lights of a tractor in a paddock.  As he got closer he saw a light, that lifted

off the ground.  This light had, ‘Tubes

of coloured lights.’  These ‘lights’ were,

‘All the colours of the spectrum.’  The tubular

coloured lights were coming off it.  There

appeared to be a, ‘Disc or cone 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 metres) in diameter.’  Each ‘tube’ was four to five inches (10 to 13

cm) in diameter.

The police determined

that the position of the object, in the paddock, could have been 20 to 30 feet

(6 to 9 metres) from the road, since a depression was found in the paddock

located that distance from the road.  The

‘disc’ was estimated to be 20 to 30 feet (six to nine metres) above the ground,

at one point.

The most

unusual aspect was that this car’s headlight’s beam ‘bent’ to the right,

towards this light formation, ‘As if they were magnetised.’

McDonald

asked if Sullivan could see the beams of his headlights, Sullivan said, ‘Yes.’  Questioning then lead to the suggestion that

a car, half a mile ahead (one km), and going in the same direction, as

Sullivan, was kicking up dust.  This was

suggested as the reason Sullivan could see the beams of his headlights.  The headlights of the car were sealed in and

could not independently move.

The police,

Sargent Suttie of Maryborough, found a ground marking in the paddock.  A circular depression in the ground, four to

five feet (10 to 13 cm) in diameter and seven to eight inches (18-20cm) deep.  These measurements were smaller than what

Sullivan would have estimated from the size of the ‘disc’.  There were no human or animal markings around

the depression.  The soil inside seemed

to have been rippled in a clockwise direction.

Ron Sullivan in 2014 – image courtesy VUFOA

 

Sullivan

noted no unusual noise above the noise of his vehicle.  The motor of his car was not affected, just

the headlight’s beam appeared bent.  Responding

to a question from McDonald about suffering any physiological effects, Sullivan

said, ‘Only paralysis.’  Further

questioning led him to say, ‘A temporary mental paralysis.’  He was not frightened at the time, but hours

later he queried what had happened.

At the time

he had only told his wife about this event.

However, when he heard about the death of a motorist in that same spot,

he told the Police what he had seen.  They

went out with Sullivan to the spot and found the depression in the paddock.

McDonald

then questioned Ronald about the ‘bent’ headlight’s beam.  Sullivan admitted it was difficult to properly

describe what exactly occurred to the headlights.  However, the following points were given.  The total duration of the effect to the

headlights was only, ‘A couple of seconds.’  The headlights beam veered to the right by 30

to 45 degrees.  The headlights had then

momentarily turned off.  Following this

they came back on and the beam ‘bent’ 30 to 45 degrees to the right.  Then the headlights functioned normally.  Sullivan said it was difficult to describe

this incident.  He used the words, ‘The

ground location of the bend was the same.’

He did not

stop to investigate but travelled approximately 40 miles (64 km) to his

destination.

McDonald

asked if the Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF) had investigated, Sullivan said, ‘They

had not.’  McDonald asked if the

Department of Civil Aviation had investigated, he said, ‘No, they had not.’  Only the police, UFO Investigation Center (UFOIC)

and Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society (VFSRS), and some university

students had investigated this sighting.

Ronald

concluded that the headlights had been ‘bent’ by ‘magnetism’ or ‘gravity’.

Source Unidentified Aerial Phenomena – scientific research