Welcome to the Collectanea of Oddities! Here we find the strange, peculiar, and unprecedented of South-East Queensland and beyond, and enter it into the collectanea alongside a eurythmic piece of Australian literature. From mundane to extraordinary, if it’s odd, it will be here.
Synposis:
UFOs! For centuries strange things in the skies have shocked and awed people all over the world, and UFO mania swept the USA in the 1940s. But that same mania took almost a decade to hit us in South-East Queensland? Exploration into this discrepancy and UFO sightings from the 50s to now follows in this entry into the Collectanea.
Tonight's Text:
Explaining Villanelles to an Alien, By Athony Lawrence
Works Cited:
Berends, T. (2024, April 6). Strange lights in the sky: The Westall UFO event, 1966. Retrieved from Victoria State Library Blog: https://blogs.slv.vic.gov.au/our-stories/strange-lights-in-the-sky-the-westall-ufo-event-1966/
Black, R. (2011, May 11). The Idiocy, Fabrications and Lies of Ancient Aliens. Retrieved from Smithsonian Library: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-idiocy-fabrications-and-lies-of-ancient-aliens-86294030/
Cohen, R. (2019, August 26). More UFOs Than Ever Before. Retrieved from The Paris Review: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/08/26/more-ufos-than-ever-before/
Correll, J. T. (2011, June 1). USAF and the UFOs. Retrieved from Air & Space Forces Magazine: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/0611ufo/
Garber, M. (2014, June 15). The Man Who Introduced the World to Flying Saucers. Retrieved from The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/the-man-who-introduced-the-world-to-flying-saucers/372732/
Krasney, Z. (2016, August). What Were the Mysterious “Foo Fighters” Sighted by WWII Night Flyers? Retrieved from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/what-were-mysterious-foo-fighters-sighted-ww2-night-flyers-180959847/
Louise-Brown, A. (2014, August 21). Spike in UFO sightings across Queensland. Retrieved from ABC News: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/spike-in-ufo-sightings-across-queensland-20140831-10alur.html
March Field Air Museum. (2023, July). P-59A Airacomet. Retrieved from March Field Air Museum: https://web.archive.org/web/20230715114625/https://www.marchfield.org/aircraft/fighter/p-59a-airacomet-bell/
Neal, M. (2020, September 26). 'Holy grail' or epic hoax? Australian Kelly Cahill's UFO abduction story still stirs passions. Retrieved from ABC News: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-26/ufo-abduction-book-kelly-cahill-encounter-eumemmering-australia/12661498
Queensland times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser . (1953, April 2). LOW-FLYING SAUCER? . Retrieved December 23, 2025, from Trove: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/118409236?searchTerm=flying%20saucer%20ufo%20spaceship%20sighting
Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald, and General Adviser. (1953, August 10). ANOTHER 'SAUCER!'. Retrieved December 23, 2025, from Trove: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/118426820?searchTerm=Ipswich%20flying%20saucer%20ufo%20alien%20spaceship%20sighting
RAAF Historical Section. (1995). Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: a concise history: maritime and transport units. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
Royal Australian Air Force. (n.d.). DH-115 Vampire T.35. Retrieved from Royal Australian Air Force: https://www.airforce.gov.au/community/event-participation/air-force-heritage-aircraft-fleet/dh-115-vampire-t35
Royal Australian Air Force. (n.d.). Gloster Meteor F.8. Retrieved from Royal Australian Air Force: https://www.airforce.gov.au/community/event-participation/air-force-heritage-aircraft-fleet/gloster-meteor-f8
Sagan, C. (1997). The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books.
The National UFO Reporting Center. (2025, December). NUFORC Reports by Month. Retrieved from The National UFO Reporting Center: https://nuforc.org/ndx/?id=event