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== Witness Testimonial ==

By E. Gourlay - Eyewitness 

At approximately 7.10pm on the 17th August 1997 (the full moon was on the 18th) we were driving north from Bororan to Boyne Island in Central Queensland on a two lane highway. Depending on conditions, the journey normally takes between thirty to forty minutes. It was a bright, calm cloudless night, being almost full moon. 

We were in the area of an old station called Inveragh, about forty two kilometres south of Gladstone. Heather was driving, her two year old son was in the back seat and I was star gazing at a large star/planet which stood out brightly in the northwest sky. I was just about to comment on it when something above and to the left hand side of the windscreen blocked my view. My first thought was a low flying plane. A couple of seconds later it was obviously like no other aircraft we had ever seen or heard of. 

This craft was flying at a fairly slow and steady pace. It was silent and not very far above tree top height as far as we could tell. What I saw were two long horizontal rows of closely spaced, large round multi-coloured lights with two shorter vertical rows of round multicoloured lights at each end, effectively forming a huge rectangle. The vertical rows seemed to extend a little beyond the horizontal, giving the impression of cut off corners on the outside of the structure. The lights were steady, not flashing as in a normal aircraft. 

As it flew from west to east over the top of the car we were able to look up into the centre of the rectangle but it was impossible to identify anything within, owing to the dazzle of the surrounding lights. We both had the impression of a somewhat concave interior with grey/black shadowy shapes. 

In the clear moonlight we could see no wings or similar structure beyond that which the lights were attached to. What may have been above all this, we couldn't even hazard a guess. While Heather was looking for a place to pull over, I looked back and all I could see was one large bright white light skimming the tree tops and vanishing down out of sight. 

Heather's recollection is basically the same regarding the lights, huge size and shape of the craft and area sighting. She cannot recall seeing the whole craft at any one time and I am of the same opinion - except for a half remembered image of the craft at a higher altitude as it went to the east (right) and behind us. The fact that Heather was driving and looking for a place to pull over would have had that effect. She recalls seeing structure on which the lights were fixed and I seem to remember the lights following the contours of the craft. Heather tells me she couldn't pull over suddenly because she thought there was a car following behind. When we parked, no car passed us. 

OOOOOOOOOOO

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The size of craft and lights, along with the number of lights is very difficult to determine owing to the element of surprise and I suppose, the very awe of it all. Trying to compare sizes to known things and remembering the time it took for the craft to fly over the car, we have come up with the following estimation but we would not be prepared to swear to actual size in a court of law! 

The craft would have been in the region of 250-300 feet in length, (we have not even considered the width!) There could have been anywhere from sixty to a hundred lights on the underside of it and when I close one eye and try to 'frame a light with my hands I get a diameter of approximately 5 inches at that height. The length of a football field would be a close estimation of size, at one point it totally filled the length of the windscreen. The colours were red, yellow/white, blue and/or green. 

A pilot friend has plotted the approximate co-ordinates for me and they are; latitude 24 degrees and 10 minutes south and longitude 151 degrees and 28 minutes east. The car did not develop any electrical problems and our journey took no longer than normal, allowing for time parked off the road. I phoned the police station later that night to see if anyone else had reported any peculiar craft in the vicinity, but the reply was negative. He took my phone number to passs on to anyone else who happened to phone, but I had no calls on the matter. 

(ED NOTE) After a long telephone conversation with Mrs E. Gourlay, I was able to acquire this report. This is not the first time an object of this size and description has been reported - the last was just off the coast of Tully by Claire Knobel, independent researcher. 


== Credits ==

Special thanks to [[UFO Casebook]].


== External Links ==

* [http://www.ufocasebook.com/1997boyneisland.html Original UFO Casebook Report]
* [http://www.mufon.com/reportufo.htm Report your UFO Sighting]

[[Category:Cases_in_UFOlogy]]
[[Category:UFO cases in Australia]]