In the early 1800s, a ship reported a ball of fire came hurtling towards it with a thunderous noise and splintered the top masts. A strong odour of sulphur was noted. Source: The Devil’s Meridian by Kevin Killey & Gary Lester

1801
Australia, Melbourne: Between Melbourne and Sydney at sea. The two sons of the Prince of Wales, one of them the future king of England, were cruising aboard "La Bacchante" when an object resembling a fully lighted ship was seen ("a phantom vessel all aglow")
Source: WEBPAGE BIBLE UFO

1868
25.07.68 PARRAMATTA, NSW
Mr F W Birmingham, a surveyor, experienced a vision involving heads floating by him and subsequently observed an ‘ark’ moving along the same path and landing in Parramatta Park. A voice spoke to him and asked if he wished to enter the ark. The surveyor replied that he would and was floated to the object. A ‘spirit’ appeared “like a neutral tint shade and the shape of a man in his usual frock dress”. He was shown around the ark after which the spirit disappeared and “...I fell. I suppose into my usual sleeping state, waking next morning deeply impressed with the vision of the night.”
Source: Chalker, Bill 1982, ‘A UFO Vision?: The Mystery of a Machine to Go Through the Air’, in UFORAN 3(1):14-26

1873
SOUTH AUSTRALIA 2230-2330hrs
One of the earliest mentions of UFO activity down under dates back to 1873 and comes from the South Australian Register. It concerns a bright light that followed a sailing ship for almost an hour. Captain Lebman, of the ship Adelheid, described the light as “milky-white”. He said it came over the ship in waves, with one wave every two seconds between 10.30 and 11.30 at night.

“A shuddering feeling was experienced at the sight,” Captain Lebman said, “and the intense light made the eyes ache. During the whole time the sea was illuminated, though not vividly. For a quarter of an hour after it was over flashes of light were perceptible in the water.” Source: Robin Northover, Post

1874
OCTOBER; BEECHWORTH, VIC
A farmer reported an object over his field. Source: Flying Saucers Over Australia by James Holledge

1885
FEBRUARY; PACIFIC
The crew of a ship sailing the Pacific, believed to be not far off the east coast of Australia, saw a large fiery red ball in the sky. It hissed overhead and fell into the sea, triggering a series of huge waves. Source: The Devil’s Meridian by Kevin Killey & Gary Lester

NOVEMBER; PACIFIC
Another case, in November involved a British steamer, the crew of which saw a huge ball of light rise from the water, move close to the ship and then dash away. Source: The Devil’s Meridian by Kevin Killey & Gary Lester

1890
1890s NORTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA DAYTIME (CE2)
(Source: 1800 Freecall National Hotline Number - Callin Code: 01494c)
This elderly lady also wanted to mention a story her Father told her when he was alive. He was a Bushman, his name was Jack. He worked in the North-Western part Australia and used to use a Dray (bigger than a Cart) and four horses to cart things around. One day he was plodding along when he saw this light coming straight towards him, just before it reached him it separated into two lights which flew separately either side of his horses. The horses were scared and started going out of control. He did not see what happened to the lights after that as he was trying to calm down his horses. This took place during the daytime in the 1890’s. Can’t blame human techology at least for this event. Beryl said he always wondered what it was and said it seemed similar to the stories he’d heard about Min Min Lights. Karen Burden AUFORN NSW

1893
CENTRAL NSW
A farmer claimed that a saucer shape landed in one of his paddocks. As he approached the object, a man in strange clothing emerged from it. The farmer walked towards the man, who shone some kind of “torch” at him, threw him to the ground and stunned him. When he came to, the man and the object had gone. The hand where the “torch beam” had hit him, has been paralyzed since. Source: Australian (14/15/16.05.69)

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