THINK ABOUTIT UFO|ENTITY ENCOUNTER REPORT

1967 Wodonga, Victoria UFO Encounter: The Motorcyclist and the Beckoning Figures

Riding the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne on an August evening in 1967, a motorcyclist was suddenly blinded by a brilliant light and forced to stop — only to find a hovering, two-saucer-shaped craft in a grassy clearing beside the road, with two silver-suited, fishbowl-helmeted figures standing beside it. When one of them beckoned him forward, he did the opposite: he gunned his bike and fled at 100 mph, with the glowing object following him before finally rocketing away.

Date: August 24, 1967

Sighting Time: 1700 hours (5:00 p.m.)

Day/Night: Evening

Location: On the Hume Highway approximately 16 km south of Wodonga, Victoria, Australia (the source material’s “Hulme Highway” is a transcription error for the Hume Highway, the actual road connecting Sydney and Melbourne)

Urban or Rural: Rural

No. of Entity(‘s): 2

Entity Type: Two humanoid figures

Entity Description: Approximately 5 feet tall, standing beside the craft, wearing close-fitting silvery coveralls
that fully covered the hands and feet, with opaque “fishbowl”-style helmets concealing any facial features

Hynek Classification: CE-III (Close Encounter III) — retained per the source material; a close-range observation with animate beings directly associated with the object, including a beckoning gesture toward the witness, fits this classification well

Duration: Approximately 5 minutes

No. of Object(s): 1

Description of the Object(s): A metallic object hovering approximately 1 meter above the ground in a grass clearing sloping down from the road; shaped like two saucers joined together, separated by a metallic band 9–12 inches (25–30 cm) deep; topped by a small dome roughly 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, itself surmounted by a flat-topped, bell-shaped structure about 12 inches (30 cm) deep; a black, crescent-shaped marking approximately 12 inches (30 cm) high and 2 inches (5 cm) wide was visible on the dome

Shape of Object(s): Disc — described as two saucers placed together

Size of Object(s): 25–30 feet (8–9 m) in diameter and approximately 15 feet (4.5 m) high overall

Color of Object(s): Dark gray underside; polished chrome-like upper half; aluminum-colored dome

Distance to Object(s): Approximately 100 feet (30 m) from the witness

Height & Speed: Object hovered roughly 1 meter above the ground before departure; on departure, it tilted to a 45-degree angle and shot upward at very high speed, vanishing within seconds. The witness had been riding at approximately 110 km/h (68 mph) before stopping, and fled the scene afterward at roughly 100 mph (161 km/h)

Number of Witnesses: 1

Special Features/Characteristics: The witness was first blinded by an intense bluish-white light before seeing the object; one of the two figures took two steps forward and beckoned to the witness, who fled instead; the object emitted a pink glow that turned bright red as it departed at high speed; the witness’s surname is recorded inconsistently across sources — Basterfield’s own catalogue gives it as “Hyde,” while other sources give “Hydes”

Case Status: Unexplained — investigated by named Australian researchers Peter Norris and N. Thornhill, with the case additionally documented in Victorian UFO Research Society files; no conventional explanation has been established

Source: N. Thornhill & Peter Norris (original investigation); additional detail from Keith Basterfield’s catalogues (1980, p.35, case 29; 1997, p.158, citing Victorian UFO Research Society files); AESG Case Document 4

Summary/Description: While riding a motorcycle along the Hume Highway south of Wodonga, Victoria, a rider was forced to stop by a blinding light and encountered a hovering, two-saucer-shaped metallic object roughly 100 feet away, accompanied by two silver-suited, fishbowl-helmeted humanoid figures. When one figure beckoned toward him, he fled at high speed, with the glowing object following briefly before departing rapidly into the sky.

Related Cases: None documented

Detailed Report

Diagram of the object reported at Wodonga, Victoria, August 1967
Witness-based diagram of the object reported near Wodonga, Victoria, August 24, 1967.

At approximately 5:00 p.m. on August 24, 1967, a motorcyclist was riding along the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne, roughly 16 kilometers south of Wodonga, Victoria, traveling at about 110 km/h, when an intensely bright, bluish-white light forced him to stop. After removing his sunglasses and clearing his eyes, he was able to make out a metallic object hovering approximately one meter above the ground in a grass clearing sloping away from the road, some 100 feet distant.

The object was shaped like two saucers joined together, separated by a metal band 9 to 12 inches deep. Its underside was dark gray, while the upper half had a polished, chrome-like finish. A small dome, roughly 5 feet tall, sat atop the craft, itself topped by a flat-topped, bell-shaped structure about 12 inches deep. A black, crescent-shaped marking was visible on the dome. The overall object measured 25 to 30 feet in diameter and stood approximately 15 feet tall.

The witness’s attention was momentarily diverted, and when he looked back, he saw two figures, each about 5 feet tall, standing beside the object. They wore close-fitting silvery coveralls that fully covered their hands and feet, along with opaque, “fishbowl”-style helmets that concealed any facial features. One of the figures stepped forward and beckoned toward him. Rather than approach, the witness jumped onto his motorcycle and fled at approximately 100 mph. The object, now emitting a pink glow, appeared to follow him briefly. When he stopped again further down the road, he saw it tilt to a 45-degree angle, its glow shifting to bright red, and shoot upward at tremendous speed, disappearing within seconds. The entire encounter, from the initial light to the object’s departure, lasted approximately 5 minutes.

The case was investigated by Australian researchers Peter Norris and N. Thornhill, and later documented in Victorian UFO Research Society files and included in Keith Basterfield’s catalogues of Australian UFO reports.

Researcher’s Notes

The Wodonga Encounter — 1967 and a Witness Whose Own Name Isn’t Settled

Even the witness’s surname is disputed in the sourcing. Basterfield’s own catalogue records the name as “Hyde,” while other sources give “Hydes.” This isn’t a case of one clearly correct spelling being garbled once — it’s a genuine, unresolved discrepancy between credible cataloguers, and this page presents both rather than picking one.
The craft’s dimensions are unusually precise for a single-witness roadside case. Exact figures for the object’s diameter, height, dome height, band depth, and even a specific marking (a black crescent, sized to the centimeter) suggest either a careful, detail-oriented witness or a well-conducted investigative interview shortly after the event — either way, a level of specificity that’s relatively rare in cases of this kind.
The beckoning gesture is the case’s most significant behavioral detail. A figure stepping forward and beckoning toward a witness implies apparent intent to communicate or invite closer contact — behavior that, had the witness approached rather than fled, could have escalated this case toward a higher-tier encounter. As it stands, the witness’s decision to flee means the case remains a close observation rather than a direct-contact event.
Named investigators and multiple archival citations lend this case real documentary weight. Unlike some entries in this archive sourced to a single secondhand mention, this case is anchored to named original investigators (Norris and Thornhill), a specific case document (AESG Case Document 4), and Victorian UFO Research Society files — a stronger paper trail than many single-witness cases of this era.

The Wodonga encounter remains a well-documented example of a close-range roadside sighting with direct apparent behavioral intent from the object’s occupants — distinguished by unusually precise physical description and a solid investigative paper trail, even as basic questions like the witness’s own surname remain unsettled across the sources that recorded his account.