THINK ABOUTIT UFO|ENTITY ENCOUNTER REPORT

The 1973 Nowra, NSW UFO Encounter: A Disc, Radar Claims, and a Navy Denial

In early January 1973, five people driving along the South Coast of New South Wales near Sussex Inlet watched a light they first took for an oncoming truck reverse direction and pace their car for 24 kilometers — resolving, at close range, into a huge disc with red-lit portholes, a rotating searchlight beam beneath it, and, according to at least one witness, figures visible inside. When the group later reported the encounter at HMAS Albatross Naval Base, they were told the base’s own radar had been affected and that there had been numerous other witnesses. When researcher Bill Chalker later contacted the Navy directly, it denied all knowledge of the incident.

Date: Early January 1973

Sighting Time: Evening (specific time not documented)

Day/Night: Night

Location: South Coast of New South Wales, Australia, near the Sussex Inlet turnoff and continuing toward Nowra and the turnoff to HMAS Albatross Naval Base

Urban or Rural: Rural coastal highway

No. of Entity(‘s): Undetermined number, described only as “figures”

Entity Type: Unidentified figures observed through the object’s windows/portholes

Entity Description: Not detailed beyond being described as figures visible through the object’s lit windows; no further physical description was given

Hynek Classification: CE-III (Close Encounter III) — upgraded from the source material’s duplicated “CE1 CE-I” label. At least one witness, an army officer in the best position to observe, was certain that figures could be seen in the object’s windows, which places this beyond a simple close-range observation and into direct association with animate beings

Duration: The object paced the vehicle for approximately 24 kilometers, implying an observed duration of at least several minutes, likely closer to 15–20 minutes at typical highway driving speed, though an exact time was not recorded

No. of Object(s): 1

Description of the Object(s): A large, disc-shaped object with red lights beneath what appeared to be portholes or windows along its length, the lights forming a thin ribbon-like appearance; a distinct searchlight-like beam effect appeared to rotate around the object’s underside

Shape of Object(s): Disc

Size of Object(s): Described as large, appearing very large at close range and ground level; no specific measurement given

Color of Object(s): Red lights beneath the portholes/windows; a rotating white searchlight-type beam beneath the object

Distance to Object(s): Close range, maintaining a parallel course alongside the vehicle at what witnesses described as very close proximity

Number of Witnesses: 5 in the vehicle — Elizabeth C. (driver) and four others, including one army officer, who had the best vantage point of the group; additionally, an unspecified number of holidaying campers separately witnessed a related incident hours later at Shoalhaven Heads

Special Features/Characteristics: The object initially approached from ahead, resembling an oncoming semi-trailer’s headlights, before appearing to pass and then reverse direction entirely — a 180-degree change — to pace the car; near the turnoff to HMAS Albatross Naval Base, the object apparently relocated instantly to high altitude, arced around Nowra, and departed out to sea; later that same morning, campers at Shoalhaven Heads reported multiple helicopters flying low out to sea over what appeared to be a fiery mass in the water, an incident the Navy also later denied any knowledge of; when three members of the group, including Elizabeth, reported their experience to HMAS Albatross, they received a detailed, high-level interview rather than a dismissive one, and were told the UFO had numerous other witnesses and had affected the base’s radar; the army officer in the group was separately interviewed about the incident by military intelligence officers after returning to his unit; when contacted independently by the investigating researcher, the Navy denied all knowledge of the incident

Case Status: Unexplained — researcher Bill Chalker personally interviewed Elizabeth C. and the army officer and found them impressive and compelling witnesses; no official confirmation exists, and the Navy’s later denial to Chalker directly contradicts what base personnel reportedly told the witnesses in their own interview

Source: Bill Chalker (1996)

Summary/Description: Five people driving the South Coast of New South Wales near Sussex Inlet in early January 1973 encountered a large, disc-shaped object with red-lit portholes and a rotating searchlight beam, which paced their car for 24 kilometers before instantly relocating to high altitude and departing out to sea. At least one witness believed figures were visible inside. A subsequent report to HMAS Albatross Naval Base was met with a detailed interview and claims of radar interference and other witnesses, though the Navy later denied all knowledge of the incident when contacted independently.

Related Cases: None documented

Detailed Report

Drawing of the Nowra, NSW UFO based on a witness sketch
Drawing of the Nowra UFO based on a witness sketch. (Credit: Bill Chalker)

Elizabeth C. and her family regularly spent their Christmas holidays on the South Coast of New South Wales. One evening in early January 1973, Elizabeth was driving an old Valiant sedan carrying four other people, including an army officer, when the group passed the turnoff to Sussex Inlet. Elizabeth drew the others’ attention to a light ahead that she initially took for an approaching semi-trailer. It then appeared to move to her left, passing the car much like an aircraft — before reversing direction entirely, a full 180-degree change, and beginning to pace the vehicle. At this point the object appeared very large, close to ground level, and near the car.

It maintained a parallel course alongside them for approximately the next 24 kilometers. Elizabeth described the object as large, with red lights beneath what appeared to be portholes, forming a thin ribbon-like line of light along its length. The night was very dark, and against that darkness the object resolved as a large, disc-shaped craft with window-like features and a distinct searchlight-type beam that appeared to rotate around its underside. The army officer in the group, who had the clearest view of anyone present, was certain he could make out figures inside, visible through the lit windows.

Near the turnoff to HMAS Albatross Naval Base, the object seemed to vanish instantly from its position beside the car, reappearing at high altitude, where it traced a wide arc around Nowra before heading out to sea and disappearing from view.

Later that same morning, one member of the group, now at their campsite at Shoalhaven Heads, witnessed something separately unusual along with a large number of other holidaying campers gathered at the water’s edge: several helicopters flying low, out to sea, over what appeared to be a fiery mass in the water. When the matter was later raised, the Navy stated it had no knowledge of this incident either.

Because of both the earlier road encounter and the morning’s events at the campsite, three members of the group — including Elizabeth — went to HMAS Albatross to report what they had experienced. Expecting a dismissive or light-hearted reception, they instead found themselves the subject of a detailed, high-level interview. They were told the UFO had had numerous other witnesses, and that the base’s own radar had been affected during the incident. The army officer later reported being separately interviewed about the South Coast experience by military intelligence officers after returning to his unit.

Bill Chalker later interviewed both Elizabeth C. and the army officer directly and found them to be impressive and compelling witnesses, concluding that something extraordinary had evidently occurred, though no official confirmation was ever obtained. When Chalker separately contacted the Navy, it denied all knowledge of the incident.

Researcher’s Notes

The Nowra Encounter — 1973 and a Direct Contradiction Between Two Official Accounts

This is a CE-III case, not CE-I. The original source data listed this as CE-I, but the army officer’s account of seeing figures inside the object’s windows is a direct report of animate beings associated with the craft — the defining feature of CE-III. The classification has been corrected accordingly.
The core unresolved contradiction in this case is between two official-adjacent accounts, not between witnesses and skeptics. Base personnel reportedly told the witnesses directly, in a formal interview, that the UFO had numerous other witnesses and had affected the base’s radar. When the investigating researcher independently contacted the Navy, it denied all knowledge of the incident entirely. These two statements cannot both be straightforwardly true, and this page presents that contradiction as the central unresolved feature of the case rather than resolving it in either direction.
The army officer’s later intelligence interview is a significant, specific detail. Being separately debriefed by military intelligence upon return to his unit suggests the incident was taken seriously somewhere within the chain of command, regardless of what the Navy later told outside investigators.
The Shoalhaven Heads helicopter incident should be treated as a related but distinct event. It involved a different set of witnesses (holidaying campers, not the five in the car), occurred hours after the main sighting, and received its own separate denial from the Navy. It’s included here because it’s part of what prompted the group’s formal report, but it shouldn’t be conflated with the primary UFO encounter as if they were definitely the same phenomenon.
Direct researcher interviews with named, credentialed witnesses carry real weight here. Chalker’s personal assessment of Elizabeth C. and the army officer as “impressive and compelling” reflects direct, firsthand vetting by an experienced investigator, rather than a secondhand or undocumented account.

The Nowra encounter stands out less for the object’s description, striking as it is, and more for the sharp, unresolved contradiction it left behind — a witness group formally told by a naval base that their sighting was corroborated by radar and other witnesses, followed by a flat official denial when the same institution was asked about it independently.