The Man Who Turned Wycliffe Well Into Australia’s UFO Capital
by Eden Gillespie May 24, 2019 (10daily.com.au)
• In 1985, Lew Farka took over a 60-acre property with a roadhouse/gas station at Wycliffe Well in the Northern Territory of Australia and transformed it into alien theme park after learning about the long history of UFO sightings in the area. There were even handwritten records from World War II servicemen who wrote about spotting UFOs during the night. He only planned on staying five years, but ended up spending 25 years and $4 million dollars on the place, putting the Northern Territory on the map for UFO enthusiasts.
• Farka claims to have spotted more than 30 UFOs until he packed up and sold the place in 2009. The UFOs look like “light bulbs” – “great big balls of light” hovering 10 kilometres from the caravan park for 40 minutes each night. Then they would take off like “a rocket” into the sky. At one point, Wycliffe had a UFO encounter every day for almost a month. At the end of that month, one of the UFOs veered a bit from where it normally was and came into the caravan park. “[E]veryone scattered like you wouldn’t believe,” Farkas said. “We lost some kangaroos that panicked, the horses and the donkeys and the camels, everyone went crazy.”
• Farka believes Wycliffe Well lures extraterrestrials because of its “ley-lines” or “energy lines” that run along the earth. “It’s like a highway for them. In our area, it’s the crossroads, so no matter where they were going in the world they’d be crossing over in the Northern Territory,” says Farka. He also notes that they may be connected to the top secret military installation at nearby Pine Gap, a US satellite surveillance site in Alice Springs. But there hasn’t been a UFO sighting at Wycliffe since 2017.
• At its peak, Wycliffe attracted backpackers from all over the globe. The property had country dancing, a mini zoo to be proud of with kangaroos, peacocks and emus, and the largest range of beer in the Northern Territory, offering around 300 different beer labels. “In those days the Northern Territory was like the Wild West. There was a small population, the road wasn’t filled. Anybody with inspiration, with ideas, you could just do what you liked,” Farka said.
• Farka’s daughter, Elvina, is now in her 30’s and a top fashion photographer based in Singapore. The kids and their mother were forced to leave Wycliffe Well to be closer to the Alice Springs school, a four hour drive away and would only visit on weekends or school holidays. The Farka kids were ridiculed over their extraordinary family business. “There was an Elvis statue in the middle of the park and alien masks, Wycliffe t-shirts, it was mortifying for me. But I look back on it now and I think that was…cool,” said Elvina. She holds fond memories of her dad dressing her in a tiny alien costume.
• When it comes to the existence of aliens, Elvina and her brother Ben don’t doubt that we’re not alone. “There are so many theories about why they’re here, whether they’re us from the future, or that we’ve got a particular energy on this planet that they have the power to harness,” Elvina said. “As a human race, you’ve got to be relatively naive to think there’s nothing else out there,” added Ben.
Lew Farka lived in Wycliffe Well, in the Northern Territory, and claimed to have spotted more than 30 UFOs until he packed up and sold the place in 2009.
According to Farka, UFOs look like “light bulbs” and he believes Wycliffe Well lures extraterrestrials because of its “ley-lines” or “energy lines” that run along the earth.
“It’s like a highway for them. In our area, it’s the crossroads, so no matter where they were going in the world they’d be crossing over in the Northern Territory,” he told 10 daily.
As to why UFOs make the long journey to Earth, Farkas posits they could be mining valuable minerals that we haven’t discovered a use for yet.
Another theory Farkas suggests is that they’re inspecting human military installations at nearby Pine Gap, a US satellite surveillance site in Alice Springs.
The former sailor took over from the former the roadhouse owner in 1985 and transformed Wycliffe Well into an alien theme park of sorts after learning about the history of UFO sightings in the area.
He heard several anecdotes from the local Indigenous population about UFO encounters, and read handwritten records from World War II from servicemen who wrote about spotting unidentified objects during the night.
He only planned on staying five years in Wycliffe Well, but ended up spending 25 years and $4 million dollars on the place, putting the Northern Territory on the map for lovers of the unexplained.
On 60 acres of land, Farkas lorded over a caravan park, a petrol station and roadhouse and built an auditorium, as well as a lake for fishing.
Now described as “faded” and “unloved”, some say there hasn’t been a UFO sighting at Wycliffe since 2017.
It’s a far cry from Wycliffe was like at its peak, attracting backpackers from all over the globe.
During its hayday, it had country dancing, a mini zoo to be proud of with kangaroos, peacocks and emus, and the largest range of beer in the Northern Territory.
Thirsty backpackers were spoiled for choice with around 300 different beer labels on offer.
“In those days the Northern Territory was like the Wild West. There was a small population, the road wasn’t filled. Anybody with inspiration, with ideas, you could just do what you liked,” Farkas said.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. ExoNews.org distributes this material for the purpose of news reporting, educational research, comment and criticism, constituting Fair Use under 17 U.S.C § 107. Please contact the Editor at ExoNews with any copyright issue.