Was it aliens, a top-secret government test balloon, or just “hyped up kids” spreading a wild tale of a flying saucer buzzing their playground?

Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the incident known as Australia’s largest mass UFO sighting. It’s been the subject of documentaries, books and countless news articles and YouTube videos, with scores of witnesses sharing their stories over the years.

But six decades on, the ageing former students have never been given an official answer about what they saw — or why they were told to keep quiet.