The article below was published in the daily newspaper Auckland Star, Auckland, New Zealand, on September 18, 1972.
Johannesburg, Sunday. -- Gunshots greeted a UFO hovering near the farm of Bernardus Smit, on June 26 at around 08:00 in the morning. When the police arrived, Smit and his workers tried to dislodge the UFO which was stationed in the thickets.
It seemed to glow red through the thickets, and as I watched it changed from bright red to dark green to a whitish yellow.
As they approached, the object slipped through the trees. At the right end of the oval-shaped object, there was a star-like protuberance, which seemed to grow larger as the white light became more intense.
Smit and the police fired at the object which was standing 8 yards away from them. Fifteen rifle shots, approximately, were fired while the object remained in the air, in direct sunlight, for more than 4 hours.
Smit says the object was about 1 yard wide and 2 yards long. It moved away, crushing the thickets in his path.
The attitude of Smit and the police was variously commented on and sometimes strongly criticized.
