FALLING STONES -

Mayanup as a place, is no more than a pin-prick on the map. It is located south of Boyup Brook on Blackwood Road. It would probably have remained unknown and unremarkable except for a report in the Daily News in 1957 which (in part) read:

"Stones have been gently falling on the Keninup, Boyup Brook property of farmer W. W. M. Hack for nearly two years. The occurrences have been intermittent and generally at the greatest intensity during the winter months.'

The stones were apparently warm to the touch and seemed to materialise from nowhere. Reports say that some stones "fell slowly", others materialised inside buildings etc.

The events in question are said to have taken place over a number of years, 1946 - 1962 to be precise. Similar events have also been reported at Humphrey's Bridge (near Wandering), as well as at Boddington and Borden.

The stones ranged from pebble sized all the way up to 19 kilograms. The news soon spread and people started travelling to the towns to see for themselves what was going on.

Apparently other somewhat mundane objects fell as well as stones. In one case a pair of pliers that had been dropped though a grate in a shearing shed materialised.

Other items like charcoal, broken glass, pottery, fencing wire, chop boes and potatoes were seen falling or moving through the air in a strange manner.

Later in 1957 the Daily News again reported:

'Just after the natives shifted camp the stone phenomenon was witnessed by dozens of independent white witnesses. At 5:30pm yesterday, when he returned from a nearby stock sale, he found a crowd of people in a half-circle behind his house. Stones were falling. They were picking them up as fast as they fell.'

Jack Coulter, Daily News 1957

In 2009 ABC TV aired a documentary about the 'Spirit Stones' that included interviews with people who had experienced the phenomenon. As far as we know there has never been a definitive explanation of just what the stones were and where they came from.

Spirit Stones Jack Coulter interview

Poltergeist of Mayanup, The Jannick

Some have blamed the stones on a ghost or poltergeist. Helen Hack wrote a book about it called 'The Mystery of the Mayanup Poltergeist'. We assume Helen Hack is related Douglas Hack who was a witness to the falling stones. The National Library of Australia has a sound recording of an interview with Douglas Hack but as far as we know it is not available online. Details at NLA Interview

Although I am a real sceptic when it comes to things of this nature, I have to admit that in this case something very strange must have occured for which there is no logical explanation.

So many people witnessed these events over such a long period of time that the story is very hard to just dismiss.

There was no advantage or financial gain involved and that is a sure sign of hoaxes in many cases like this.

Many people who went to see the stones falling went believing it was a hoax but came away admitting that they believed what they saw and could not come up with any logical reason for it to occur.

The cause of the falling stones may never be known but it certainly is one of the more interesting and unusual stories about anywhere in W.A.

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