A wave of ‘aircraft’ sightings swept across New Zealand in 1909. For six weeks, from late July to early September, hundreds of people observed ‘flying cigars’ both in the north and the south. These sightings occurred day and night.
The early 20th century was discovering aviation. Dirigible balloons, built in Germany by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, were just beginning to fly, as were the balloons being tested in France. These aircraft could not fly over New Zealand. In this part of the world, the ‘aircraft’ sightings of 1909 remain as inexplicable as those in the United States from 1896 to 1897.
1909 Sightings:
– On an August night in 1909, a dull “buzzing sound” was heard in the small Otago settlement of Kelso, resembling the roar of a threshing machine engine.
– The driver of a train from Hokitika noticed a powerful light rising and falling in the air, heading north toward the harbor.
– Two dredger workers reported seeing an “airship” descending through the fog.
– Passengers on this train saw a flying object heading toward Greymouth Bar Bay.
– Dunedin craftsmen also reported seeing what they believed to be a cigar-shaped airship.
– A Presbyterian minister, his wife, and children also witnessed this event.
– Other reports of lights and “cigar-shaped” objects came from Timaru, Temuka, Geraldine, and Otago.
The most plausible hypothesis seems to be a meteor shower, whose entry into the Earth’s atmosphere is accompanied by bright, silent flashes. During the summer months, the Earth does indeed cross the paths of numerous meteors.
However, this does not explain the persistence and intensity of the phenomenon. Perhaps the Earth was experiencing a period of intense meteorological activity.
It’s also possible that all the people who observed “mysterious lights and flying objects” at that time were actually seeing unidentified flying objects whose existence cannot be rationally explained.
It’s also possible that these were the aircraft of extraterrestrials who possessed superior technology, which was difficult for humans to identify and properly interpret at the time.
As always, I leave the interpretation to each individual.
