UFO Sightings in New Zealand: a short study

The *U* Database lists 194 UFO sightings in New Zealand, probably just a fraction of the actual count.

Sightings eras are shown in color: 108 events from 1909 through 1959 show as light blue dots. 49 from 1960 through 1974 are violet, and 37 from 1975 to the present are green.

The first listing was 23 July, 1909 when several people saw an 'Airship' descend over a school in Kelso, South Island. It hovered for some minutes. Several matching drawings were made later.

In the following days, much the same was reported at Tasman Bay, Kaka Point, Gore, Balclutha, Greendale, Waikaka, Dunedin and Fairfax, all on South Island. By early August 1909, sightings had spread to North Island.

The geographical center of NZ sightings is 173:46E - 40:19S between the main islands.

<= Histogram of New Zealand Sightings.

Here sightings for all years are combined, then given as daily counts to show seasonal effects.

The busiest days taken separately were 6 July 1952 (4 listings), and 24 and 31 July 1909 (3 each). July is Winter time in NZ.

No actual craft was seen early on 10 October 1956. A strange "land mass" emerged from the sea just off Hokitika. Soon it submerged again. Next, a strange beam of light shined down from a cloud, onto the same exact spot on the water.

A few hours later (1:30 PM) at Edendale on the other end of South Island, a cone saucer was seen coming out of a cloud. This craft made a 180-degree turn back into the cloud as a small plane passed.

See a similar special UFO study for Australia

<= 50-Years of NZ UFO Sightings.

Not shown here, the first wave in NZ was in 1909, around the same time as a similar flap in Britain.

Missing out on the 1947 Wave, activity resumed with a burst of sightings late in 1952.

The busiest years listed here for NZ are:

1909 (12) 1952 (15) 1953 (10)
1954 (12) 1956 (16) 1957 (22)
1969 (10) 1977 (10) 1978 (11)

Years not shown list 9 or fewer sightings.

The busiest months in NZ are November (11), December (26) and January (25), with the other 9 months averaging about 13 each.
Busiest weekdays are Saturday and Sunday. Sightings tend to be along coastal areas.

All of this suggests statistics are strongly influenced by outdoor activities in NZ.

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