I was just reading a piece in the book ‘The History of New Zealand Aviation’ by the late Ross Mcpherson and Ross Ewing (who is now involved in the Walrus project).
It says that in 1909 a number of reports began to be made to the press and authorities in several towns across New Zealand, and especially in the South Island places like Balclutha, Gore, Kaikoura and Kelso, where people were seeing a large cigar-shaped airship fly over.
It was usually at night and had two spotlights on it shining at the ground, but occasionally it was seen clearly at dusk and once or twice in daylight. Two seperate reports said they’d clearly seen men inside it. They were heard shouting in a foreign language, and one fisherman said the occupants actually dropped ‘missiles’ at his boat.
There was of course much speculation and scepticism, but it seems that there are two many unrelated reports to be a complete hoax, or that it was just a mistake. Reports eventually had it being seen further and further norh, and the last one said it was seen heading out to sea from Northland. Then soon after there were similar reports in Australia.
Apparently sightings were made again in 1913, but only a couple that time.
Could this have been a German spy Zeppelin? Does anyone know whether the Germans had a boat capable of carrying and tendering an airship in those days?
It all sounds a little implausable and like a plot from a film, but damned interesting. there were of course no such things as airships in NZ at that time (in fact I don’t know if we’ve ever had any airships here – we nearly did in the 1980’s to operate over Cook Strait as ferries, but the Govt changed and the deal fell through)
Has anyone else heard similar stories of airships seen where they shouldn’t have been?
By: Dave Homewood - 8th August 2004 at 02:31
Well I very much doubt that the New Zealand airship sightings had anything to do with military developments in this country. There was no such thing as military aviation in New Zealand till 1913 when we were gifted a Bleriot 11, called Britannia, and even then, and right up till 1937 the NZ Govt were miserable as heck about spending any money on military aviation. (Just like now really.)
There are two possibilities – the airship was being operated by a foreign power such as Germany, Japan or Russia for survey or spying work. The Japanese were spying from ships round this region and Australia in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and they flew a plane over NZ in the 1940’s too.
Or it was a secret private development. Many people believed the latter and a massive search of the Dusky and Blue Mountains was made to find the airship’s hideout, but they found nothing but a stack of empty petrol cans, which in itself might not be connected, but may have been. After all, Richard Pearse developed and built several aircraft in total secrecy and obscurity, perhaps someone built an airship too. But I doubt it had anything to do at all with the NZ government or military.
By: andrewman - 7th August 2004 at 14:09
The last 100 years have plenty of examples of things under development for airforces etc have caused reports of UFOs etc.
Examples include
Pre ww1 scareship’s and airship like things floating in mid air are most likely linked into the development of military airships.
late 1940’s reports of UFOs joining up with motherships at night often were seen close to base’s that were tasting in flight refueling.
late 70’s early 80’s reports of black triangles were most likely Have Blue or F-1117 development or training or whatever.
Mid 90s+ loud sonic booms etc linked into hypersonic flight development etc.
Its not some big thing its just things being developed thats all and it still goes on even now things are being tested and deployed that we don’t know about and people report UFOs or whatever but its not that at all.
I know someone who claims to have seen a black project land at waddo and they are not into aircraft at all yet the details they gave me are very similar to the latest reports of new developments etc.
By: Paul Cushion - 7th August 2004 at 13:28
This phenomenon is linked closely with pre 1947 ufo folklore. If you look at most books by authors such as Jenny Randles you will find references to this phenomena which covered most of the globe from the mid 1800’s onwards.
Paul.
By: Melvyn Hiscock - 7th August 2004 at 10:07
Has anyone else heard similar stories of airships seen where they shouldn’t have been?
There were a bunch of sightings of mystery airships around this time. All much the same as yours. I thinka google search might find some. ‘Er indoors used to have a magazine called “The Unexplained” and there was something in there about them.
MH
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August 7, 2004 at 9:10 am