First quick look at New Zealand Government UFO files

Dear readers

I have just spent some time taking my first quick look at the New Zealand Defence Forces newly released UFO files. They are to be found at
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4486327/Original-files-NZs-UFO-sightings

They are split up into nine "books." Here are my notes from my quick review:

Book 1
File number: 1630/2 Volume 2
Time span: 1990-2009
Title: Reports on UFOs and Ethnology
Contains: Various pieces of correspondence from members of the public. Various UFO reports, mainly lights in the sky. Request from Dennis Grant of ACT, Australia for access to UFO files-denied.

Book 2
File number: 1630/2 Part 1
Title: Reports on UFOs and Ethnology
Contains: Correspondence from members of the public. Request from Timothy Good in the UK for information from files. Defence report on 1978 Kaikoura sightings.

Book 3
File number: Air 39/3/3 Volume 4
Title: Reports on UFOs
Timespan: 1981-1984
Contains: Request for information from Mr Harold J Knapman, MUFON, Christchurch re 1954 movie films and Mrs Moreland's 1959 encounter- three requests denied. Document dated 5 April 1984lists a number of cases 1979-1982 reported to Air Staff. Various reports from the public.

Book 4
File number: Air 39/3/3 Volume 3
Title: Reports on UFOs
Contains: Various reports of UFOs from members of the public. Query on Kaikoura events. Radar observation of 9 April 1979 by an aircraft of No 5 Squadron. "I believe this contact to have been a cloud contact..." Interesting internal documents on the Kaikoura investigation.

Book 5
File number: Air 39/3/3A Volume 1 Parts 1 &2
Title: Reports on UFOs and Ethnology
Time frame: 1979-1984
Contains: "Exclusively devoted to correspondence from/to a Christchurch based person on UFOs and Ethnology."

Book 6
File number: Air 1080/6/897 Volume 1
Title" Investigation of Unidentified & radar sightings East Coast South Island-December 1978."
Time frame: 1978-1981
Contains: Interviews with people involved in the 1978 Kaikoura sightings conducted by the RNZAF preparatory to the preparation of a final report into these sightings, File also contains technical reports from DSIR and other scientific experts and an independent report of the Kaikorua sightings by the NZ UFO Studies Centre.

Comment: This is worthy of a detailed review.

Book 7
File number: Air 244/10/1 Volume 1
Title: Reports on UFOs
Time frame: 1959-1982
Contains: Reports, interviews and requests for UFO information from media on Moreland sighting. RAAF report on Kaikoura. Interdepartmental correspondence on the future of the Government UFO Investigating Committee. Report on the 1972 Ashburton space debris event. Various information requests.

Comment:
1. The Government UFO Investigating Committee papers will bear a detailed look.
2. The NZ Secretary of Defence states: "All I will say is that empiric evidence shows conclusively that there are no defence factors involved with UFO sightings." Memo 5 October 1976.

Book 8
File number: Air 39/3/3 Volume 2 Parts 1 & 2
Title: Reports on UFOs
Time frame: 1956-1979
Contains: Reports on UFOs from the public. RZAF investigation into Kaikoura. Summary of UAS from Australian Department of Defence. Correspondence from public.

Book 9:
File number: Air 39/3/3 Volume 1 Parts 1&2
Title: Flying saucers
Time frame: 1952-1955
Contains: Reports form public. Newspaper clippings. 75 questions and answers asked of George Adamsksi by "Adamski Flying Saucer Group of Timaru.

Overall comments:

As with the Australian Government UFO files, the New Zealand Defence Force files are a mix of:
1. Low significance UFO reports, specifically "lights in the sky" which may well have mundane explanations e.g. the planet Venus.
2. Correspondence from members of the public expressing views on the UFO phenomenon.
3. Frequent enquiries from UFO researchers from all over the world for details of the files.

However, what is different from the Australian experience is the detailed examination of the 1978 East coast of the South Island sightings which have become known as the "Kaikoura" events. The papers on these files will need careful examination. The papers concerning the Government's UFO Investigating Committee" will also be worth a detailed study to see who was on it and what it did.

Take some time and have a look for yourselves.