Governments over the past 60 years haven't shown the same enthusiasm for investigating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) as the hundreds of New Zealanders who reported seeing them, previously secret documents have revealed.
The Defence Force yesterday released thousands of documents covering accounts of what people saw, or thought they saw, from 1952 when records began up to September this year.
Experiences ranged from seeing mysterious lights - by far the most common phenomena - to a reported sighting of a flying saucer taking off.
Many were carefully written accounts from individuals on the ground and private and commercial pilots.
Others included descriptions of alien writing, sketches of aliens themselves and details of the spacecraft they arrived in.
Most of the letters were sent to government ministers and department heads, and they invariably received polite if disinterested responses.
The documents show that a UFO Investigating Committee of senior officials was set up, although it isn't clear when.
But it didn't meet during the six years up to 1976 when the Secretary for Transport advised the Secretary of Defence: "I agree there seems no need to have a committee to investigate reported sightings of UFOs...and in view of the lack of interest by other government agencies our further action will be limited to a station log entry."
The documents also reveal that no government department wanted to be responsible for dealing with UFO reports, which were dismissed by one director because "most UFOs are only unidentifiable by the person reporting them".
Reports bounced around between departments and were often shuffled off to the Carter Observatory or the Meteorological Office.
One official considered they could be dealt with by Auckland University students who had formed a group to study UFOs.
When explanations were offered, they usually involved the planet Venus, meteors, comets, mirages and even the moon.
The files also cover the 1978 Kaikoura mystery, New Zealand's best known and most compelling UFO event.
A cargo aircraft reported strange lights following it and moving around it, and Wellington air traffic control detected unexplained objects on its radar which were not other aircraft because none were in the air over Kaikoura at the time.
The documents show this sighting was taken seriously because it might be evidence of "intruders" and there was an inquiry.
The inquiry report, released for the first time yesterday, said that if the objects existed and the observations were correct, they were travelling at 10,800mph.
It concluded the incident could be explained by "natural but unusual phenomena" and commented: "Perhaps the most difficult aspect to explain away is the apparent concern - even apprehension - of the aircrew involved in the sightings. At present they do not seem to be prepared to accept the fact that they might have observed Venus.
"Thankfully, however, neither do they believe that they saw a visitor from outer space...perhaps when more scientific evidence is gathered their minds will be set at rest."
NZPA