Frederick Moreland worked at the Woodbourne station of the New Zealand Royal Air Force, his wife Eileen Moreland worked in the weekend as nurse helper and in the week at their farm on the old road of Renwick, near Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand. It was dark and cold, with no wind, and a cloud cover at some 700 meters.
In the morning of July 13, 1959 at 05:30, still a little sleepy, she went outside to milk the cows and started to cross the three acres yard in front of the farm to gather the cows.
She then saw that there was a bright green light among the clouds, which puzzled her because it was the wrong place for the moon. When she had arrived halfway in the yards' meadow, she saw two large green lights "like eyes", surrounded by an orange circle, igniting in the cloud and going down quickly.
The worrying green light lit all the meadow, she looked at her hands and saw that she was bathed in this green glow too and thought that she should not be here. She thus ran among the cows bathed in the green light into a group of pines on the other side of the meadow and stood there to observe.
She then saw a gleam in the shape of a saucer with two green lights at the underside coming down. The air had become very hot. Two lines of jets around the object projected colored orange flames. The bottom seemed to be of a metallic grey color. There was a weak buzz in the sky.
The object stopped its descent smoothly at approximately 10 meters above the ground and at approximately 5 meters above a group of peach trees of 3 to 5 meters in height. The jets were of a brilliant orange color, with greenish centers, and weakened on the outside, passing from orange to the yellow. They made a weak whistling noise. When the descent stopped, the jets were immediately cut, then reappeared at an angle. Each band of the jets started to enter in rotation in opposite directions at high speed, the higher band from the right to the left, and the lower band from the left to the right, turning at such a speed that the bands of lights became continuous, "like halos."
The apparatus had the form of a section of cylinder, the edge being of 2.50 to 3 meters in height and the diameter of 7 to 10 meters. The two bands of jets were one along the high edge and the other along the low edge. A light started in what seemed to be a vitreous cap or a dome of glass; which shone, while the object hovered near the center of the meadow above the group of each trees, approximately 40 meters from where she stood.
She saw two characters of human silhouettes sitting in the dome, separated one from the other of more than the length of an arm, and wearing quite adjusted suits of a shining material which was like aluminum foil. These suits folded at each movement and reflected the light. Silvery helmets started from their shoulders and she could not see their faces because they were not facing her.
The character at the back stood up and put two hands in front of him as if he leaned to look at the ground or to look at a twinkling light source between him and the other character in front of him, then he sat again. The other character remained motionless.
After a minute or two, the craft was slightly bent, the bands of jets turned off, then were re-ignited, without rotation. There was a strong hot air draught that reached Mrs. Moreland, and the craft rose vertically with its body always at a slight angle, accompanied by a very strong, almost unbearable, and high pitched whining sound, and it was lost from sight in the clouds. There was then a strange hot odor that Mrs. Moreland with compared with that of pepper and that thereafter was suggested to be the odor of ozone.
Eileen Moreland was so dumbfounded that she remained in the group of trees during one moment not knowing what to do. Then she decided to resume her normal tasks and gathered the cows, which had not reacted much to the object as only one or two did get up. She felt shaken a little shaken and embarrassed, not knowing at all what to make about what she had seen. She entered then the house and woke her husband, who had worked in night shift, and who did not make fun of her as she had feared, but asked her whether she had had phoned the police force or the Air Department. She told him she had not, and although she thought nobody would believe her she then phoned the police, who seemed interested. Her husband phoned the Air Force at Woodbourne.
An article about the sighting including descriptions of Mrs. Moreland was published in the Nelson Evening Mail newspaper. It created such interest that their farm was plagued by hordes of inquisitive sightseers, with people wandering all over the property, uninvited, leaving gates open, upsetting the cows and generally creating such a nuisance that the Morelands said that if this should happen again they would not tell about it. Drawings of the craft and occupants were made.
She was visited by the police and a representative of the Air Force, R. Healey, Operations Officer, and F. Simpson, a pilot, as well as an aviation engineer, D. Thynne, who requested a detailed sketch of the object. The Air Force personal indicated that residual radiation had been detected where the object was seen.
Mrs. Moreland underwent a series of audiotone tests in Wellington, supervised by Air Force personnel, to determine the noise levels of the object. The tests showed that the hovering noise was at 15.000 cycles and the high-pitched climbing noise at 150,000 cycles.
Thynne stated that he was "willing to believe that there might be something in it. Most of the people here are interested and have an open mind on it. They don't scoff and are willing to consider it."
The director of the Observatory of Casing, professor I. L. Thomsen, was also interested by the report and stated that although he did not see a persuasive proof of the existence of UFOs so far, the report was more than that of a simple unexplained light in the sky and that he would have liked to interview Mrs. Moreland right after the event.
It was later noticed that the row of fruit trees beneath the position where the UFO had hovered died and had to be pulled out. On the contrary, grass in the vicinity grew much faster, becoming several times taller and much greener than grass elsewhere.
On June 24, 1967, professor James McDonald arrived in New Zealand and interviewed a certain number of witnesses of UFO sightings in this country, and he questioned Mrs. Moreland, noting that the craft that she described was similar to that seen by another witness he had interviewed in New Zealand. She was also interviewed by Dr. J. Allen Hynek, and both scientists were very impressed by her account of the incident.
A source mentions the physical effects undergone by Mrs. Moreland: after several days, her hands started to swell and patches of brown color developed on her face. She showed these symptoms to her doctor. The swelling gradually disappeared, but the brown patches on her face persisted much longer, with the last spot, above her right eyebrow, disappearing only six years later.
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[Ref. un1:] UFOCUS NZ:
The UFOCUS NZ website published an account of the Moreland sighting written by F. and P. Dickenson, with diagrams by B. Dickeson, which appeared in the NZSSR group newsletter in 1959, and also in Xenolog 100, Sept-Oct 1975.
The article indicates that in Blenheim, New Zealand, on Monday, July 13, 1959, between 05:30 and 05:45, Mrs. Eileen Moreland experienced had a UFO sightings of 2 to 3 minutes. The weather was of a dark morning, cold, with no wind, with a thick cloud layer estimated at 2000 feet.
At 05:30 a.m., Eileen Moreland turned on the milking shed light, and walked across a flat paddock surrounded by trees to bring in the small herd of cows for milking, with a torch in her hand, and well-clad as the morning was cold.
Half-way across the paddock at some 50 meters from the shed, she noticed an unusual green glow coming from the cloud above and bathing the area in a ghastly light. She stopped and looked up while thinking it could not be the moon, as it was in the wrong place.
Suddenly two green lights "like eyes" appeared through the clouds, circled by a band of orange lights, and it illuminated all around her. She looked at her hands and saw that she was bathed in this green glow too.
Feeling that she should not stay, she run among the cows bathed in the green light to the pinus radiata trees bordering the paddock, and stood against the trunk of one of the pine trees.
Looking at the paddock she saw a flattish, saucer-shaped object slowly descending from about 50 feet above the ground and stop its smooth descent some 30 feet above the ground, hovering about 15 feet above a group of peach trees of 10 to 15 feet high.
The ratio of height to width of the object was about 1:3, it was between 7.5 and 8 feet high and some 20 to 25 feet across. It had two circumferential rows of orange-green "jets" set into bands at the top and bottom of the main body. The jets were of brilliant orange color with greenish centers, and faded to the outside through orange to yellow. They made a faint hissing noise. They were located on metallic bands about 1.5 feet in towards the center from the upper and lower edges of the object. If the bands had been 2 feet wide, say, there would have been about 1.5 feet between the two, the total depth of this arrangement being about 4.5 to 5 feet.
The object hovered motionless about 40 yards out in the center of the paddock. When the craft stopped descending, the jets immediately shut off and reappeared at a slight angle. Each band of jets then began to counter-rotate at high speed, the top band from right to left and the bottom from left to right. The speed became so important that the bands of light became apparently continuous "like halos".
There was none of noises of a car or plane engine, instead, there was a loud humming and a hissing noise of the "jets".
The witness became apprehensive when she saw that there was a clear, glassy dome-like structure on top of the object, filled with a pure white light, the source of which was not visible itself, but seemed to arise from the center of the object. She saw that there were two figures seated one behind the other and facing the same way a little over an arm's length apart.
The two figures were dressed in almost skin-tight metallic-looking suits that crinkled and creased with each movement, and reflected the light. The figure at the rear stood up suddenly and leaned forward on his hands, as if to observe something between him and the other figure in front, possibly the brightly flickering light source.
Mrs. Moreland thought that he must be a little over 5 feet in height. She could not see the face as he was not facing in her direction and the large silvered helmet covered from shoulder to shoulder. The figure then sank back to his former position while the front figure had not moved during the observation.
Then the object tilted slightly, while the bands of jets stopped whirling and went out, then back on again without rotation. There was a loud "whoosh" of air and the object rose vertically, its body still at a slight angle, and was lost into the cloud at tremendous speed, while this was accompanied by a high-pitched whining sound. Mrs. Moreland said "the screech was almost unbearable" and the movement "unbelievably fast".
A bit of time later she felt a wave of warm air and noticed a strange hot pepper smell of ozone.
After several more moments, she "pulled herself together", collected the cows which had been little affected by the episode as only one or two did get up, and she drove them to the yard.
At this point she heard the town clock striking a quarter to six, and said "so the visit could not have lasted longer than two or three minutes, though it seemed ages."
She milked the cows, left the milk at the gate, and went inside to tell what happened. Her family was soon awake, and her husband, a member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force based at Woodbourne nearby, told her she should ring the police. She was first a little reluctant to do this, thinking that nobody would believe her, she phoned and said that they seemed to be interested.
Her husband notified the Woodbourne authorities, who took the story seriously. She was questioned by Air Force personnel on location. The Air Force personal indicated that residual radiation had been detected where the object was seen.
Mrs. Moreland underwent a series of audiotone tests in Wellington, supervised by Air Force personnel, to determine the noise levels of the object. The tests showed that the hovering noise was at 15.000 cycles and the high-pitched climbing noise at 150,000 cycles.
Mrs. Moreland developed brown-colored patches on her face and showed them to her doctor. The brown patches persisted long, with the last patch over her right eyebrow disappearing only some six years later.
An account of the sighting made its way into the newspapers and created such interest that their farm was plagued by hordes of inquisitive sightseers, with people wandering all over the property, uninvited, leaving gates open, upsetting the cows and generally creating such a nuisance that the Morelands said that if this should happen again they would not tell about it.
It was later noticed that the row of fruit trees beneath the position where the UFO had hovered died and had to be pulled out. On the contrary, grass in the vicinity grew much faster, becoming several times taller and much greener than grass elsewhere.
Both Dr. J. Allen Hynek and Dr. James E. McDonald interviewed Mrs. Moreland during their respective visits to this country and both were very impressed by her account of the incident.
Mrs. Moreland sighting had an interesting impact on New Zealand's ufology: while there were a number of group who supported the fables by Adamski, the fact that the craft, the figures, the events in this sighting had nothing to do with such tales contributed to a collapse of Adamski-supporting groups in the country.
[Ref. un1:] DRAWINGS BY BRIAN DICKENSON:
The sketches are based on sketches by the witness Mrs. Moreland, redrawn by Bryan Dickenson, and confirmed by her on May 31, 1975. They were published ufology group NZSSR's newsletter, 1959 and in the SATCU bulletin Xenolog #100 in 1975.
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[Ref. ns1:] NEW ZEALAND SCIENTIFIC SPACE RESEARCH GROUP:
This ufology group reported on the case in an article by ufologists Bruce Cathie, and Henk and Brenda Hinfellaar, that in Blenheim, South Island, New Zealand. On Bruce Cathie's request, Mrs. Moreland, of Old Renwick Road, Blenheim, furnished her own details of the incident:
"At about 5:30 a. m. on the morning of July 13th 1959, I was going out across the paddock to bring in the cows for milking after having switched on the light in the shed. The morning was very cold with a thick cloud; which has been roughly estimated at about 2000 feet.
"I was about halfway across the paddock when I noticed an odd green glow in the clouds directly above me. I stopped to look at it, thinking that it couldn't be the moon (anyway it was in the wrong place) when suddenly two green lights like large "eyes" appeared through the cloud. The ground was illuminated with this sickly green light and when I looked down at myself, I too was bathed in this light. I immediately thought "I should not be here" and I bolted for the pines which border the paddock. I could see the cows plainly in the light and I ran among them and stood against a tree. When I turned round the saucer was about 50 feet from the ground and slowly descending. There were two rows of jets like flames sprouting from two bands at the top and bottom of the "fuselage". These were of a brilliant orange fading off to yellow and made a faint hissing noise. At about 15 ft from the ground she abruptly halted and became motionless, just hanging there. At once the jets shut off and reappeared at an angle - each band then began to whirl at high speed with little or no "revving" up. This was accompanied by a faint humming sound.
"I then noticed that the ship was occupied and I am afraid I was scared stiff. The clear plexiglass or perspex (or whatever the material was) cabin was lit with a pure white light, though I couldn't see the source of light. The two men were seated one behind the other, at, more than an arm's length apart. They were dressed in almost skin-tight suits of some shiny material like aluminum foil - which wrinkled with each movement and deflected little points of light. The rear man suddenly stood up and leaned forward on his hands and appeared to be looking down at something between them. I could see a reflection of a flickering light in front of him, but could not see what it was. I did not get a glimpse of their features as the huge helmets which took in from shoulder to shoulder, (as I have sketched) were opaque and silver like the suit. The man then sank back in his seat, the ship tilted at a slight angle, the bands of jets stopped whirling, and the jets appeared as when descending and with a mighty "whoosh" of air she rose vertically, still at the slight angle, and vanished into the clouds at a tremendous speed, accompanied by a high-pitched whine. I never thought anything could move at such a speed, it was unbelievable.
"A moment or two later the atmosphere became noticeably warm, and there was a strange smell of "hot pepper" After a moment or two I pulled myself together, as it were, collected the cows which had not been the least bit alarmed at the strange object and drove them to the yard. As I did so I heard the town clock chime a quarter to six, so the visit could not have been move than 2-3 minutes, though it seemed ages.
"I milked as usual; put the milk out at the gate and then flew inside with my story. Everyone was soon awake. My husband believed me, and told me to ring the police. I was hesitant at first, saying "who is going to believe that I saw such a thing". However I did ring and they were mightily interested. My husband, who is a member of the R.N.Z.A.F at Woodbourne notified the authorities there, who, far from scoffing at the story, took it very seriously. However, they do believe it and that is the main thing as for as I am concerned.
"I hope this has answered everything you want to know, and you will see that the two ships your sketch and mine are quite different, this one looking rather heavy and cumbersome compared with the other. I shall be very pleased to become a member [of the N.Z. Scientific Space Research Group] and should you require any further information, will do my best to give it. Thanking you for your kind interest, I remain,
Yours faithfully
[Signed] Eileen Moreland
The article lists other interesting details provided by Mrs. Moreland in a second letter:
The article then notes that comments from various sources in the country have assured the authors that the witness is sincere and reliable. They note the excellent and detailed report she gave and the above average alertness she displayed. They note that they have seen several reports on this case, and that none of them shows any discrepancies or contradiction in her statements.
[Ref. bs1:] BRAD STEIGER:
The author indicates that on July 13, 1959, at 05:30 a.m., on Old Renwick Road in Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand, Frederick Moreland's wife crossed the barnyard of their one acre farm to go milk the cows. She was sleepily going about her early morning chores.
She noticed a green glow in the clouds, of which she later told local police and a reporter for the Nelson Evening Mail:
"There was no moon so I wondered what it was. When I was half way across the paddock, two large green things, like eyes or big lamps, appeared above me and dropped towards the ground."
"I noticed that I was bathed in a green light and that the paddock was green, too. It was a horrid sort of color. My first thought was, 'I shouldn't be here, and made a dive for the trees (a stand of pine on the other side of the paddock). There I stood watching."
"A saucer-shaped glow with two indented green lights in the bottom descended. The air became very warm. Two rows of jets around the middle shot out orange colored flames. They appeared to revolve in opposite directions. The thing was about 20 to 30 feet in diameter. It hovered at about roof height."
"The jets stopped and a light was switched on in what appeared to be a ...glass roof or dome, which glowed."
"The bottom appeared to be of a grayish metal color. There was a faint hum in the air as it hovered."
"There were two men in it, dressed in fairly close fitting suits of shiny material. The only thing I can think of to describe it is aluminum foil. Opaque helmets rose from their shoulders. I could not see their faces.
"One of the men stood up and put two hands in front of him as if leaning to look downwards. He then sat down, and after a minute or two, the jets started off again and, tilting slightly at first, the thing shot up vertically at great speed and disappeared into the clouds. When it did this, it made a soft but high-pitched sound."
The author indicates that Mrs. Moreland admitted to local authorities that this experience had left her "dumbfounded for a moment." She stood in the trees to regain her balance and noticed the "smell of something that resembled pepper in the air."
She then continued about her chores and finished milking the cows, then went into the house to awaken her husband, who had worked a late shift at the Air Force Station the previous night.
It was him who insisted that she phoned the local constable and the local press. A week, she told her story to an investigating officer of the New Zealand Air Force.
The author specifies that Frederick Moreland is a civilian employee at the Woodbourne Station of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and Mrs. Moreland is a nurse's aid on weekends at the Lister Hospital.
[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The author indicates that the newspaper Nelson Evening Mail, New Zealand, reported that Mrs. Frederick Moreland went out on the morning of July 13, 1959, to milk the cows on her farm near Blenheim. As she crossed the paddock, she suddenly noticed a bright green light among the clouds; which caught her attention because there was no moon. When she had gone halfway across the paddock, she saw two large green lights rapidly descending. The author quotes from the newspaper:
"I noticed that I was bathed in a green light and that all the paddock was green, too. It was a horrid sort of color. My first thought was 'I shouldn't be here' and I made a dive for the trees (a stand of pines on the other side of the three-acre paddock). I stood and watched."
"A saucer-shaped glow with two indented green lights in the bottom descended. The air became very warm. Two rows of jets around the middle shot out orange colored flames. They appeared to revolve in opposite directions. The thing was about twenty to thirty feet in diameter. It hovered about roof height."
"The jets stopped and a light was switched on in what appeared to be a perspex or glass roof or dome, which glowed. The bottom appeared to be of a greyish metal color. There was a faint hum in the air as it hovered."
"There were two men in it, dressed in fairly close-fitting suits of shiny material. The only thing I can think of to describe it is aluminum foil. Opaque helmets rose from their shoulders. I could not see their faces."
"One of the men stood up and put two hands in front of him as if leaning over to look downwards. He then sat down and, after a minute or two, the jets started off again and, tilting slightly at first, the thing shot up vertically at great speed and disappeared into the clouds. When it did this it made a soft but high-pitched sound."
"I was so dumbfounded that I stood in the trees for a moment not knowing what to do. There was a smell of something which resembled pepper in the air. At last I decided to continue getting in and milking the cows."
"While I was milking I kept wandering and felt a bit shaken and puzzled and did not quite know what to do about it. I then went into the house and woke up my husband who did not laugh at me as I had feared, but said, have you rung the police or the Air Department?' I told him I had not and he then telephoned the police."
The author specifies that her husband worked at the Woodbourne station of the New Zealand Royal Air Force. She was visited by the police and by a Royal Air Force representative, R. Healey, Operations Officer, and F. Simpson, a pilot, as well as an aircraft engineer, D. Thynne, who asked for a detailed sketch of the object.
Thynne stated that he was "willing to believe that there might be something in it. Most of the people here are interested and have an open mind on it. They don't scoff and are willing to consider it."
The Director of Carter Observatory, Professor I. L. Thomsen, was also interested in the report and stated:
"This is certainly an unusual report, and different from the ordinary run of reports of strange objects sighted in the sky. I had a report on the Blenheim incident sent to me by the Air Force before I left Wellington for Nelson, but have not had time to study it yet. I would like to have interviewed the person concerned, preferably as soon as possible after the happenings she has described."
He generally commented that he still had not heard of a convincing case for the existence of UFOs, but had an open mind on the subject.
[Ref. jm1:] JAMES E. MCDONALD:
On June 24, 1967, Professor James McDonald has arrived in New Zealand and interviewed a number of witnesses of UFO sightings in this country. He briefly commented on the case while discussing another one:
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"The object is similar in general features and size to that seen by a witness I interviewed in New Zealand, Eileen Moreland. Her July 13, 1959 observation, like that of Brew and many other UFO witnesses, is extremely difficult to explain in present-day scientific or technological terms." |
[Ref. jv2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
This ufologist indicates in his UFO landings catalog that on July 13, 1959 at 05:30 a.m. in Blenheim, New Zealand, Mrs. Moreland saw a disk-shaped object as she was milking cows; which was about 10 meters in diameter, had two intense green lights and two rows of jets around the rim, emitting orange flames. Inside a glass dome on top were two men dressed in aluminum-like suits. The craft did not land, but took off at great speed with a high-pitched sound. The witness felt a heat sensation. The author indicates his book Challenge to Science and "F.S.R. 59, 6" as sources.
[Ref. sa1:] SATCU:
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"...Mrs. Frederick Moreland went out [in] the morning to milk the cows... crossing the paddock [she] suddenly noticed a bright green light among the clouds; it caught her attention because there was no moon... she saw two green lights rapidly descending. 'I noticed that I was bathed in a green light and the paddock was green, too... A saucer-shaped glow with two indented green lights in the bottom descended. Two rows of jets around the middle shot out orange colored flames... the jets stopped, and a light was switched on in what appeared to be a perspex or glass roof or dome, which glowed... There were two men in it, dressed in fairly close fitting suits of shiny material... after a minute or two, the jets started off again, and... the thing shot up vertically at great speed and disappeared into the clouds." "... she noticed an unusual green glow, emanating from the cloud above and bathing the area in a ghastly light... Then, suddenly, two green lights "like eyes" appeared through the clouds, circled by a band of orange lights. All around her the ground was illuminated by the sickly green light... she too was bathed in this green glow... She saw a flattish cylindrical object slowly descending from about 50 ft above the ground. It stopped its smooth descent some 30 feet above the ground and hovered about 15 feet above a group of peach trees (10-15 feet high)... it was between 7.5-8 feet high and 20-25 feet across. There were two circumferential rows of orange-green "jets" set into bands at the top and the bottom of the main body... the jets were a brilliant orange color, with greenish centers, and faded to the outside, through orange to yellow. They made a faint hissing noise..." "The motionless object hovered some 30 feet above the ground, about 120 feet out in the center of the paddock..." "On stopping, the jets immediately shut off and reappeared at a slight angle. Each band of jets began to counter-rotate at high speed, the top band from right to left, and the bottom band from left to right. The speed became so great that the bands of light became continuous, "like halos"... a loud humming could be heard, and the noise of the jets hissing... There was a clear, glassy, dome-like structure on top, filled with a bright white light... She could see two figures seated, one behind the other and facing the same way, a little over an arm's length apart... The two figures were dressed in almost skin-tight metallic suits which crinkled and creased with each movement and reflected the light. The man at the rear suddenly stood up and leaned forward on his hands and appeared to be observing something between himself and the figure in front, possibly the brightly flickering light source... The rear figure then sank back to his former position - the front figure remained motionless... "The object then tilted slightly, the bands of jets went out, then back on again without the rotation. There was a loud "whoosh" of air and the object rose vertically (the body still at a slight angle) and vanished into the cloud at tremendous speed... accompanied by a high pitched [very loud] whine... A moment or two later a wave of warm air reached Mrs. Moreland and there was a strange hot pepper smell of ozone." "After several days, Mrs. Moreland's hands began to swell and get puffy. Her wedding ring became painfully tight and had to be cut off. Brown pigmented areas developed on her face, and she referred these conditions to her doctor. The swelling gradually subsided, but the brown patches on her face persisted considerably longer. The last blotch, over her right eyebrow, washed off some six years afterward." |
[Ref. ph1:] PETER HASSALL:
Peter Hasall informed that the witness refuted that her wedding ring had to but cut off.
[Ref. mc1:] MARC CASHMAN:
Please refer to http://www.temporaldoorway.com/ufo/report/590713.htm for computer images of the craft made by Mark Cashman based on the witness' accounts and sketches.
[Ref. go1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates that on July 13, 1959, in New Zealand, in Blenheim, Mrs. Frederich Moreland crossed an enclosure to milk her cows, she looked up and noticed a violent green luminosity among the clouds. The ufologist indicates an omission then continues by indicating that she saw two large intense green lights quickly descending from the sky. After another omission, the ufologist indicates that all bathed in this green light described as "sticky and horrible". Still another omission, then the ufologist indicates that she took shelter behind some trees planted in the middle of the enclosure. Still a "(...)", then "It is at this time that she realized that the two green lights formed a unit with an object of big size in the shape of a widened bell which released a strong heat. The object stabilized at height of the roof of the house. The witness evaluated its wingspan as 10 m approximately. She heard a deaf buzz. Two rows of openings located on the medium part of the craft emitted orange gleams. The lower part on the other hand, had a metal green color. Suddenly the port-holes died out. The top of the machine in the shape of cupola made up of a matter as clear as glass ignited and Mrs. Moreland clearly distinguished two men dressed in brilliant costumes. An omission is noted, then the ufologist indicates that the matter of these uniforms had the brightness of aluminum or silver paper, that they had the face covered with a translucent mask, that one of the beings rose and seemed to look at something precise inside the apparatus, then sat down beside his companion. Then, the openings on the side of the object launched orange flames, the machine slightly bent and sprang towards the sky where it disappeared in a soft noise which however seemed high pitched to the amazed witness.
The sources are indicated as Jean FERGUSON in "Les Humanoïdes..." éd. Leméac, Ottawa, 1977, p.44, 45; and Janet and Colin BORD in "Modern Mysteries of the World", Guild Publishing, London 1989, p. 344, 345.
[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
Albert Rosales indicates that in Blenheim, New Zealand, on July 13, 1959 at 05:40 a.m., Mrs Frederick Moreland was walking to her cow shed when she saw a round object with 2 green lights come down out of the clouds to hover at rooftop level.
Around the edge of the object were two counter-rotating belts of fiery orange jets. A glass like cowl covered its top, and through this she could see two men wearing diver's helmets.
One of whom stood up and leaned forward. Both were clad in tight fitting silvery colored suits. As it departed, the UFO made a whining high-pitched sound, and left behind it a smell "just like pepper."
Albert Rosales indicates that the source is Harold Fulton, in the APRO Bulletin 9/59.
[Ref. ---:] SKETCH:
The following sketch of unknown origin, related to the case, circulates on the Internet:
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[Ref. lg1:] LUIS R. GONZALES MANSO:
Luis R. Gonzalez Manso notes in his FirstHumCat catalogue that in New Zealand, in Blenheim, on July 13, 1959 at 05:30, Mrs. Moreland saw a disk-shaped object as she was milking cows. It was about 10 meters in diameter, had two intense, green lights and two rows of jets around the rim, emitting orange flames. Inside a glass dome on top were two men dressed in aluminum-like suits. The craft did not land, but took off at great speed with a high-pitched sound. There was a heat sensation.
Luis Gonzales indicates that his sources are Keith Basterfield, An Indepth Review of Australasian UFO Related Entity Reports, ACUFOS (June 1980), case #19, the Nelson Evening Mail for July 22, 1959, the MAGONIA Catalogue case #491, J. Vallee in Fenómenos insólitos del espacio, 1966, pp. 69-72.
This is a quite well documented case of both high strangeness and reliability.
There seems to be no way that the case gets explained away as some confusion with the usual Venus, helicopters, birds and the like. A hoax seems also very unlikely given the lack of the usual sensational of hoaxes of that time, the circumstances of the reporting showing no indication of publicity eagerness, and the physical effects on the witness and on the place. Unsurprisingly, so-called "UFO skeptics" do not say a word of the case.
| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data | Medium | November 3, 2006 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Missing the article in the newspaper "Nelson Evening Mail" of 1959. | Help needed. | Opened. |
| 2 | Data | Medium | November 3, 2006 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Missing the article in the newspaper "Marlborough Express" of 1959. | Help needed. | Opened. |
| 3 | Data | Medium | November 3, 2006 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Missing possible NZRAF official records. | Help needed. | Opened. |
Extraterrestrial visitors.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | November 2, 2006 | Creation, [bs1], [jv1], [jm1], [sa1], [jv2], [mc1], [ar1], [ph1], [un1], [ns1]. |
| 0.2 | Patrick Gross | November 2, 2006 | First published |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 6, 2007 | Addition, [lg1]. Conversion from HTML4 to XHTML Strict. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | March 21, 2008 | Addition, [go1]. |
