An Invercargill ghost caught in photo?

Busting out the ghost theories

By SAM McKNIGHT - The Southland Times
An Invercargill man has taken a photograph that could be proof of the afterlife, or it could be a cloud – who knows?

Andrew Watters travelled to St Bathans, near Alexandra, with his partner Kim Ward during the weekend in search of the spirits that reputedly haunt its buildings.
"I'd always been nagging my Kim to go and have a look at the Vulcan Hotel and its supposed ghost, hoping we would find something."
That search turned up short.
"I had a beer at the pub and got goosebumps but I think it was just the excitement."
The pair took plenty of photos and didn't think they had anything until a friend spotted a shape with an uncanny resemblance to a woman in the window at the post office, he said.
"It's freaked me out a bit. The shape is very close to a human figure."
The photograph did not make him any more or less sceptical about the existence of ghosts but it was bizarre, Mr Watters said.
Vulcan Hotel leasee Jude Cavanagh said it was the first she had heard of a ghost sighting at the post office.
"It's a very spirited town, so who knows?"
The post office, which was managed by the Department of Conservation since the 1950s, had been vacant for about a year, at least in the bodily sense, she said.
"It all adds to the legend of the place."
The department's Alexandra community relations programme manager Amanda Ware said she had no knowledge of any phantom presence at the post office.
The building, opened in 1909, was a category two historic place and had been vacant for about a year, she said.
The interior largely remained unchanged from its days as a working port office and the second floor, where the mysterious shape was seen, was the postmaster's living quarters, Ms Ware said.
"Maybe it was him coming back for a visit."
She would tread carefully the next time she stopped by, she said.

UFO group reports New Zealand defence chief resistance to, final release of classified UFO documents

Suzanne Hanson of New Zealand’s UFO Research, Support and Resource Network has publicly released official correspondence with Lt Gen Jerry Mataparae, Chief of Defence Force NZ following the decision by New Zealand’s Ministry of Defence to release previously classified details of UFO and extraterrestrial-related files.
Lt Gen Jerry Mataparae’s official correspondence indicates that he initially resisted release of the classified UFO documents, stating “’It would require a substantial amount of collation, research and consultation to identify whether any of that information could be released,’ and that he was not in a position to deploy staff to undertake that task, given other work priorities.”


In December 2009, fourteen months later the beginning of intensive communications with Ms. Hansen’s UFO group, Lt. Gen. Mataparae as Chief of Defence stated in a letter to UFOCUS NZ, “I am pleased to be able to inform you that two NZDF officers have begun the task of assessing classified files held in relation to this topic with a view to declassification. I would expect that files which are transferred to Archives New Zealand would be subject to extensive embargo periods in terms of access by the general public.”


UFO document release follows MOD Dec. 9 letter to UFOCUS NZ

The Ministry of Defence classified UFO document release followed Lt. Gen. Mataparae’s Dec. 9, 2009 letter to Suzanne Hanson.

Ms. Hanson states, “A Chief of Defence Force office spokesperson advised, ‘The declassification of the UFO files is now a ‘work in progress’ in conjunction with Archives New Zealand. The files must be amended to meet new requirements of the Privacy Act.’ The Defence Force will notify UFOCUS NZ when this process is completed later this year, and the research network will be given the opportunity of access to the files.”


Ms. Hansen states “UFOCUS NZ's own archives contain credible and detailed UFO sighting reports from New Zealand pilots, air traffic controllers, and military personnel. In addition, the research network holds sighting reports from members of the public who experienced significant UFO sightings dating as far back as 1908. Some of these prominent cases were investigated by NZ Air Force personnel, and she is hopeful the MOD files may contain their reports.


1978/19 Kaikoura lights at Wellington International Airport

Ms. Hanson reports “It is likely the files will also contain additional information about the renowned ‘Kaikoura lights’ sightings which made world headlines in 1978/79.”
UFOCUS NZ staff member and former Chief air traffic controller of Wellington International Airport, John Cordy, witnessed the Kaikoura lights on airport control centre radar, and states, “I hope the files will validate the reality of the sightings, and vindicate key witnesses who observed them, and faced ‘trial by media’.”

Mainstream media reports of the classified UFO documents release


On January 23, 2010, New Zealand-based news reports stated “The military is all set to release hundreds of pages of secret documentation on UFO sightings across New Zealand. The papers will be released during this year itself.

“The files to be released include reports of sightings of UFOs from 1979 to 1984, in addition to references to December 1978's Kaikoura sighting. The documents are being currently held by the Archives New Zealand and they were originally to be made public this month, but the Defense Force is presently in the process of removing personal information from the files in order to efficiently comply with the Privacy Act.


"’At the moment we are working on making copies of these files, minus the personal information. Once this work is completed, we are hoping to be able to release a copy of all the UFO files, including some ahead of their release time, within the year’, said a Defense Force spokeswoman. All requests for access to the said files of sightings are currently being turned down as they are under the possession of the Defense Force.”


Implications of the New Zealand MOD actions for extraterrestrial disclosure
1. Extraterrestrial, interdimensional and UFO disclosure – The announced New Zealand release of classified UFO files may be an important component of the process of the disclosure of the extraterrestrial presence to the human population, and the development of a trans-planetary culture for a post-disclosure world.


2. Interactive communication and cooperation between citizen and military on classified UFO release - New Zealand appears to be a test case of interactive communication and ultimate cooperation by a military authority in response to citizen requests on classified UFO files. This is in utter contrast to the stone-wall of psyops, disinformation, alteration of NASA images, and dirty tricks performed by the U.S. military-intelligence and political establishment on the citizenry and the public over the course of 60 years of the extraterrestrial embargo, since the U.S. CIA 1953 Robertson Panel, ordering that all references to ETs and UFOs be publicly ridiculed.


3. National UFO file disclosure – The announced planned disclosure of previously classified UFO and possible extraterrestrial-related files by the New Zealand Ministry of Defence follows the pattern of UFO file disclosure by NATO countries such as the U.K. (which has recently closed its MOD public UFO reporting Desk), France, Sweden, Denmark, Canada; Central and South American nations such as Mexico, Chile (which has opened a special UFO investigations unit), Peru, Brazil. U.N. Observer nations such as the Vatican have held an extraterrestrial life science conference.


4. New Zealand MOD & “Official state ET disclosure” – The announced New Zealand release of classified UFO files may be a component of the “openness” policy reportedly developed at a series of secret meetings amongst 40 high level delegates to the United Nations, starting on February 12, 2008 The secret UN meetings have been reported by Source A, a U.S. Naval intelligence officer who has never been publicly identified, and the UN meetings themselves were reportedly triggered by a 524 foot wide UFO (of unknown provenance) which overflew Stephenville TX and the Crawford, TX White House on January 8, 2008. As this Examiner.com reporter has stated, the planned New Zealand classified UFO release may be part of the roll-out of an “official state ET disclosure” that itself would be crafted partial release of the true extraterrestrial presence, designed to serve the interests of the national security state worldwide.


5. Australia and United States UFO non-disclosure – Non-disclosure to date of classified extraterrestrial and UFO files by the United States or by Australia, which is a co-signatory of New Zealand in the ANZUS Pact, may be a function of on-going secret extraterrestrial liaison programs of the United States government, some of which may be carried out via a secret extraterrestrial-human base at Pine Gap, Australia.

What are These? HUGE UFO's ORBITING THE SUN

These huge spherical UFO's started appearing around January 18, 2010. They are on both the forward and rear images taken by NASA's Stereo Spacecraft in space.

New Zealand Climbs on Board the Disclosure Train

UFO papers to be made public    By CHARLIE GATES - The Press

Hundreds of pages of secret files on New Zealand UFO sightings will be released by the military this year.
The files include reports of UFO sightings from 1979 to 1984 and references to the Kaikoura sighting of December 1978.
The files are held by Archives New Zealand and were to have been made public this month, but the Defence Force is removing personal information from them to comply with the Privacy Act.
"At the moment we are working on making copies of these files, minus the personal information," a Defence Force spokeswoman said. "Once this work is completed, we are hoping to be able to release a copy of all the UFO files, including some ahead of their release time, within the year."

Lights were seen in the sky over Kaikoura in December 1978 and were filmed by an Australian news crew. Aircraft tracked the lights, which were also seen on radar.
A man who worked for the Transport Ministry's civil aviation division when the Kaikoura lights were seen said he would like to see the government files.
The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he was working at Christchurch International Airport at the time. He saw United States Air Force planes with unusual call signs touring the area and believes the full story about the lights has not been disclosed.
"For the US Air Force to come all that way and spend three days here, there must have been something going on," he said.

The Press sought any Defence Force files on UFO sightings under the Official Information Act in August last year.
The Defence Force said the request "would require a substantial amount of collation, research and consultation to identify whether any of that information could be released" and it was "not in a position to deploy staff to undertake that task".
It said public files on UFO sightings were available from Archives New Zealand.
The Press requested access to those files from Archives New Zealand, but was not able to see them as they had been borrowed by the Defence Force.
The director of research group UFOCUS NZ, Suzanne Hansen, said she was frustrated by the delayed release but understood the privacy reasons.
"We have been in discussion with the New Zealand Defence Force for many years ... It is frustrating from a research perspective because we would like to collate these sightings with international research."

She said some sightings could have been alien technology. "There are cases that are certainly not our technology. It has been scientifically proven that this is entirely possible."

New Zealand Skeptics chairwoman Vicki Hyde said the secret files would not be as interesting as they appeared. "Governments all around the world have these kind of files and they are not as exciting as you might possibly hope.
"The Government is required to log these things and it can give a false impression that there is a vast amount of activity out there.
"There is probably intelligent life elsewhere, but whether it has come here to play silly buggers with us in a game of cosmic hide and seek is another matter.
"It is a big jump from `there was something in the sky and I don't know what it was' to `that was a craft piloted by aliens'."

She said most sightings could be of mundane things such as satellites and flocks of birds.

NZ UFO - Christmas morning December 25th 2009

Disclose.tv Satellite? Space Junk? UFO? Video
At approx. 21:07p.m. UTC+13 (DST) on December 9th, 2009 the following bright light was visible above Pukekohe, New Zealand for a short period of time.

This film captures 03:25:40 of the time it was visible and was shot on a Canon Powershot S3 IS 6.0 Mega Pixel Camera at 30 frames per second, shown here at 25.
I'm open to the fact that in this huge universe there must be life of some kind somewhere other than here, but I highly doubt this is a UFO. In my opinion it is probably a Satellite or Space Junk. Still it's pretty amazing as there's no sound coming from it. What do you think?
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/35795/Satellite__Space_Junk__UFO_/

High country trap for mystery black panther

By LOIS CAIRNS - Sunday Star Times / Photo: Michael O'Neill

HIGH COUNTRY farmer David Wightman is on a mission to prove the mysterious black panther that reportedly roams the hills of Mid-Canterbury is not a figment of people's overactive imaginations – he's built a trap to catch the elusive creature.

Mystery has surrounded the animal for nearly 10 years. Wightman has never seen the panther, but others say they have spotted it on his 9500ha runholding, Winterslow Station, on at least four occasions, leaving him convinced it exists.
"Too many people have seen it to doubt what it is – without actually capturing it and doing a DNA test on it, one can only assume it is a black leopard or black panther," Wightman said.
Asked where he believed the panther had come from, Wightman said: "That's the $64,000 question. Possibly off a boat or... it may have escaped from a game park. Or whether someone managed to have it smuggled in to have as a pet and let it go, I don't know."
The area where the panther had been spotted was typical rugged high country with tussock faces, scrubby gullies and large streams. There was no evidence it was attacking stock, but there were plenty of small animals around for the panther to feast on.
Wightman said he planned to use a live goat to lure the panther into the trap. The panther would be unable to harm the goat because it would be in a separate enclosure, but its bleating should be enough to attract the cat, he said.
"I guess the chances of catching it are fairly slim but you never know. We'll just set the trap and hope for the best.
"For people to see it with their own eyes would satisfy a lot of doubts that have been floating around because, at the moment, some folk say it's just a big domestic cat, but it's a lot bigger than a domestic cat." Wightman said if he succeeded in capturing the panther, he would give it to a wildlife park.
"One of the wildlife parks would be only too happy to look after it and give it a better life. It's probably quite lonely out there if it's the only one. Of course, we've got no proof of that."
The panther was first spotted near Alford Forest in 2001. Recurring sights of the animal, which is often seen slinking along on its belly, prompted Biosecurity New Zealand officials and experts from Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park to look for the cat in 2006.

'Kiwi' found in outer space

An astrophotographer has discovered a Kiwi in outer space from New Zealand's internationally renowned Mt John Observatory.

It may be 26,000 light years away, but a high powered astro-photograph has picked up the distinct image of New Zealand's national icon in the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The image of the flightless bird was captured by experienced photographer Fraser Gunn.
Gunn, who has recently begun astrophotography with Earth and Sky Stargazing Tours at Lake Tekapo's Mt John Observatory, is delighted with the discovery.
"When looking at the area with the naked eye it's difficult to locate the Kiwi but my camera allows greater light and colour into the image giving it more definition.
Graeme Murray, director of Earth and Sky Tours, says Fraser has become a leader in New Zealand astrophotography and is fast gaining international acclaim.
"His animation scenes of the night sky are quite remarkable. On a series of clear nights Fraser has taken a sequence of more than 1,000 photos between sunset and sunrise and then condenses the shots into about two minutes. It captures the full picture of what's happening in space."
Run by the University of Canterbury, Mt John Observatory is the centre of New Zealand's space research programme and is regarded by astronomers as possibly the best site in the world to view the Milky Way and the centre of our universe.
Its uniquely dark skies, devoid of city light pollution, and high number of clear nights and atmospheric stability and transparency make it perfect for stargazing.
The Mackenzie region, where Mt John Observatory is based, is considered New Zealand's best stargazing spot and has been named the fourth best place in the world to go stargazing by United States travel website VirtualTourist.com.
In fact, the quality of stargazing is so good that the Mackenzie region has a bid underway to establish its night skies as a UNESCO World Heritage Starlight Reserve
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/kiwi-found-in-outer-space-3024039

NZ sightings of spiral 'UFO'? [stuff.co.nz]

By KATARINA FILIPE - The Timaru Herald

The strange spiral that appeared over Norway.
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Timaruvians may soon get a chance to see the large, star-like object in the sky that has excited believers and astronomical experts around the world.
The enormous spiral light with its glowing centre was seen over Norway on December 9.
The Share International Foundation said the sighting was a sign that Maitreya, the World Teacher, would soon appear in his first television interview, which will take place in the United States.
However, Defence Ministry officials in Moscow admitted it was the exploding trail of Russia's latest intercontinental ballistic missile, which had gone up in smoke.
The foundation's South Island spokeswoman, Val Parker, a former Timaruvian, said "there are two versions – believe what you like".
The foundation says the "star" is one of four enormous spacecraft placed around the Earth. Since last December many sightings have been reported on YouTube and television news.
In New Zealand, there have been three sightings, with photographs to document them. The first was in the upper North Island on February 17, which was followed by sightings in Cambridge and Auckland in April.
South Canterbury's Transmission Meditation said the best way to see the star was by facing the west at sunset, taking a photo and studying it closely.
A spokesperson said "there's going to be a World Teacher come forward and he's going to suggest how we might do things better".