Unidentified Flying Objects and Mysterious Happenings in P/NG

This document is a compilation file from the Department of External Territories regarding reports of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and mysterious happenings in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea between 1957 and 1973. The file contains various memoranda, telegrams, and reports documenting sightings by both European residents and local Papuan inhabitants. A significant portion of the file is dedicated to the well-publicized sightings reported by the Reverend Father William B. Gill at the Boianai Anglican Mission in 1959, which included claims of humanoid figures in a craft. Other reports detail sightings of falling objects, bright lights, and unexplained aerial phenomena across various districts, including the Milne Bay, Morobe, and Manus districts. The correspondence reflects the administrative handling of these reports, with the Department of External Territories frequently referring the information to the Department of Defence, the Department of Civil Aviation, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for evaluation. The official stance, as reflected in the correspondence, often leaned toward identifying these phenomena as meteors, aircraft flares, or atmospheric effects, though the reports were treated with varying degrees of seriousness. By 1971, the Administrator of Papua and New Guinea agreed to the declassification of reports from non-official sources, noting that they did not contain classified material and should be regarded as public knowledge.