New Guinea, June 1959June 1959

# A Missionary's Encounter: The Boianai UFO Sightings, New Guinea, June 1959

In late June 1959, a missionary and teacher in Papua, New Guinea reported a series of extraordinary sightings of unidentified flying objects near his mission station at Boianai. The principal witness was a well-educated man in his early thirties who had lived and worked in New Guinea for over eight years. Until these events, he had been skeptical about the existence of flying saucers.

The sightings began on the evening of June 21, when the witness saw a bright white light descend from the sky about a quarter mile offshore. The object hovered at roughly 300 feet above the water, and as it lost brilliance, the witness could make out the shape of an inverted saucer tilted slightly backward. He observed what appeared to be four dark spots underneath before the craft climbed back into the clouds. This initial sighting lasted about three minutes. Five days later, on June 26, the witness and his staff experienced several hours of UFO activity. Between approximately 6:45 p.m. and 11:40 p.m., multiple objects appeared in various parts of the sky. The largest one, which observers called the "mother ship," remained relatively stationary and changed colors from dull yellow or pale orange to blue, white, and deep red as it moved. The witness recorded that figures resembling men appeared on top of the craft and seemed to move about, at times looking down at the observers below.

On the evening of June 27, the witness reported his most significant encounter. A large UFO appeared in roughly the same position as the night before, though somewhat smaller. As darkness fell, the witness and about a dozen others watched four human-like figures become visible on top of the craft. Two of the figures appeared to be working on something near the center of the deck, bending over and raising their arms as if adjusting equipment. One figure seemed to be looking down at the group of observers. When the witness waved his arm, the figure waved back. This exchange of gestures was repeated multiple times, and the witness later directed flashlight signals at the craft, to which it apparently responded with wavering motions. After these interactions, the figures disappeared, and the craft did not descend further.

Over the following days and nights through the end of June, the witness recorded additional sightings involving multiple objects. On June 28, he counted up to eight UFOs in the sky at one time, all at high altitude. On June 30, he reported seeing one large and four smaller objects over a single night, and noted that the smaller craft resembled disks rather than saucers. The witness estimated the large craft to be roughly 200 feet in diameter at the top deck and 350 feet at the bottom, based on the apparent size of the figures visible on its surface. He calculated that these objects operated at altitudes ranging from 450 feet to 2,500 feet.

The sightings were corroborated by numerous local residents, including both native Papuans and white colonists. On the night of June 26, approximately 38 witnesses observed the large UFO, and 27 of them signed a statement confirming the sighting. Many of the witnesses were teachers, medical assistants, and other educated individuals. The witness's report also included accounts from other locations in the region, including an observation from a point near Gubanauna, about three miles away, where a witness using binoculars described an orange, disk-shaped object moving in a circular pattern.

The U.S. Air Force investigation, conducted through its Air Attache in Australia, yielded a skeptical assessment. The Air Force office acknowledged that the principal witness appeared reliable and psychologically stable, and that the corroborating testimony from 27 others could not be dismissed lightly. However, the investigation concluded that the phenomena observed were most likely natural explanations rather than actual spacecraft. The evaluating officer suggested that the lights could have been planets, specifically Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, and that light refraction, the changing positions of these planets relative to the observers, and unsettled tropical weather conditions could have created the illusion of size, rapid movement, and even human figures. The officer also noted that varying cloud densities could account for the appearance and disappearance of the humanoid shapes.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) concurred with this assessment, stating in a formal response that while they could not reach positive conclusions, they did not believe the observed phenomena represented manned space vehicles. Like the U.S. Air Force, the RAAF emphasized planets and light refraction as probable explanations.

The full case file, consisting of 18 pages and held by the National Archives on microfilm T1206, Roll 36, contains the complete missionary report, witness statements, sketches, observational data, weather conditions, and the official evaluations from both the Air Attache office and the RAAF.