Boianai mission sightings (Rev. William Gill)

Date: 26 Jun 1959
Place: Anglican mission, Boianai, Milne Bay, Papua (then an Australian territory), Papua New Guinea
Record: Curated case
Assessment: Contested
Evidence strength

467 case pages by decade; this one falls in 1950s with 49 othersAll cases

What was reported

On the evenings of 26 and 27 June 1959 Anglican missionary William Gill and about 38 mission staff and villagers, including teacher Stephen Moi, watched a large disc with leg-like structures hover for long periods, with figures apparently moving on its upper deck; on the second night the figures appeared to wave back. Gill wrote notes during the sighting and a signed account circulated to the press in August. The RAAF interviewed Gill only in December 1959; Squadron Leader F.A. Lang judged him reliable but concluded the lights could have been natural phenomena, planets with refraction and cloud. Donald Menzel attributed the main light to Venus; independent investigators note that no planetary explanation accounts for the reported figures.

What officials concluded

Tentative explanation

RAAF: probably natural phenomena (Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with refraction and cloud movement)

Strongest ordinary reading

Venus seen through cloud for the main light (Menzel); the reported figures remain unexplained

Evidence profile

Sensors1 of 9

Yes: Visual
No: Infrared
No: Radar
No: Video
No: Photo
No: Film
No: Audio
No: Night vision
No: Other sensor

Witnesses38 counted

Yes: Civilian
No: Military aircrew
No: Military ground
No: Airline crew
No: Sensor operator
No: Law enforcement
No: Scientist
No: Astronaut
No: Intelligence official
Yes: Other

ShapeDisc

No: Light only
No: Orb or sphere
Yes: Disc
No: Triangle
No: Cylinder
No: Cube
No: Other shape

Effectsnone reported

No: Physiological
No: Physical trace
No: Electromagnetic
No: Sound
No: Silent

Outside sources

Project 1947 (Bill Chalker): Boianai and Cressyproject1947.com
Patrick Gross: Papua 1959 RAAF reportufologie.patrickgross.org

On the map

10.10° S, 149.90° E, plotted at the centre of the region named in the record

Show on the map