From mysterious lights in the sky to a reported sighting of a flying saucer taking off, New Zealanders have had an intense relationship with unidentified flying objects (UFOs) since records began in 1952.
Thousands of previously secret documents released today by the Defence Force cover hundreds of accounts of what people saw, or believed they saw, and many were convinced they had been in the presence of alien visitors.
In November 1955 the writer of a letter to a government department reported he had seen many flying saucers.
"I and my nephew actually witnessed one taking off," he informed the Government.
In the same year the Napier Daily Telegraph published a photo of what was described as a flying saucer seen over Hastings, an incident which was given wide publicity and reported in overseas papers.
The documents show those who contacted authorities about their experiences were taken notice of, even if it was to thank them for their theories.
Explanations were usually offered -- the planet Venus, meteors, comets, mirages and even the moon were cited in correspondence as the likely source of the "celestial phenomena" that had been witnessed.
Private and commercial pilots were among those who saw lights in the sky they believed could not be explained by any natural occurrence.
Their detailed accounts of those sightings include maps, positioning data and drawings of lights which were very bright, moved quickly and often changed colour.
The files also cover the 1978 Kaikoura mystery, New Zealand's best known and most compelling UFO event.
A cargo aircraft reported strange lights following it and moving around it, and Wellington air traffic control detected unexplained objects on its radar which were not other aircraft because none were in the air at the time.
The investigation report, released for the first time, concluded that the incident "can be explained by natural but unusual phenomena".
The documents show reported UFO sightings often came to the attention of prime ministers and ministers of defence.
Inquiries were sometimes initiated but it isn't clear whether they were carried out with any enthusiasm.
Over the years, reports of encounters with UFOs range from carefully constructed accounts to the absurd -- one letter reproduced what was described as alien writing while others contained sketches of the aliens themselves.
There were drawings of spacecraft, some with details of how they were constructed.
Even those warranted a response: "Thank you for the opportunity to look at your sketches. They are returned with thanks," was one of the routine responses.
The files were released under the Official Information Act, and all names and other identifying material have been removed.
The original files are held by Archives New Zealand and are classified until 2050.
