But it turns out it was just junk.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said firefighters from the Waitati Volunteer Fire Brigade uncovered the object at Warrington Beach just after 11am on Saturday — a sealed can filled with an unknown chemical.
The mysterious find caused speculation from some locals that it could be ‘‘space junk’’ after reports over the weekend of cylindrical objects, possibly containing rocket fuel, washing up on Queensland beaches.
The Australian Space Agency confirmed on Sunday it was working to determine the nature and origin of the mysterious objects.
In the case of the object found at Warrington Beach, the volunteer fire brigade handed it to Otago Regional Council staff for examination after firefighters at the beach had stood guard over the unidentified canister for nearly four hours in case someone tried to open it and was exposed to the contents.
A Fenz spokesman said yesterday it was not off a rocket but instead ‘‘an old gas cylinder of some kind’’.
‘‘We’re sorry it wasn’t something more exciting.’’
