Boianai UFO Incident

The Sighting

On the evening of June 26, 1959, Reverend William Broughton Gill, an Australian Anglican missionary stationed at Boianai in Papua New Guinea, observed a bright light approaching from the northwest sky. The craft descended to approximately 100 meters above the mission station. What began as a solitary observation quickly expanded into a mass sighting when Gill called others to witness the phenomenon. By evening's end, 38 people—including Gill, local teachers Steven Gill Moi and Ananias Rarata, and medical technicians—had gathered to observe the object.

The craft was described as disc-shaped with a prominent superstructure resembling a deck and bridge, rendered in a dull yellow or bright orange color. Most strikingly, four humanoid figures were distinctly visible moving about the top surface of the craft. The beings appeared diminutive in stature and human-like in form, though their exact features remain unclear from available accounts.

The Interaction

What distinguishes the Boianai sighting from most UFO reports is the apparent two-way interaction between witnesses and the craft occupants. As Gill and others watched, a teacher standing beside him raised his arm and waved. One of the figures on the craft appeared to reciprocate the gesture, waving back. Emboldened by this response, the mission group called out to the beings and beckoned them to descend, but received no response beyond the initial wave.

Gill sent a schoolboy to retrieve a flashlight. When the witnesses illuminated the craft with repeated flashes, the entire object appeared to respond by tilting slightly—"as though it was acknowledging the flashes of the torch," in Gill's own words. This exchange continued for approximately one hour before the craft rose vertically and disappeared into the night sky. The following evening, June 27th, similar craft returned, and comparable sightings were reported from this second encounter.

Documentation and Investigation

Gill's account gains significant weight from his contemporaneous documentation. Immediately following the sightings, he recorded detailed observations in writing—notes that would later be obtained by media outlets and circulated widely. By August 1959, accounts of the incident had reached Australian political circles; copies of Gill's report were distributed to every member of the House of Representatives.

The Boianai event was not isolated. It formed part of a larger UFO wave affecting Papua New Guinea in June and July 1959, with approximately 60 sightings reported across the region during this period. Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the renowned astronomer and civilian UFO investigator, visited Papua New Guinea in the mid-1970s specifically to follow up on these accounts. He interviewed six of the original Boianai witnesses, all of whom corroborated Gill's version of events without significant discrepancy.

Witness Credibility

A critical factor in assessing this case is the credibility of the witnesses. Gill was a respected Anglican priest with no prior interest in UFO phenomena. Indeed, before the sightings, he had theorized that UFO reports might be explained by atmospheric electricity or residual effects from atomic bomb testing. His skepticism lent weight to his subsequent testimony when he became convinced—based on direct observation—that the objects were intelligently controlled craft operated by some form of conscious beings. The presence of trained medical and educational staff among the witnesses further elevated the case's evidentiary value, as these individuals possessed observational discipline and training in precise documentation.