A brief sketch of Skeptical History for September 11th-17th

Bronwyn Rideout - 11 September 2023

The Skeptical Calendar is 90% done and far be it for the Editors of this illustrious newsletter to even suggest its readers go out and be newsworthy, we might have a few days you want to aim for.

September 11th

• 1973: American astronomer, professor and ufologist Dr J. A. Hynek begins his tour of New Zealand, starting in Christchurch. His main objective is to form an international centre for the inquiry into UFO sightings.

Source| Still of Dr. J. A. Hynek, from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

September 12th

• 1979: New Zealand-born, Australian-based Hitchhiker Yvonne Crosby and her 6-year-old daughter Lisa are found murdered at a rest stop in Eastern France, near the Swiss border. Immediately, the case was beset by speculation and theories worldwide.

Source| Yvonne-Stella “Eve” Crosby and Lisa

Such theories include Yvonne was a prostitute and was murdered by her pimp or a John; she was the target of a possibly Asian hitman; that Crosby and her daughter had the misfortune to cross paths with a crank; there were alleged connections to drug trafficking rings and was a member of the Orange People aka the Rajneeshees, followers of Osho aka Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, which Crosby was said to have joined and left when she still lived in Australia. Yvonne’s family insist that Yvonne was not involved with the drug trade but the extent of her involvement with the Rajneeshees is inconclusive.

Unfortunately, the timing of the murders couldn’t have helped investigators when it came to solving it. In New Zealand, there was the seizure of 13kg of hashish from two sannyasins in Auckland in September 1979. In the UK, Martin Johnstone’s, aka the infamous drug trafficker Mr. Asia, dismembered body was discovered in October 1979. The deaths of Crosby and her daughter has been considered as part of at least three different crime sprees: 1) The assassinations of persons allegedly associated with NZ and Australian drug syndicates (however, some people included in the linked article, i.e. Margaret Bell, were victims of different crimes); 2) Part of a murder triangle of 6 murders in the central French region that occurred in 1979 (the Crosby’s) and in 1989 (the other 4 murders); 3) Possible victims of a serial pedophile that was active in that region between 1980 and 1985, although autopsies conducted on the bodies find no evidence of sexual molestation.

The murder was profiled by the German true crime show, Aktenzeichen XY ungelost, in 1980. You can watch the segment here from 6:10, but no English subtitles are provided. The double murder remains unsolved 44 years later.

September 13th

• 1970: A third Puketutu nest shows up at Charles Blackmore’s farm - this one is 80 feet across, flattening reeds around an entire pond.

• 2012: A mysterious submarine is claimed to have been sighted in Auckland harbour.

September 14th

• 1978: The Minister for Education tells parliament that Archie Blue’s water powered car is not practical because “the process could not produce mechanical energy in excess of the electrical energy required” - bringing some skeptical common sense to Parliament.

September 15th

• 1977: Colin Amrey and Alison Davidson’s petition requesting an amendment to the fortune-telling section of the Police Offences Act is referred back from the petitions committee. The committee recommended that it be referred to the Government for consideration.

• 1995: New Zealand Guardian Trust wires almost $621,000 to the New Jersey accounts of the American Atheists. Jon Murray, son of Madalyn Murray O’Hair (former President of the American Atheists), uses the funds to pay for some gold coins and he, along with his mother and niece, disappear.

Source| (Left to right) Jon Murray, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, and Robin Murray

For a long time, the existence of these funds gives credence to rumours that O’Hair and family were either hiding in America or New Zealand. This theory wasn’t without merit due to the relationship between Murray O’Hair and NZ Rationalist and Humanist oranisation. Madalyn had visited New Zealand in 1982 and, along with her son and granddaughter, spoke to a large audience at Rationalist House and between 1985 and 1993, the American Atheists hosted a NZ delegate to speak at their conventions.

However, it was later discovered that they had been murdered until their bodies were identified in 2001.

September 16th

• 1974: The Auckland Medical Aid Clinic was raided by NZ Police. The clinic was the only private abortion clinic in NZ and 500 patient files were taken by police and photocopied before they were returned. Women who received abortion services were contacted and questioned in front of their family, with no guarantee given that they would not be prosecuted. Fortunately, none were but Dr. Jim Woolnough of Sydney was charged on 12 counts of procuring miscarriage.

September 17th

• 2004: Holocaust denier David Irving is prevented from boarding a flight to New Zealand. He had planned to visit the National Archives and speak at the National Press Club in Wellington

September 18th

• 2003: The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act is given Royal assent

• 2007: The Destiny NZ party, Brian Tamaki’s first attempt at politics, is deregistered as a political party. In its place a new party is created, called The Family Party.

• 2012: “K and Dr Michael”, a psychic duo from Australia, use didgeridoos to heal at a workshop at Takapuna in Auckland.