A Fortnight in Skeptical History

Bronwyn Rideout - 24 June 2024

Our Skeptical Calendar, where we attempt to find at least one event of skeptical interest from New Zealand for each of the 366 days of the year, is nearly finished now, with just 20 or so days that we don’t have an event for remaining. Here are the events that happened on this day in history for the next two weeks:

June 24th

• 1891 - A. B. Worthington’s Christian sect, Students of Truth, purchased half an acre on the corner of Madras and Gloucester Street, fronting Latimer Square in Christchurch. The sect would go on to build their Temple of Truth on the site.
• 2015 - Mystery booms are heard in Whanganui.
• 2019 - Weird “alien-like” noises from a “mythical” creature are heard by an Auckland resident.

Interior of the Temple of Truth

June 25th

• No skeptical events on this date. Please let us know if you know of anything!

June 26th

• 1973 - The Astrological Society of New Zealand is founded
• 1996 - Timaru Herald publishes comments made by Mackenzie farmers Lester and Robyn Baikie about their experiences with tenant Chris Butler. Butler was the writer, director, and co-producer of a film produced on the property. Due to his severe allergy issues, Butler required substantial alterations not only to the house he was renting but also to the operation of the farm itself. Butler was the leader of ISKCON tearaway sect, The Science of Identity Foundation and this led to local concerns about Butler’s intentions.

Chris Butler

June 27th

• 2022 - Barry Smith, Author and End Times preacher, dies in the UK. New Zealand-born Smith preached globally about the New World Order and RFID tracking.

June 28th

• 1894 - The Christchurch Lodge of the Theosophical Society is founded.
• 2022 - Family First, a prolific spreader of religious-based misinformation and faith-based lobbying, loses its fight to keep its charity status at the Supreme Court.
• 2023 - Liz Gunn, former television presenter and current anti-vaccination campaigner, launches a new political party - NZ Loyal Party.

June 29th

• 2000 - Fraudulent Danish cancer doctor Finn Skott Andersen purchases Highden Manor, a luxury property in Manawatu. While the initial intent was allegedly to operate an alternative medical clinic, his representative Bruce Lyon is more successful in establishing a new-age magic school there for a brief time.

June 30th

• 1969 - Guy Richardson Powles and Eric Vernon Dumbleton present their report on the Hubbard Association of Scientologists in New Zealand.
• 2006 - Tasman District Council issues a warning to a Hare Krishna Society near Motueka. The council had been made aware of inadequate operations around food preparation and housing.
• 2008 - The Charities Commission recognises the Church of Scientology of New Zealand as a registered charity
• 2012 - Ghost hunters from The Other Side Paranormal group visit the Globe Theatre in Dunedin and claim to have detected spirits.
• 2021 - The New Zealand Classification Office releases a report titled “The edge of the infodemic: challenging misinformation in Aotearoa”.
• 2022 - The Human Rights Review Tribunal dismisses Stephen Butcher’s claims that having his photo taken for his driver’s license discriminates against his religious freedoms. Butcher, an orthodox Christian, believed that the photo license was the mark of the beast and has not had an official license since photos and barcodes were introduced. The lack of photo identification excludes him from working as an architect or a building inspector, which he is qualified for, nor can he drive for fear of his car being impounded.

July 1st

• 1935 - Victor Penny and his death ray research are whisked away by police to Trentham Military Camp. Penny had been under Police protection since he was assaulted a couple of weeks prior.
• 1978 - New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist Beatrice Tinsley is made professor of astronomy at Yale. Beatrice made remarkable discoveries about the evolution of galaxies.
• 2010 - After NZ Bus refused to run ads promoting atheism on their buses, the NZ Atheist Bus Campaign put their message on billboards instead - with ads appearing in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.

July 2nd

• No skeptical events on this date. Let us know if we’re missing anything!

July 3rd

• 1927 - The Truth Seeker, journal of the Auckland Rationalist Association, launches with their first issue on this date. It initially sold for 3 pence.

July 4th

• 1998 - Destiny Church Auckland, originally called City Church Auckland, is officially launched.

July 5th

• 2002 - The Christchurch Citizen, owned and operated by businessmen and Christian dominionists Jim McCotter and Geoff Botkin, folds without warning - although the demise of the paper was widely expected, due to low circulation and poor revenue.
• 2018 - Auckland music venue books, and then quickly cancels on, alt-right Canadian speakers Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneaux. Apologies ensue as owner Gabrielle Mullins states that it was not clear from the name on the booking that it was the controversial duo. However, RNZ reports that Peter Campbell, Mullins partner and venue co-owner is reported to have stated that the cancellation was due to the disruption it would cost while standing by his decision to book the duo in the first place. Southern and Molyneux were due to speak that night.

July 6th

• 2000 - Former MP Alec Neill reaches a confidential settlement with Ti Leaf Productions Ltd over comments he made in Parliament on March 20th, 1996. In his speech, Neill questioned whether the company and its advisor, Chris Butler were involved in drug smuggling or a front for a cult. Neil subsequently withdrew on the fourth day of a civil trial lodged by Ti Leaf as the company claimed that Neill’s comments led to the failure of their film project, a martial arts film titled The Lost Prince.
• 2018 - A controversial New Zealand pastor Logan Robertson is taken into detention by Australian Immigration. The Brisbane-based pastor had a history of making offensive and violent comments towards the LGBTQIA+ community in NZ and Australia. This time, he was arrested for harassment at two mosques.
• 2022 - Arise church announces that they will not release the result of the Pathfinding report as planned on July 7th, 2022. In communication with David Farrier, they claimed that an urgent non-publication order was issued by the Employment Relations Authority.

July 7th

• 2006 - John Money, controversial New Zealand psychologist, sexologist and author on sexual identity and biology of gender, dies a day short of his 85 birthday in Maryland, United States.
• 2022 - A mysterious boom is heard overhead, accompanied by a long flame in the sky, in the Wairarapa.
• 2022 - The original release date for the Arise Church Pathfinding Report into allegations of mistreatment made by participants in the church’s internship programme. The Arise board claimed that an urgent non-publication order was issued by the Employment Relations Authority
• 2022 - The Puzzling World Psychic Challenge, created by skeptic Stuart Landsborough, is shut down, with none of the challengers ever having won the $100,000 prize.