Fortnight in skeptical history - December 22 to January 4th
Bronwyn Rideout - 22nd December 2025
December 22nd
1977 - The Centrepoint Community Growth Trust is formed
2010 - The New Zealand Air Force releases nearly 60 years worth of previously classified documents on UFO sightings.
2020 - Lady Crown claims, after government officials including Jacinda Ardern have signed a dated official document, that ownership of New Zealand has been signed over to her. In reality, the only paper that has been signed is a delivery receipt, and this was not signed by Ardern herself.
2022 - Gloriavale is no longer able to afford its legal fees in a case brought against them by six women, and applies to the Employment Court to represent themselves for the remainder of the case.
December 24th
1960 - “Dr.” George King, founder of UFO cult The Aetherius Society, visits Mt. Wakefield. The Cosmic Avatar Jesus sent energies through this so-called western master of Yoga so that King could charge this mountain with majestic spiritual powers that could never be depleted. Lying in the foothills of Aoraki/Mt Cook, Mt Wakefield is one of 19 Holy Mountains of the world.
The spot where George King charged Mt. Wakefield. Source: Aetherius Society
December 25th
1891 - Christian sect the Students of Truth lays the foundation stone for what will be their Temple of Truth. The temple was built on the corner of Madras and Gloucester Streets in Christchurch, and would provide seating for 1,600.
Christchurch’s Temple of Truth. Source.
1995 - A Dunedin couple reported seeing a leopard or panther on State Highway 25.
December 26th
1979 - Future celebrity psychic Sue Nicholson emigrates to New Zealand.
2010 - A bright orange light is spotted above the southern end of Hawera, at about 9.40pm.
Image of the orange light, taken by witness Aaron Sellwood
December 27th
1919 - The 24th annual convention of the New Zealand section of the Theosophical Society is held in Auckland. The opening address is given by C. Jinarajadasa, one of the organisation’s foremost authors.
December 28th
1926 - Robert Felkin, medical missionary, ceremonial magician, and member of the hermetic order of the Golden Dawn, dies. Felkin was also the founder of the Stella Matutina, which is best known for the Whare Ra house (also called the Smaragdum Thallasses Temple) in Havelock North, New Zealand.
2010 - Denis Dutton, philosopher and founding chair of the New Zealand Skeptics, dies at the age of 66.
Denis Dutton at a TED Conference in 2010. Source: Wikipedia
2018 - Homeopathic company SleepDrops closes a successful funding campaign on Pledge Me, after raising over $500,000 from the public.
December 29th
2021 - WorkSafe issues $20,000 worth of infringement notices to Sri Chinmoy Centre-affiliated restaurant The Lotus Heart for failing to adequately display COVID QR codes, and not having effective processes to check customers’ vaccine passes.
December 30th
1978 - A camera crew from Australia sees unexplained lights on a flight to Christchurch.
1980 - Lane Hunt is found dead in the sauna at ‘Ladies & Gents Health Parlour’ in Christchurch. Lane’s parents claim that their son died during a purification programme practiced by the Zenith Applied Philosophy (ZAP) organisation, under the direct orders of ZAP leader John Dalhoff.
December 31st
2018 - Dr Siouxsie Wiles becomes a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her service to microbiology and science communication.
January 1st
1863 - James Deck founds the first formal Brethren assembly at Ngātīmoti. Deck had initially tried to keep the Exclusive-Open schism quiet, but the division was soon enforced as Brethren leaders from Britain arrived in New Zealand.
James George Deck. Source: Wikipedia
1909 - The aptly named Quackery Prevention Act comes into effect.
1943 - The Medical Advertisements Act becomes law, establishing a Medical Advertisements Board to police alternative medicine advertisements.
1980 - Olive Meares publishes an article, “Figure/ground, Brightness Contrast and Reading Disabilities” in the journal Visible Language. Conducting her study at the North Shore Reading Clinic at Takapuna Primary School, she argues that the brightness contrast of black-on-white print is a strong contributor to reading disabilities in children. She found that children have a better reading experience when a”dirty” or pre-used perspex sheet overlay is used. In the coming decades, Meares’ work would become intertwined with Helen Irlen and Meares-Irlen Syndrome.
2001 - New Zealand astrologer Alison MacIver and numerologist Julian Ching say that babies born on this day will live significant lives.
2022 - Controversial American law professor Amy Benjamin, who protested against lockdowns, vaccines, mandates and more, resigns from her position teaching at AUT.
January 2nd
1979 - 50 listeners to Radio Avon in Christchurch phoned the station to report seeing a UFO. One person even shared a recording that allegedly captured the noises the UFO made.
2013 - Ken Ring predicts a “fine day” on the West Coast of the South Island, although in reality the area sees torrential downpours resulting in flooding and slips.
January 3rd
1979 - The Royal New Zealand Airforce give up their search for the unidentified flying objects after several fruitless nights chasing sightings in Wellington and Christchurch. The strange lights captured the imagination of New Zealanders (and some parts of the world) over the New Year’s holiday weekend, with an Australian television crew capturing video and a TV1 film crew securing some quick snaps. One suggestion is that atmospheric conditions were redirecting the light from a Japanese squid hunting fleet located 260km from the shores of Christchurch.
January 4th
1974 - Six members of the Children of God cult stand in front of Cathedral Square in Christchurch to publicise that the arrival of the comet Kohoutek, signaling the end of the world.
The Press, January 5, 1974. Caption: Six members of the “Children of God” Jesus cult stood silently in Cathedral Square yesterday to publicise their belief that the comet Kohoutek signals the end of America and the Western world. Wearing maroon sack cloth for mourning and carrying staves to symbolise the rod of God’s judgment, the group advertised the proclamation of their American leader (“Moses David” Berg): “Forty days and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”