Welcome to our roundup of the top ten unsolved mysteries that have baffled New Zealand for decades. From grisly murders that remain cold cases to baffling lights that danced across the night sky, each story is a puzzle that still teases investigators and curious minds alike.
Even a modest island nation the size of Colorado seems to have a knack for generating head‑scratching enigmas. Grab a cuppa, settle in, and prepare to be whisked through ten of the most perplexing, eerie, and downright strange events ever recorded on these shores.
10 The Crewe Murders
On a June morning in 1970, Len Demler entered the farmhouse where his daughter Jeanette and son‑in‑law Harvey Crewe lived. The house was silent, but a pool of blood greeted him – an alarming amount, staining the floorboards. Amidst the horror, Demler heard his 18‑month‑old granddaughter crying from her bedroom. He rushed to find the child unharmed, though filthy and hungry, cradled in her cot.
Exactly a month after the gruesome discovery, fishermen pulling nets from the Waikato River uncovered Jeanette’s body, loosely wrapped in a bedspread. Evidence suggested the corpse had once been weighted down, perhaps to conceal it. Weeks later, Harvey’s body emerged farther downstream, tangled in river weeds, confirming the double homicide.
Police quickly zeroed in on a local farmer, Arthur Allan Thomas, who was said to be obsessed with Jeanette. He was convicted and spent nine years behind bars. However, a Royal Commission later uncovered that a crucial spent cartridge linking Thomas to the crime had been planted by two officers, leading to his exoneration and a NZ$950,000 compensation payout.
To this day, no one has been held accountable. The evidence indicates the perpetrator(s) knew the Crewe property intimately, suggesting a local hand. Over half a century later, the killer remains at large, haunting the community.
Why This Is One of the Top Ten Unsolved Cases
9 The Kaikoura UFO Sightings
On the night of 21 December 1979, a Safe Air flight headed south from Wellington reported a strange, luminous object hovering over the coastline. The crew – two pilots and four passengers – all witnessed the eerie glow, which seemed to pulse and shift in colour.
Among those on board was freelance cameraman David Crockett, who instinctively pointed his camera at the phenomenon. The light re‑appeared on the return leg, and, astonishingly, it showed up on the aircraft’s radar at roughly 29 kilometres (18 miles) out. When the pilot angled the plane toward the object, the light retreated, as if evading pursuit.
A week later, a television crew tried to capture the spectacle, recording several luminous orbs for minutes on end. Journalist Quentin Fogarty described the scene: “It started as a pinpoint, then swelled into a massive pulsating globe with orange and red tinges, the size of a house.” Explanations ranged from bright planets to Japanese squid boats, even reflections off cabbage fields, yet none could account for the radar detection.
8 Zuiyo‑Maru Carcass
In April 1977, the Japanese trawler Zuiyo‑Maru, hunting mackerel roughly 40 kilometres (25 miles) off Christchurch, hauled up a massive, foul‑smelling carcass tangled in its nets. The putrid behemoth weighed an estimated 1,800 kilograms (3,950 pounds) and stretched about 10 metres (33 feet) in length.
Crew member Michihiko Yano, trained in biology, quickly sketched the grotesque creature and snapped several photographs. He wisely secured tissue samples before the enormous animal was tossed back overboard, hoping to preserve scientific evidence.
Scientists at Tokyo’s Science Museum examined the remains and unanimously declared the specimen a plesiosaur – a marine reptile thought extinct for 65 million years. Their conclusion sparked worldwide excitement about a living dinosaur.
French researchers later argued the creature was merely a decomposing basking shark, noting the lack of a dorsal fin and the long‑neck appearance could result from advanced decay and predation. Unfortunately, the tissue samples vanished, leaving the sea to keep its secret forever.
7 The Ngatea Mystery Circle
On 4 September 1968, farmer Bert O’Neil stumbled upon an odd, perfectly circular patch of silvery‑white ti‑tree scrub on his Ngatea farm, set against a backdrop of thriving native bush. At the centre of this eerie ring lay three deep V‑shaped depressions, arranged like a triangle.
News of the strange formation spread like wildfire, and within days a thousand curious onlookers descended on the site. Visitors trampled the ground, removed vegetation, and disturbed the delicate markings before university scientists could examine the phenomenon, arriving only five weeks later.
Subsequent reports of similar circles appeared across the island, prompting sensational headlines such as “Is Mars Now Taking a Look at Us?” Authorities offered theories ranging from aerial defoliants to fungal infections, while some suggested the V‑shaped cuts were made by large animals. Calculations indicated that cutting through roots would require roughly 20 tons of pressure, far beyond ordinary wildlife.
The Ngatea circle remains the most famous of the 1970s “mystery circles.” Like the contemporary UFO craze, it eventually faded from headlines, lingering now only in the memories of those who witnessed it.
6 The Nelson Street Ripper
In the early hours of 1914, Frederick Marshall anxiously searched for his missing wife, only to be told by a neighbour that “your missus has been murdered.” He rushed to the police station, where officials confirmed the horror – his wife of two decades, Frances, had been found brutally stabbed and slashed in a narrow alley.
Forensic examination revealed dozens of wounds: a fractured skull, pierced lungs and heart, and a deep cut to the jugular vein, likely inflicted with a pocketknife. No robbery signs appeared; her handbag, containing the equivalent of NZ$40 today, lay untouched. Though her clothing appeared slightly disarranged, her blue hat remained perched on her head.
Sensational newspapers likened the crime to Jack the Ripper, even alleging Frances was killed by a “necrophilo” – a term misused to suggest a morbid fascination with the dead. Some reports claimed she worked as a prostitute that night, a claim Marshall vehemently denied, though he admitted to occasional domestic violence.
The coroner ultimately cleared Frederick of involvement, concluding an unknown assailant was responsible. The case earned the moniker “Nelson Street Ripper” and remains an unsolved chapter of Auckland’s dark history.
5 Moehau Man
Across the globe, legends of towering, hairy hominids abound – from America’s Bigfoot to the Himalayan Yeti. New Zealand contributes its own tale: the Moehau Man, named after the towering peak where early sightings occurred.
To the Māori, the Moehau region is sacred, a place where mythic beings are said to roam. European settlers arriving in the late 1800s began reporting encounters with a massive, hairy, human‑like creature lurking in the dense bush.
Early anecdotes described startled hikers glimpsing a towering figure, while later accounts grew darker, claiming attacks on settlers. In 1983, two hikers near Lake Waikaremoana reported seeing seven such beings, cloaked in what resembled cowhides, each about six feet tall, moving silently along a rocky creek before vanishing.
In 2001, self‑styled Yowie expert Rex Gilroy trekked to the Urewera National Park, claiming to have uncovered large hominid footprints and presenting plaster casts to the media. Despite these tantalizing clues, no definitive proof has emerged, leaving Moehau Man to linger alongside other cryptids as a tantalizing mystery.
4 The Wreck of the Joyita
On 10 November 1955, the modest cargo vessel MV Joyita was found adrift roughly 600 nautical miles off its intended course, its decks eerily empty of crew, passengers, and cargo. The ship had been scheduled to reach Tokelau, a New Zealand dependency, yet never arrived, earning the nickname “the Mary Celeste of the Pacific.”
The vessel had originally carried 16 crew members and nine passengers, including two children. When the wreck was located 38 days after its disappearance, investigators noted that most of the four‑ton cargo – medical supplies, food, and empty oil drums – was missing. Critical navigation tools such as the logbook, sextant, and even all three lifeboats were gone, as were the ship’s firearms.
Disturbingly, the bridge showed signs of violent damage, and a doctor’s bag lay open on deck, its bandages stained with blood. Yet the Joyita still held ample fuel, and its cork‑lined hull, combined with the 80 empty oil drums, rendered it practically unsinkable.
Speculation ranged from a sudden flood forcing abandonment, to piracy, or even insurance fraud. After being salvaged and repaired, the Joyita returned to service, only to later run aground on a reef, after which it was stripped and dismantled. The fate of those aboard remains a haunting enigma.
3 The Missing Dragonfly
Nearly six decades after a scenic flight vanished between Christchurch and Milford Sound, dedicated search teams continue to scour the rugged South Island for clues. On 12 February 1962, pilot Brian Chadwick piloted a light aircraft dubbed the Dragonfly, carrying five passengers on a breathtaking journey.
When the plane failed to return, authorities launched one of New Zealand’s most exhaustive aerial searches, combing mountains, valleys, and forests. Yet the aircraft never resurfaced. Decades later, searcher Bobby Reeve uncovered a lone women’s boot in a remote, snow‑capped region, suggesting the wreck may have plunged onto permanent snow at roughly 8,000 feet.
Reeve urges the mountaineering community to aid the ongoing effort, warning of the treacherous terrain that has already claimed the lives of his own sons. The mystery endures, with each new lead rekindling hope that the Dragonfly’s final resting place might finally be uncovered.
2 Mysterious Moas
Although the great flightless birds known as moas were hunted to extinction by the early 1400s, whispers persist of their survival in hidden valleys. New Zealand once hosted nine moa species, the tallest reaching 3.6 metres (12 feet) and weighing up to 230 kilograms (510 pounds).
In January 1993, West Coast publican and mountaineer Paddy Freaney claimed to have tangled with a moa in the remote Cragieburn Valley. While authorities dismissed the account, the story sparked a media frenzy, fueling speculation that pockets of these ancient birds might still roam unseen.
Beyond moas, other exotic creatures—otters, panthers, even moose—have been reported in New Zealand’s secluded regions, adding layers to the nation’s tapestry of cryptic wildlife sightings.
1 The Mystery of the Invercargill Pool Pooper
From 2015 onward, the public swimming complex at Invercargill’s Splash Palace endured a bizarre series of incidents dubbed the “brown bomber” saga. Six consecutive Fridays saw the pools mysteriously contaminated with brown waste, prompting emergency evacuations each time.
Investigators scoured surveillance footage, only to find the cameras insufficiently sharp to capture the perpetrator’s face. The most extreme episode forced a full shutdown after all three pools were found littered with the unsavory material within a three‑hour window.
Mayor Tim Shadbolt lamented the unwanted global attention, noting that “Phantom pooper in the pool isn’t the sort of headline you want.” Despite extensive inquiries, the identity of the rogue depositor remains unknown, cementing the case as a truly odd chapter in New Zealand’s public‑facility history.
Conclusion
These ten tales illustrate how New Zealand, despite its modest size, is a hotbed for baffling, unsolved mysteries. Whether it’s a cold‑case murder, a spectral light, or a mischievous pool pooper, each story invites us to wonder what lies just beyond the edge of our understanding.