THOSE MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 179, 29 July 1909, Page 5

THOSE MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS.

AffiSHIP THEORY EXPLODED.

The " airship mystery " is solved as far as Auckland is concerned. As stated in Tuesday's "Star,'? residents in some of the suburbs have been much perplexed to account for. the presence of mysterious lights in the heavens during the last few nights. . These have mostly appeared on the outskirts of the city, and have been so far away, and have travelled, so quickly, that those who have seen them have —/for want, of something b-jtiter-r-put down their presence to the existence of mysterious airships. The explanation was forthcoming last night, however, when for the best part of an hour a huge, flare- hovered over the suburb of Mount Roskill. Hundreds of people turned out to..witness the„sight, .and as* the light drew nearer,- the ■" airsJ_p* r •Ifieory burst, and it was clearly seen that the cause of the many strange stories" of the'last'few days had its origin in the presence of fire balloons in the air. These balloons are made of coloured paper, measuring 20ft. in circumference. A felt pad placed on the wire cross-bar at the mouth of the balloon, provides the heat, when.lighted, to inflate the bag, and when liberated, these" toys "are "capable' of "travelling tewj jor fifteen miles. The sight of one of these balloons, floating lazily wherever the breeze chose to waft it, was clearly seen last night from all parts of the Mount Roskill district, thus exploding the. mysterious airship theory once and for all. Constable Murray, of the Mount Roskill police station, says that the light first appeared from the direction of Arch Hill, and sailed slowly with the wind across the sky towards Mount Eden. In his opinion there is .not the slightest doubt that the mysterious light came from one of these fire balloons. On inquiries being made this morning, it was learnt from a well-known dealer in fireworks and explosives that during the past few weeks there has been quite a large demand for these fire balloons, and the gentleman in question agrees that the mysterious airship story is in all probability based on the releasing at night of these balloons. This, no doubt, also explains the reason of the mysterious lights in the Southern cities.