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Station to Boulia on a somewhat cloudy night. At about 10 pm, as the stockman passed the Min Min locality a strange glow appeared right in the middle of the little cemetry located at the rear of the old hotel. The glow appeared to grow to the size of a small watermelon, hover over the graveyard, and then move off in the same direction the stockman was travelling. Terrified, the man galloped towards Boulia with the light allegedly following him all the way, until he reached the outskirts of town. Not surprisingly, police and locals gave the poor man's story little credence.

However, in rapid succession, 2 further reports came to light, which seemed to substantiate the stockman's experience. A married couple visiting the district, who apparently did not know of the stockman's story, reported seeing the mysterious light, while riding on a track into Boulia from one of the stations. The light intensified in brightness while they watched and then moved away. The couple then followed the light onto the hard, plain country, for a few minutes. When they turned back to the track the light, which had been receding, began to advance and follow them. Legend does not detail how the light disappeared, but the couple were most anxious to find out from the locals what the light was. No one could provide an explanation.

Likewise for the next report that came in a few nights later. Another station hand said he had seen the light rise up out of the old Min Min hotel graveyard and go bounding up and down through the air across the stony plain.

The Min Min light was well on its way to gaining a permanent niche in Australian folklore.

The connection with the Min Min Hotel is somewhat misleading. The hotel was built by William T.C. Lilley soon after he settled in the Boulia district around 1886. After many years he sold it to Jack McMillan, who in turn sold it to Mrs. A.E. Hasted in 1914. The hotel burned down a few years later, some say between 1916 and 1918. Clearly, despite the Min Min Hotel burning down as in the legend, the timing is well after the earliest reports. According to Henry Lamond, who was managing Warenda Station at the time, the light was old, even by 1912.

Ernestine Hillls tale imparts such a sinister reputation to the Min Min 'shanty', that it is difficult to reconcile this with ownership by Lilley. It seems clear that if there is any substance to the legend then a 'shanty' predated Lilley's establishment, ostensibly at the same location.

The age of the Min Min Light legend is supported by retired parliamentarian Bill Wentworth's 1978 "A Big Country" interview, with an elderly aboriginal woman named "Lani". She said her grandmother talked about the light and called it "koorari", meaning "light". Local identity, Charlie Robinson recalls when he was a child (around 1910), "Old Man" Lilley told people that the oldest "blackfellow" in the district then, reckoned he saw it when he was a little boy. Indeed, the older aboriginals considered that the Min Min Light emanated from an old Aboriginal burial ground, north of the Winton road opposite Dinner Creek, (north of Pollygammon). Locals tell of the legend that the light only came after "the white man started killing the black fella."

The Min Min Light was viewed as a "debil-debil", or as one local put it in the ABC "A Big Country" programme on the light, "The Boulia Triangle", "He was the black fella's ghost, that fella." In 1878 many aborigines were killed in retaliation for some killings of white settlers. By the early 1900s, according to Charlie Robinson's excellent historical record, the "Souvenir Book of the Min Min Festival" (1976), "most of the (local aboriginal) tribes had been decimated by privation, disease, alcohol, drought and lead." Clearly the legend goes back a long way.

This association with death (i.e. "ghost lights") marches right through worldwide legends and lore of these lights. As tantalising as this coincidence may be for some, we will see later, when we come to possible mechanisms for the lights, that the appeal of the supernatural explanation is not as straight forward as proponents may have us believe. We will see instead that Nature appears to be our culprit.

The earliest reported sighting of the Min Min Light, for which we are reasonably certain about the date, is the classic account of Henry Lamond in 1912. At least 2 accounts exist, the first, as a letter in "Walkabout" (1 April, 1937- a suitable occasion for recounting of such anecdotes, some would say) and the second is from the "North Australian Monthly" in January 1961.

In "Walkabout" Lamond described his experience as follows:

"During the middle of winter -June or July (1912) - I had to go to Slasher's Creek to start the lamb-marking I did not leave the head station until about 2 am, expecting to get to Slasher's well before daylight…

"After crossing the Hamilton River, 5 miles wide with 45 channels, I was out on the high downs ...5 or 6, or 8 or 10, miles out on the downs I saw the headlight of a car coming straight for me (The light had appeared to be coming from the direction of Winton and seemed to be about half a mile away -B.C.). Cars, though they were not common, were not rare. I took note of the thing, singing and trotting as I rode, and I even estimated the strength of the approaching light by the way it picked out individual hairs in the mare's mane.

"Suddenly I realised it was not a car light -it remained in one bulbous ball instead of dividing into the 2 headlights, which it should have done as it came closer; it was too green-glary for an acetylene light; it floated too high for any car; there was something eerie about it."

According to Lamond's account in "Walkabout" his horse stopped, snorted and pricked its ears. His other account in the "North Australian monthly" states this aspect differently, albeit a small inconsistency. "Nellie kept trotting along quite unperturbed. She didn't even prick her ears or lift her head. I know, had it been a car coming towards us, that mare would have been afraid."

Lamond's "Walkabout" account continues:

"The light came on, floating as airily as a bubble, moving with comparative slowness ... I should estimate now that it was moving at about10 m.p.h. and anything from 5 to 10 feet above the ground ... Its size, I would should say, at an approximate guess, would be about that of a new-risen moon. "That light and I passed each other, going in opposite directions. I kept an eye on it while it was passing, and I'd say it was about 200 yards off when suddenly it just faded and died away. It did not go out with a snap -its vanishing was more like the gradual fading of the wires in an electric bulb. The mare acknowledged the dowsing of the glim by another snorting whistle."

The Min Min Light mystery does not only have its basis only in compelling, historical and largely unconfirmable tales. N.W. Bauer, the late Queensland Commissioner for Police, in an article in the "Royal Geographical Society of Australia Bulletin," describes what he referred to as "the best authenticated recording of this remarkable phenomenon."

Mr. Bauer quoted the statement of Detective Sergeant Lyall Booth, of the Police Stock Investigation Squad at Cloncurry.

On the night of Saturday, May 2nd, 1981, after 6 days of Mustering, Booth was camped on the bank of the Bulla Bulla waterhole, approximately 60 km east of Boulia, on the main Boulia -Winton road. The main camp had been in the centre of a plain several kilometres across and was beside a very shallow, drying-up waterhole ringed by gidgea trees. There was only one other person present in the camp, a forty year old part Aboriginal woman - the camp cook. She was located approximately 600 metres to the north of where Booth was camped.

Lyall Booth had gone to sleep at about 9 pm. It was a cool clear night.

"I woke up at about 11 pm (I don~ know why) and saw a light which at first I took to be a car headlight, approximately 1500 to 2000 metres north east from me. I thought it was a vehicle on the main road, but after a short time I realised that the main road was further to the north and that vehicle lights could not be seen plainly from my location. The light appeared to be just to the west of the Hamilton River channels and appeared to be moving but it did not seem to get any closer (I know that's hard to grasp, but that is how it appeared).

"The light was below tree top height. Its intensity seemed to fluctuate a little and this may have given the impression of movement. It was a single light and white in colour, similar to the light thrown by a quartz iodine headlight. After watching it for 3 or 4 minutes. I realised that it was probably the Min Min Light.

"I kept it under observation for about half an hour and its position remained about the same (I can't say the same for my pulse rate). I went to sleep with some difficulty about midnight and awoke again at about 1 am and saw the light again just to the North of where the cook was camped. That means that, if it was the same light, it had moved about 1000 metres to the south-west from its original position.

"It was not as bright as the first light and had a slightly yellow colour to it. It was about the colour of a gas light which is turned down very low and is about to go out, but it was of much greater intensity than that type of light.

"It appeared to be slightly bigger than the gas light used in the cook's camp. It seemed to be from 3 to 6 feet from the ground, and moved only several yards from west to east and then remained stationary. It illuminated the ground around it, but I was too far away from it to see any detail. I could, however, see the cook's camp

"I watched the light for about 5 to 6 minutes and then it suddenly dived towards the ground and went out. It may even have gone out on contact with the ground. I did not see it again."

Dectective Sergeant Lyall Booth checked with the cook in the morning and found that she had seen nothing. They had been the only people in the area. The cook had a small camp fire going earlier in the night but it had not been visible from Booth's camp. His own camp fire was only glowing coals by 8 pm, and was not in the line of sight of either of the mystery lights. A daylight search failed to find any trace of a physical agency for the lights.

Booth concluded: "I am at a loss to explain in physical terms the lights that I saw. My enquiries lead me to believe that they were not caused by man..."

I have given this account in some detail as it is one of the few modern accounts that is well documented. Later we will examine possible explanations for this report. Most accounts of Min Min Lights are unfortunately somewhat more anecdotal than the above account. Some however are still very interesting.

Veteran researcher, Stan Seers, quotes an interesting account in his book "UFOs -the case for Scientific Myopia" given by a Mr. C. Rhodes. He was travelling the stock route between Winton and Boulia, with 2 other men.

On l0th February, 1951, they were camped about 2 miles west of the site of the old Min Min Hotel:

"At about 8.30 pm, we were about to turn into our swags. I glanced to the north and saw a strange light hovering in the sky. This was on open downs country, interlaced with small gidyea creeks, none of the trees being over fifteen feet in height. "While we watched, the light glided swiftly and smoothly through about 40 degrees to the west in a matter of moments. It then jazzed up and down for a while before coming to rest. Every movement was extremely fast.

"I was puzzled at the pace it travelled, and thought it must be very close. You can image my surprise when it disappeared in the edges of a small cloud, which I estimated to be about 15 miles away. It could have been closer. "It then reappeared at the bottom of the cloud; and simultaneously a second light appeared above the cloud. It moved west again but when it reached the edge of the cloud only one light was visible.

"We had been watching for about 10 seconds, yet I calculated it had moved at least 30 miles. There were no roads in that direction, and this light was up in the sky, hovering - it was large and bright - about twice the size and brilliance of Venus."

Another intriguing Min Min Light story was described by John Pinkney, in his "People" magazine column. The account describes how back in 1980, 2 fossickers were driving from Bedourie to Boulia, when they saw a very bright light by the roadside. As they drew level with it, the light suddenly took off. The young men's car was showered in a hail of rocks and dust. The light was last seen travelling quickly away between trees and channels. Upon investigating the light's departure point, the two men reportedly found a fine white powder, but it was not reported whether the material was retrieved and analysed.

Such occurrences are not unique to the Boulia area although the Min Min Light enjoys such a reputation that "Min Min light" is now virtually a generic term for Australian "ghost lights".

The earliest recorded report appears to be that found in T. Horton James' book, "Six Months in South Australia, & C." published in 1838.

A group of explorers were camped in the Ovens River region of eastern Victoria, then known as part of the Port Phillip district, when they saw "a fire a little way off." Some of them rode off to investigate, "but it was about three hours before they returned, and had seen neither fire, bushrangers, nor travellers. They rode boldly up to the spot where the fire, as they thought, was burning, but it was as far off as when they started. In short, it turned out to be an ignis fatuus, or jack-a-lantern, and kept them upwards of an hour trotting on in the vain pursuit, 'till by some sudden flickering and paleness, it confirmed them in its unsubstantial nature, and they returned rather mortified to bed..."

Other reports continued to be reported throughout the years. Consider for example, the following Goulburn area manifestation recorded in the Goulburn Herald during March, 1878:

"Lately there has been some excitement amongst the superstitious, numbers of whom go off in parties, with guns & c., to the range above Stewart's garden, where there is an unfinished stone house. Here an apparition is said to make its appearance in the form of a light, and to travel, sometimes very slowly, and frequently very quickly, from the riverbank just below, up to, and around the house, then varying, the performance by a run among the trees. This is said to be kept up from an early hour in the evening until about 3 in the morning; all endeavours to get near the light are said to prove futile."

In "The History of Goulburn, NSW" by Ransome T. Wyatt (1972), it is recorded that one "Grunsell claimed to have disposed of it with a shot gun."

During a search of newspapers in Maryborough, Victoria, I came across an account of a classic "ghost light" in the Natte Yallock area. Its manifestations spanned more than 50 years. In a letter to the editor of the "Maryborough Advertiser", of April 20, 1966, the following 3 intriguing stories were recalled.

The first account is from the 1860s:

"One of the old settlers, while walking from Natte to his home, vowed he saw a spirit light come from Skinner's cellar and it nearly bumped into him. It gave him enough strength to run two miles home. Skinner's was a deserted house about one mile from Natte. This corner was supposed to be haunted ever after."

The second story describes the witness riding in a gig, near Natte Yallock, one night back in March, 1911, seeing a very bright light between 2 trees. It appeared to move backwards and forwards, at a height of about 40 feet from the ground. The light also appeared to reflect on the gig and pony, showing them as clear as daylight. It reappeared about half a mile on. The witness recalled, "It then started to quietly fall towards me. It was getting so close that I was leaning as far out of the gig as I could get, trying to miss the thing... It again disappeared and I travelled on for about another half mile."

The final account describes how in the Natte Yallock area, about 8 miles from Landsborough, during the Autumn of 1913, a group of people saw a light that seemed to be approaching. The group pulled to the side of the road. "The ball of light travelling at about 5 feet from the ground, just passed the buggy as if it was controlled and it did not seem to be doing more than 10 miles per hour."

Many reports of the "ghost light" genre refer to extraordinary events of an apparently unique nature. Here are a few such reports that attest to the complexity of this phenomenon and the potential for bonafide scientific enquiry amongst the rich harvest of such accounts.

During his 1972 summer vacation, a university student engaged in night ploughing work on a remote property out of Garah, near the western NSW - Queensland border, experienced an extraordinary encounter. The following details are based upon my own interviews with the witness.

At about 1.30 am, on December 16th, 1972, the student stoped the tractor near access gate of the paddock he was working in, for a short break. He soon heard a high powered engine noise approaching. As the surrounding countryside was typical of western NSW, namely flat, the monotony of which was broken only by scattered bushland. He was extremely puzzled when he was unable to locate the source of the approaching sound. Whatever it was, it seemed as if the "source" de-accelerated as it appeared to pass by some 500 yards away.

It finally gradually died out as if the low altitude aerial noise source had come to rest down the road, some 2 miles away. The witness likened the sound to a semi-trailer, but he felt that even without lights a truck would have been quite apparent. Of course invisible flying trucks are quite rare. The witness soon dismissed the incident and some 5 minutes later was ploughing directly opposite the gate at a spot near the paddock fence perimeter. It was then he noticed a single light approaching. Its location and the lack of undulating movement as it moved over ploughed ground made the lights nature all the more curious.

The strange light entered the field and moved towards the tractor driver at a steady height of about 10 feet and speed of about 30-40 mph. As the light came closer its appearance became apparent - a small circular "object" which had what seemed to be a smaller concentrated light centre. The bright light evident, which illuminated a wide area, appeared to be radiating from the surface of the circular object and not from the central mass.

It did not appear to be solid, but the centre appeared to be more concentrated. The "shape" of the sphere was "traced out by 3 (or 4) ill defined lines on the outside of the object. " These "circles" or "ribs" of relatively, well defined light were seemingly geometrically evenly spaced and all met at the top and bottom of the object, like meridians of longitude. The total diameter was 3 feet with the "concentrated" centre apparently 8 to 9 inches wide. The total display appeared to be constant.

At 50 yards distance the object made a smooth turn and then stopped just 20 yards away. It hovered there for about 5 seconds then suddenly vanished. The object "reappeared" behind the tractor driver, just outside the paddock fence line, still at about 10 feet altitude. It continued to move away in the same direction, finally disappearing in the distance. The total duration of the light phenomenon was between 1 to 2 minutes. Other people in the area ostensibly saw similar phenomena at about the same time.

During 1974 in the Bega district of NSW, a local farmer encountered a similar extraordinary phenomenon. His account can be found in the "Bega District News" of September 17th, 1976.

After checking fence posts on his property, the farmer was finishing up, when he heard a very high pitched sound, "a bit like air escaping from a high pressure tractor feed." "I tried to locate the source of the sound, but as the light had almost gone, it was difficult to see anything, let alone not fall over a fallen limb."

The noise grew in volume until the farmer realised it was coming from the vicinity of a boulder which sat out in the middle of the field.

From behind the boulder, a bright yellow, orange light shone out.

"My first thought was that it was a fire, but the light was too constant ... As I got closer, the noise got louder. I got level with the rock and pocked my head around the corner and my Heavens, did I get a shock. "There on the ground was a bright globe of "something", about the size of a football, I suppose. It was a very bright yellow which then changed to a bright orange and then to yellow again, the cycle taking about 5 seconds each time."

"My first thought was that it was a fireball, but it really wasn't sitting on the ground. I think it would have been about 6 inches off the ground. There was no sense of heat, but when I tried to get closer, I could feel my skin tighten, and all the hair on my body stand up." "It was like trying to walk into a very strong wind, so much so I couldn't get any closer.

"I walked over and picked up a dead limb of a tree, and poked this at it, but I couldn't get too close at all, it just seemed to slip away, like two magnets opposing each other. Then it went a vivid green and started to fade away, and finally there was nothing there. At this time the noise was unbearable, but as it faded so did the noise. I did notice a sweet, sickly smell, but that faded quickly too."

An anonymous anecdotal account in a newspaper hardly constitutes evidence but the story is certainly compelling. Although not specific about weather conditions, stable conditions are implied, making it difficult to invoke a ball lightning mechanism. This account certainly stretches the point.

There are many reports of apparent high evidential value that seemingly fall within the ambit of bona fide scientific investigations.

The following account reminds us that the quest for possible physical evidence for "Min Min Lights" is not without its frustrations.

The reporting witness, Bruce Cheeseman, told me how he and a friend were driving near the Queensland Northern Territory border, out of Tennants Creek, during November 1979. They stopped for a break and also to wait for another truck following them.

The two men saw strange lights, which they took to be "bloody Min Min Lights." The other truck pulled in behind the first. Two aborigines with them became scared of the lights, calling them "debil, debil." They retreated to behind the trucks. The lights appeared to be about 3 feet in diameter and looked like a swirling ball shaped manifestation. The lights would change, ostensibly with the angle of observation, from a very pale grey, misty grey, to a hazy blue. When they moved the lights changed from a blue to a hazy blue, to a light green colour.

As the men closed in on the lights a peculiar smell, likened to ozone, was noticed. Horses, they were carrying on a float, became very agitated, and there was extensive static on the radio, like a very high-speed engine and buzzing noise. These aspects suggest a possible static electricity explanation, albeit a rather amazing form of it. One of the men took photos of the lights at a distance of only 30 feet. This extraordinary phenomenon remained in view for 4 to 6 minutes. As the group closed in on them, the lights went off across a paddock and down towards a gully, disappearing into a washout or "donga".

Here we have multiple witnesses, long duration, electrical interference, apparent animal reactions, a strange smell and photographs. Unfortunately, or predictably some would say, the photos have disappeared, allegedly after they were sent to a university photo lab for developing. So ultimately the prospect of physical evidence (photos no less) proved as elusive as the Min Min Lights themselves.

Explanations for the Min Min Light and other similar "ghost lights" are as numerous and varied as the sightings themselves. In a survey completed in 1981, Australian researcher, Mark Moravec, concluded that "ghost lights" may be:

(1) "Misidentifications of natural phenomena such as wind-blown mists; phospheresence in marshes; spontaneous neuronal discharges in the visual field; clusters of luminescent insects; light refraction effects; ball lightning or other electric discharge.

(2) An unknown natural phenomenon involving low-level air oscillations; or ionisation in geophysically-generated electrical fields (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) or "earth lights" -B.C.).

(3) Psychokinetic or poltergeist effects unconsciously produced by an individual.

(4) Non-physical apparitions/ghosts.

(5) Small, physical UFOs ("remote-control probes")."

As far as the Min Min Light is concerned, these possible explanations vary from not unreasonable to exotic suggestions, to the quite untenable. It seems clear even from this limited survey of "ghost light" phenomena that not all such reports can be relegated to over active imaginations.

Lets consider some of the possible explanations.

Despite what a few of the locals suggest, "small, physical UFOs" are not likely to be among the explanations for the Min Min Light. Only a few accounts may fall into this speculative category, and even these contain elements that suggest they are atypical of the mystery light indigenous to the Boulia area. For example the soaring "strange light" observed by Mr. C. Rhodes and company, at Min Min, back in 1951, seems to have been something entirely different in character to the famous "ghost light" that haunted the very locality of this sighting.

May be it was a "small physical UFO" or in fact a large light source due to the distance involved. The strange apparition at Garah in 1972 also suggests an artificial explanation, but possibly of a most intriguing kind. Such manifestations of small, and ostensibly, artificial "objects" are not rare in the annals of UFO sightings, but because they are somewhat atypical of the Min Min Light sightings, we will not concern ourselves further with them here. They are, it seems, another neglected area of extraordinary phenomena awaiting serious scientific enquiry.

"Non-physical apparitions/ghosts" as an answer for the Min Min Light, might seem consistent with the lore of "ghost lights" but there is no "solid" evidence (no pun intended) for this enduring folklore. In fact we will see shortly that the connection of death and the "ghost lights" (i.e. hauntings) is a legacy of, and a tribute to, the infinite variety of unusual natural phenomena. Likewise, for unconsciously produced "psychic" effects by individuals, if such things are possible.

"Unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAPs) or "earth lights" are fast becoming centres of growing intense interest of critical UFO researchers, who recognise that the extraterrestrial hypothesis for many unexplained UFO sightings, is often the least likely explanation, rather than at best, an entertaining, and as yet, unproven possibility. British researcher, Jenny Randles, suggests that UAPs are earth bound "natural physical mysteries on the threshold of science. There are almost certainly several different UAP types that are reported as UFOs (and for that matter as "ghost lights"-B.C.); earth lights may well be one, extreme forms of ball lightning are another probable kind..." In this article's limited survey, the Bega district phenomenon of 1974, the Garah manifestation of 1972, and Bruce Cheeseman's amazing "Min Min Light" encounter of 1979, are all strong candidates.

Such phenomena are clearly at the limits of science and deserve to be the subject of detailed and sustained scientific enquiries. The pity is that no such interest is evident amongst mainstream science.

The "earth light" theory is an area of fascinating investigation, which is in part an extension of the scientifically respectable "earthquake light" phenomena. At though not proven as a mechanism, many researchers argue that piezoelectric effects under ground, particularly in situations of great geological stress, such as earthquakes, lead to luminescent displays, which sometimes, albeit quite rarely, take the form of balls of light. More often they appear to be more similar to auroral phenomena or even more frequently, localised or widespread, diffuse light glows.

The need for a contemporary history of significant geological stress, of course, limits this explanation as a general contender for "ghost light" reports and specifically largely disqualifies its self as an explanatory mechanism for the Min Min Light reports localised to the Boulia area. Some protagonists of the "piezo-electric earthlight" hypothesis argue that more subtle earth forces may be the causative mechanisms. With such adjustments to their theoretical basis, the mechanism that causes the visual light display becomes almost devastatingly weak, to be almost untenable.

The "earthlight" theorists even invoke a human "interactive" mechanism in which the proposed geophysical and electromagnetic fields could induce hallucinatory experiences that may account for the wide variety of "ghost lights", and even, no less, the more spectacular close encounter UFO experiences. There are obvious drawbacks to these somewhat eclectic hypotheses. None are proven as yet by normal scientific criteria of theory falsification, but researchers in this area are coming up with never the less, interesting correlations in specific localities.

It is however in the area of misidentifications of natural phenomena, that the most promising leads are apparent for explanations of the Min Min Light mystery. "Marsh gas", "swamp gas" or "will-o ' the-wisp" have been invoked as possible explanations, but the mechanisms of burning marsh gas and phosphuretted hydrogen due to decaying matter can be of only limited appeal in the face of accounts that talk of extended duration, and such apparently "controlled" and "purposeful" motion across the countryside, that is more often than not, free of marshy terrain, many accounts talk of steady movement over considerable distances.

Some reports are of such close proximity that the suggestion of "phoshorous" birds, owls for example, brushing against luminescent fungi, also becomes untenable. It certainly seems unreasonable to invoke such a mechanism in Bruce Cheeseman's vivid account. That account is highly suggestive of some sort of unusual electrical phenomena, because of the apparent indications of possible ozone presence and electrical interference noticed on the radio.

Let us now return to a consideration of Detective Lyall Booth's observation of the Min Min Light. Recollect that N. Bauer, the late Queensland Commissioner for police, described Booth's report as "the best authenticated recording of this remarkable phenomenon."

Lyall Booth described two seperate lights. He specifically ruled out car headlights as an explanation since, according to the map accompanying his account in the "Royal Geographical Society of Australia Bulletin", "The main road was further to the North" and vehicle lights "could not be seen plainly from my location." Booth's map shows the road heading in a west-east direction, which certainly would have made it difficult to view car headlights. However, if you consult a detailed map of the area, an interesting detail becomes apparent.

The Boulia-Winton road does indeed travel west to east, just to the north of Booth's position, but just to the North East of his camp, it then travels to the North East. In fact the road does this approximately along the line of sight Booth appears to have had from his camp, in the direction where he saw his first "Min Min light."

This detail then brings to mind a number of possibilities as a cause of the first sighting, namely car headlights, distant ground lights, or other prosaic light sources. Indeed down the Winton road, along the line of sight, some 20 km away, stands the Hamilton River Hotel. Perhaps Booth's first observation could have been due to a light refraction effect, caused by consecutive "hot" and "cold" air "lenses" due to the undulating channel country, and further extended by scintillation and autokinetic effects. The light source could have originally been a car, a house light or otherwise.

In fact a similar mechanism was recently invoked for the Marfa Light of Texas. "Science 84" described how astronomer Eric Silverberg suggested that the mystery lights, which were recently filmed and shown on television, may simply be car headlights "carried over great distances and along writhing paths by atmospheric tunneling, also known as the Novaya Zemlya effect. Large and abrupt temperature variations above the Earth cause sharp changes in the density of the air, bending light in funny ways."

The Novaya Zemlya effect is named after the location of the classic long distance mirage of the sun, observed by artic explorer Willem Barents, north of Siberia, in Siberia, in 1597.

Of course the major difficulty for the Novaya Zemlya effect as a mechanism for the Min Min Light, Marfa "spook light" and other "ghost lights" is the age of many of these legendary lights. We have taken the Min Min legend back to the 1880's, long before cars frequented the locality. Other light sources are still possible (eg. fires, etc), but the possible limitations with this impressive mechanism highlights the most significant factor pertinent in looking for "ghost light" explanations, namely that more than one explanation is apparent, particularly more so when an area becomes intimately associated with a legendary light, as in the case of the Min Min Light.

One of the other probable explanations is an extraordinary example of a natural phenomenon Lyall Booth's second sighting may have been one, namely a light "ball" produced by a swarm of luminescent insects. Before you baulk at that suggestion, consider the following.

Journalist James Oram described the account of a Mr. Allan Camm, who claimed he was once driving a grader on an almost straight stretch of road between Boulia and Dajarra. A "Min Min light" began to follow him, about a quarter of a kilometre behind. Oram quotes Camm as saying, "I aimed, the grader right at it. It was flat ground and I got the grader up to its top speed of about 25 mph. I drove straight into it. It exploded all around me and then I found its secret. The light was made up of millions of glow-worms. In fact, when I got to the pub at Dajarra, I still had the worms in my hair and clothes."

This is a compelling story, but unfortunately Mr. Camm has eluded my attempts to find out more. If he reads this, I hope he will get in touch with me.

A fascinating booklet, "Stars, and Humours of Stars", by Kevin and Sue McClure, which describes extraordinary light phenomena, contemporary with the Welsh religious revival of 1904-5, quotes a newspaper description pertinent to the "ghost light" lore that connects such manifestations with death.

Mr. J. Castell-Evans, a professor of Chemistry, desribed his antecdote in the "Daily News" of February 15th, 1905:

"One of my father's men, while blasting some rock, met with a fatal accident. He had been working alone, so no one knew until the next day when his body was found. The spot, at once, became allegedly haunted, by his ghost in the form of a strange light. Some of us tried to catch it, thinking some scoundrel was playing a wicked trick upon us. But the faster we ran the faster it glided away from us, keeping always just out of our reach.

"Eventually I succeeded in persuading a number of the bolder young fellows to join in a circle round the ghost and close in on it. When we got close enough I put out my hand. The thing was cold. It gave me a nasty shudder. It broke into little bits as I touched it. Then we all bolted. But the ghost was nothing but phosphorescent insects."

Professor Castell-Evans had also encountered another "ghost light" in his youth, near Bala Lake, in the valley of Dee. On this occasion he threw a stone at it. The stone went right through the light, and "the ball broke into a thousand little pieces... A few moments later the little pieces joined together again; and once more the ball of light went dancing down over the course of the stream. It was nothing but a cluster of luminescent insects."

Bioluminescence in insects is a well known phenomenon, being a "cold light" produced via chemiluminescence with luciferm reacting with the enzyme luciferase. More detail would be required to determine which species of insect was involved in Mr. Camm's report. Glow-worms are the larvae of small flies of the Arachnocampa genus, Family Mycetophilidae. A constant pale green glow is given off by the larvae, but this is often extinguished if disturbed if disturbed. The adult female fly is generally unable to fly, but it has a strongly luminescent yellow underside, designed to attract the male fly. The female fly's light is visible up to 100 yards. The flying males have two, very tiny light sources at the tips of the abdomens, which produce a weaker light.

Australian luminescent fireflies, as distinct to glow worms, are beetles of the Lampyridae family, genera Luciola and Atyphella. In adults the light produced is bright, but unlike the glow worm is only emitted in brief flashes. Unlike tropical species, Australian fireflies do not form impressive swarms with synchronised light emissions.

In the case of Mr. Camm's account, if the 'light" followed him, it appears unlikely that it could have been "glow worms", but rather some type of winged insect was involved. Another difficulty with the "glow worm" explanation is the problem of a dull light emission being generally involved with the insect population. This anomaly is a clear challenge to the biologist to resolve. To both isolate and replicate such a form of sustained bright, natural light would be a major development. Already some camping light sticks work on a similar principle, but if the brilliance of some "ghost lights" was due to an insect species or the like, then replication would have some real dividends.

The Min Min Light is many things. First and most paramount, is that it is and perhaps always will be, an enduring part of Australian folklore. The explanation for the light lies in a number of areas, particularly amongst a range of unusual natural phenomena. For example, it has been caused by luminescent insects and long distant, mirage effects. It has also been many other things over the years. There is no one unique explanation for the Min Min Light.

Attempts to explain the light, even if successful, will not harm the legend that is the Min Min Light. Instead, if the mystery is resolved as fascinating examples of natural phenomena (as this article has suggested), the locality of the Min Min Light's hauntings, may simply translate into a site of enduring significance, as manifestations of marvellous natural phenomena and attendant folklore. While the mystery may wane somewhat, the power and complexity of nature may be enhanced. Therein nature is unbound.

The Min Min Light presents a challenge. We have a wealth of anecdotal accounts describing extraordinary phenomena. If more detailed accounts are forthcoming, Some better answers may be possible. The long term nature of the history of the light's presence in the Boulia area represents a further real challenge. If a pattern of appearance can be determined and the lights themselves regularly viewed, we could be provided with a rare chance to do some real science in a controversial area, and a great opportunity to preserve and enrich a wonderful folklore.

The author would like to thank Del George (Boulia Shire Councillor), Cliff Donohue (former Boulia Councillor), the Royal Geographical Society of Australiasia (Queensland), Dr. Ralph Molnar (Queensland Museum), and Dr. Michael Hough for their assistance in some of the research that lead to this article.

Lyall Booth's account was quoted with the permission of the Royal Geographical Society of Australiasia from N.W. Bauer's article "A Mystery unsolved - the story of the Min Min Light", Royal Geographical Society of Australiasia Bulletin, Vol.7, No.1, January, 1982.

Mr. C. Rhodes' account was quoted with the permission of Stan Seers from his book, "UFOs- the Case for Scientific Myopia".

The list of "ghost light" explanations was quoted with permission from Mark Moravec's study "Psiufo Phenomena", published by the Australian Centre for UFO Studies.

The author would like to hear from readers who have information about phenomena similar to what has been covered in this article. He can be contacted c/- P.O. Box 42, West Pennant Hills, NSW, 2125, Australia.

Addendum:

AN "EARTH LIGHT INFESTATION" ON A REMOTE ABORIGINAL SETTLEMENT IN NORTHERNAUSTRALIA
By Bill Chalker

Late in 1995, the well known "earth lights" researcher and author, Paul Devereux, travelled to a remote location in northern Australia, with Erling Strand, a Norwegian engineer (who wrote the Project Hessdalen report, covering the extraordinary depth of recurring nocturnal light activity at the remote Hessdalen Valley) and a cameraman. They were there for 11 nights attempting to document the extent of recurring light phenomena. Dr. David Seargent and I had been assisting Paul Devereux, trying to establish whether the locality did indeed play host to recurring anomalous light phenomena.

This possibility represents great opportunities for serious researchers to actively interact with unusual phenomena in the context of possible repeatable observations and experiments -- potent mainstays of the scientific method. We were open minded as to what was going on there. The most intriguing possibility was that at this remote aboriginal property we had a recurring anomolous light "infestation" that offered researchers exciting opportunities to document and attempt to understand the nature of the display events. At the very least we were dealing with an area rich in "min min light" style reports and other anomalies.

Our research into the area confirmed that aboriginals in the area were witnessing recurring light shows but its repeatability was questionable. Aboriginals and white people described sighting a variety of strange lights and other experiences. Some of these experiences were also occuring in localities further north. These included transient white lights and "bubble shaped" jelly-like things that floated about. One of these came down near the ground and a man approached it with a cigarette lighter. It appeared to sublimate on contact to a precipitate. On another occassion the same man witnessed a luminscent "bubble" appear to take on the form of a person in what seemed to be a silver suit. [1]

That incident reminded me of a strange event that befell the wife and 2 daughters of a well known country and western singer (whose name is known to me). On a road south of Broome one night in about 1971, while travelling in a truck, towing a caravan, some distance behind the singer's vehicle, they observed a light on the side of the road. Thinking the singer had pulled off, they investigated. Instead they found that the light came from an extremely large humanoid "figure", bathed in a luminous glow. One hand was outstreched in which there was some sort of ball of light.

The "ball" bounced up and down from the ground to the figure's hand, rather in the manner of a yo-yo. The 3 witnesses found they were surrounded by thousands of small mushroom shaped lights, arranged in regular patterned rows as far as the eye could see. Although frightened, they were able to turn the vehicle around and as they drove out each row would go out with the truck tires impact. Whatever it was they were pleased to leave it behind. [2]

Devereux, Strand and company did not see any substantial light activity during their stay, but there were some intriguing events. When they observed flickering lights on hills to the south, their magnetometer started registering anomalies for several hours. The lights however lasted only a few minutes. Devereux characterised the magnetic anomalies as registering some 800 times above normal terrestrial fields. There were other less compelling observations. Local aboriginals were helpful.

Some were in a state of excitement as they had been "buzzed" by a large white light. Paul Devereux was impressed enough to believe that the area warrants further monitoring. Given the sensitivity and scientific nature of the project, the locality needs to been kept reasonably confidential. Otherwise the potential for further research and the privacy of the aboriginal owners may be compromised. [3]

1:
Personal research by Bill Chalker & David Seargent, 1993 - 1996
Personal communications with Paul Devereux, 1993 - 1996
2:
Personal communication from James Oram, 1975
The Last Showman - Larry Dulhunty's Larrikin Life by James Oram, 1992
3:
Ibid 1.
Extract from "Report on an expedition to the Eastern Kimberley/Cambridge Gulf, Australia, to investigate reports of Anomolous Light Phenomena in that region, 28 September - 14 October, 1995" by Paul Devereux (March, 1997)

Seargent had also put Devereux onto Bill Chalker, an industrial chemist living in New South Wales, who is well-known in the international UFO literature for sensible, objective reporting on anomalous phenomena in Australia.

Chalker has contacts in the Kimberley area, and was able to confIrm from his own knowledge that the region had been a source of UFO reports for at least 20 years. As well as providing written notation on the history of reported light phenomena in the Kimberley area, Cha1ker kindly made further enquiries on behalf of
Devereux/ICRL (and we gratefully acknowledge his considerable efforts).

Chalker was able to determine that the salt flats areas described by Harrington were mainly in the southern part of the huge Oombulgurri Aborigine reservation, between the Cockburn and Millington ranges. He spoke with various tribal members and also set up a direct phonecall between Devereux and the Nulla Nulla encampment (via field telephone). .It became clear that the lights were known to these people, though the current incidence levels were hard to interpret from the Aborigines' comments -they seemed to pay little attention to the phenomena and to consider questions about them from outsiders to be somewhat strange.

Nevertheless, they seemed prepared to allow an expedition onto their land should that be required, and to indicate areas prone to light phenomena appearances -though they warned that the lights "wouldn't appear
if you went looking for them". It also transpired that Malyarka was currently abandoned, with only Nulla Nulla being occupied.

Chalker furnished Devereux/ICRL with useful contact phone numbers, including those of the former and current tribal heads, and for Home Valley Station, located just outside the Oombulgurri reservation, owned by the Sinnamon family, for whom Harrington had worked. It was the closest location to the reported light phenomena incidence areas that had the potential of providing an expeditionary HQ facility.

Paul Devereux and Peter Brookesmith describe describes the Kimberley "window" in some more detail in their book "UFOs & Ufology" (1997) pgs.152-155.

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