Appearing in the night as strange moving lights which brighten, fade, seem to approach and suddenly vanish, supernatural causes have long been suggested by drovers along the wallaby track.
However, UFO sleuth Barry Von Münchausen took leave from his day job at Andamooka to travel to Boulia last year to thoroughly research this phenomenon, and he claims that there is alien intelligence at work. Barry contends that these lights are land based probes launched from UFO's to examine life on Earth, and said that they were commonly seen by patrons on their way home from Bush pubs at night.
He is not as yet certain whether this is because the aliens are precisely targeting country drinkers, or whether a certain blood alcohol level enhances the eye's ability to detect probes operating at wavelengths normally outside the human range.
He refers to naked eye sightings of the Horsehead Nebula and the Helix Nebula at South Pacific Star Parties by amateurs who had consumed not more than two bottles of Star Port.
Indeed, a reported sighting by a startled drinker one evening during a night running of the World Famous lizard races at Eulo during the 1980s may well have been the prime cause of him stumbling and accidentally killing the world-champion racing cockroach known as "Destructo".
What the alien's intentions are is not clear. They may well be friendly, and the failure of any apology being transmitted to operation SETI about Destructo's demise by the aliens may simply mean that they were unaware of this tragedy and of their contribution to it.
On the other hand, pursuing Queensland drivers down remote rural roads when they are in such a condition that they are fully occupied with the task of staying ON the road without aliens adding to their problems, may hint at irresponsibility if not ill intent on the part of a nominally superior species.
The Australian Hotels Association has appealed for calm.