Seldom does one come across such a sensational, yet neatly wound, string of fantasy as this.  I recently stumbled upon an article, which was a lengthy excerpt from a website, no longer operating, by a Mr.Marius Boirayon; Research Director of the Solomon Anthropological Expedition Trust Board Incorporated. (His story can be found here.)

Boirayon, an Australian born helicopter pilot/engineer, turned Gaudalean (by marriage to a Guadalcanal woman), has been outspoken about the “indigenous Giants” living throughout the Solomon Islands in the area of Papa New Guinea.  This self-proclaimed anthropologist has published several articles and at least one book on the subject of these so-called throwbacks to our ancient missing link hominid cousins, claiming that the dense tropical jungles on the many islands in the Solomon Island chain are home to a lasting civilization of Bigfoot type giants.  He did all this without getting an MBA online or a degree from a college.

According to Marius Boirayon, the unique cultures that have developed on these islands are the direct result of social influences exerted on the indigenous people by these so-called giants, most notably as a result of the cannibalistic tendencies of these creatures.

The story begins with a cursory description of the beasts; tall, ranging between 10 and 25 feet to be precise, and possessing a strength that is unmatched in the animal kingdom.  They are said to have a variety of complexions, from completely covered in medium to long red, black or brown fur, to nearly hairless and human looking, were it not for their immense size.

Local folk lore is said to be chock full of stories, morals and warnings about the creatures, and has in fact dominated their habitation rituals to the point that the centre cores of each island are inhabited only by the giants, and no men go into the jungle.

A quick search on Google Earth reveals the real reason why they keep to the coastal regions on these islands, the most obvious being the density of the jungle and the mountainous nature of the terrain.

But I get ahead of myself to easily.

Boirayon details many accounts across several islands (and in this particular article it is often difficult to tell what island he’s talking about at any point) of locals reporting sightings of, interacting with and being fearful of encounters with their Giants.  According to Boirayon, the islands have been inhabited by these creatures for a millennium and thus, it is mankind that is encroaching on the Giants territory.

Though that analogy may give you the wrong impression, we’re not talking about animals here, not beasts but intelligent and spiritual hominids, distant relatives of humanity whose evolution has been dictated by the harsh jungle environment in which they have survived.  These hominids that in comparrasin to our culture would have a masters in Geographic Information Technology.

The story explains that these Giants reside in a vast cave network below and around the islands, a network that may connect the islands through undersea tunnels, and that there have been loosely defined borders to human and giant territories.

Boirayon gruesomely details the cannibalistic deaths of entire villages at the hands of “Killer Giants”, apparently a rogue faction of the creatures who deemed humans to be a suitable food source among the scarce animal stock available on the islands.  This apparently was put to an end at the close of a faction war, and a promise was made to a Gaudal clergyman by the Chief Giant, that no more human deaths would occur at the hands of Giants.

What strikes me about this accounting of such a bizarre history is that there is no evidence beyond the anecdotal testimony of random natives and this self-proclaimed anthropologist.  He points out opportunities that were lost to him, for undeclared reasons, to photograph the caves of the giants, to obtain artefacts of hair, tools and even structures, and even to have met and photographed the creatures in person; always the convenient excuse, to claim unforeseen circumstances in the face of scepticism.

Mr. Boirayon even attempts to play the allied pride card and tells of an unheard of Japanese retreat from the islands during WWI, due to the collective retaliation of the giants.

I find it distasteful that Mr. Boirayon would present such information, on a grand public scale, in the guise of fundraising for archaeological research, without so much as a single shred of evidence to back up his claim beyond a feeble “if you don’t believe me, go ask someone who lives on the island”.

It seems now that his reputation has suffered for the coverage of this story, and in an effort to support his earlier claims he has now offered a new story, or rather, an interwoven alternate to the Giants theory, which now includes a third species of humanoid living among the islands; this new faction of course, being aliens.

Boirayon now claims that the Solomon Islands are home to the largest network of underground extraterrestrial bases in the world.  He details locations to base entrances, makes reference to American officials who are aware of and cooperating with said aliens, and in a move that is reminiscent of Orson Wells, ‘War of the Worlds’, describes these beings as human-like with green scaly skin, much like a reptile.  To top it all off, he claims that their technology allows them to fly around the island without a craft of any kind and that they do so near nightly on Gaudacanal.

You can most likely glean from the tone of my accounting that I am somewhat sceptical of both lines of theory.  I cannot accept as true, something that has been presented in such a way as to sensationalise the growing military plight of an indigenous people.  It seems that Mr. Boirayon may have cause to draw commercial attention to the Solomon Islands, government strife, military occupation, civil disagreement…all of these things have plagued the area for decades, and global news attention would serve the political agenda of the people well.  However, all of these things also make it even less likely that there are ancient giant hairy men or alien bases in this area of the world.

Is the story true or false?  I honestly don’t have an answer, but in this case I hold to my scepticism and wait for someone more qualified than Marius Boirayon to investigate and make claim on this unbelievable story.