Yes, it would appear he went missing just a few months before the Kaikoura sightings.
(Note: the disappearance of young pilot Frederick Valentich over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, while he was describing an unidentified object that flew back and forth over his plane, had also attracted immense worldwide interest in October 1978.
This case has been presented by OzWeatherman in this very good thread: AboveTopSecret.com: Conspiracy Theories, UFOs, Politics, and Many Other "Alternative Topics"...)
This is actually mentioned halfway down the first page of my link.
More on Fred V appears here....
What Happened to Frederick Valentich? Possibly the scariest UFO case ever, page 1