"I've never seen anything like it.
"It was quite a sight to see."
It did not look like a comet because it did not have the tail of a comet, he said.
The mystery of its origins made him wonder if it was possible it was an UFO.
Treadwell said he had been recently told by friend that it might have been Rocket Lab's Humanity Star.
An answer that would still make the orange bright dot in the sky a rare sighting.
By Rocket Lab's calculations it should not be visible in the night sky in New Zealand until late February.
The Humanity Star was launched by Rocket Lab on January 22.
It is a geodesic sphere with 65 highly reflective panels that reflect the sun's light back to Earth as it spins rapidly through space.
"My eldest daughter keeps reminding me of who found it first," Treadwell said.
"I'm intrigued to find out if anybody else had seen it."