Geoffrey Orbell

Infobox Person
name = Geoffrey Orbell


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = birth date|1908|10|7
birth_place = Pukeuri, New Zealand
death_date = death date and age|2007|8|15|1908|10|7
death_place = Dunedin, New Zealand
occupation = Doctor

Geoffrey Orbell (October 7, 1908 – August 15, 2007) was a doctor and keen tramper/bush walker best known for the rediscovery of the Takahē in 1948. The Takahē was widely thought to be extinct but Orbell suspected it might survive. While taking time off from his Invercargill practice to search for the Takahē, he discovered a set of unfamiliar footprints. After following the footprints with three companions he rediscovered the species on 20 November 1948 in a remote valley of the Murchison Mountains near Lake Te Anau. A lake in the valley was named Lake Orbell in his honour.

Orbell was one of the founders of the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association and was its first president, holding the position from 1938 to 1952. He was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 1953. He retired from medicine at the age of 70 and in later years lived in MosgielFact|date=August 2007, near Dunedin, New Zealand.

External links

* [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10458022 New Zealand Herald: Takahe man dies at 98]
* [http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4166852a7693.html Rediscoverer of the takahe dies at 98]
* [http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/2007/08/16/118590/New-Zealand.htm The China Post: New Zealand doctor who rediscovered rare bird dies]
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2878756.ece Obituary, "The Independent", 20 August 2007]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2553033.ece Obituary, "The Times", 29 September 2007]

References

* [http://www.kcc.org.nz/birds/takahe.asp Takahe Fact Sheet] , Kiwi Conservation Club
*cite news |author=Associated Press |title=New Zealand doctor who rediscovered rare flightless bird dies aged 98 |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/15/asia/AS-GEN-New-Zealand-Obit-Orbell.php |work=International Herald Tribune |date=2007-08-15 |accessdate=2007-08-15