Geoffrey Orbell

Geoffrey Buckland Orbell MBE (7 October 1908 – 14 August 2007) was a New Zealand 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 and heard a strange bird call. After following the footprints with three companions, he rediscovered three of 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.

Geoffrey Orbell

Geoffrey Buckland Orbell MBE (7 October 1908 – 14 August 2007) was a New Zealand 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 and heard a strange bird call. After following the footprints with three companions, he rediscovered three of 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.