Geoffrey Buckland Orbell (7 October 1908 – 14 August 2007) was a New Zealand doctor and keen

tramper Tramping, known elsewhere as backpacking, rambling, hill walking or bushwalking, is a popular activity in New Zealand. Tramping is defined as a recreational activity involving walking over rough country. Trampers often carry a backpack and we ...

(bush walker) who was responsible for the rediscovery of the

takahē The South Island takahē (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') is a flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently ...

in 1948.

Biography

Orbell grew up on a farm at

Pukeuri Pukeuri is a settlement to the north of Oamaru in the North Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located near the coast in the Waitaki District that straddles the border of Otago and Canterbury. The settlement's major employer i ...

, near

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

, in New Zealand's South Island. His father, Lionel Orbell, was a farmer and his mother, Rachel Buckland, was a watercolour artist. Orbell attended Waitaki Boys High School, Oamaru and Christ's College, Christchurch, before graduating in medicine from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, Dunedin. He completed further studies in Melbourne, Australia, and at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, and practised as an ear, eye, nose and throat specialist in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

The takahē had been last sighted in 1898 and was widely thought to be extinct but Orbell suspected it might have survived. He had been interested in the bird since childhood and had read widely about it. He was convinced that if it still existed, it might be found in the

Murchison Mountains The Murchison Mountains are a group of mountains in Fiordland National Park in New Zealand. It is the location where the South Island takahē, a type of bird presumed extinct, was rediscovered in 1948. The highest mountain is Mount Lyall at . ...

west of

Lake Te Anau Lake Te Anau is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the larg ...

. In April 1948, Orbell and friends Rex Watson and Neil McCrostie went into the area. Orbell heard bird calls he did not recognise, and found tracks that convinced him the takahē existed. The same group, plus Joan Telfer, returned to the area in November of the same year. While searching, Orbell again discovered a set of unfamiliar footprints and heard a strange bird call. After following the footprints, Orbell rediscovered three of the species on 20 November 1948 in a remote valley. 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 elected to the

Invercargill City Council Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

in 1941 and was appointed to the inaugural

Invercargill Licensing Trust The Invercargill Licensing Trust, (ILT), is a licensing trust in the city of Invercargill in New Zealand. It has a monopoly on the development of premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages, and associated accommodation in the city; and u ...

board in 1944. In the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in ''The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The reci ...

, he was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for scientific work. He retired from medical practice at the age of 70, after 46 years in practice, and in later years lived in

Mosgiel Mosgiel (Māori: ''Te Konika o te Matamata'') is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin ...

, near

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. Orbell died on 14 August 2007. He is buried at Invercargill's St John's Cemetery.

Personal life

In 1935 Orbell married Sheila Houston. The couple had four children together. His aunt was photographer Jessie Buckland and his grandfather was politician John Buckland. His great-aunt was artist and translator

Elizabeth Hocken Elizabeth Mary Hocken (née Buckland; 25 October 1848 – 19 April 1933), was a New Zealand artist and translator. Biography Hocken was born in Auckland on 25 October 1848 to merchants William Buckland and Susan (née Channing). On 24 July 188 ...

References

External links

New Zealand Herald: Takahe man dies at 98

* ttp://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2878756.ece Obituary, ''The Independent'', 20 August 2007br>Obituary, ''The Times'', 29 September 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orbell, Geoffrey 1908 births 2007 deaths New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century New Zealand medical doctors People educated at Waitaki Boys' High School People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch University of Otago alumni People from Oamaru New Zealand conservationists Invercargill City Councillors Invercargill Licensing Trust Board members Buckland family Fairburn–Newman family Burials at St John's Cemetery, Invercargill