Geoffrey Orbell

Geoffrey Buckland Orbell MBE (7 October 1908 – 14 August 2007) was a New Zealand doctor and keen tramper (bush walker) who was responsible for the rediscovery of the takahē in 1948.

His father, Lionel Orbell, was a farmer and his mother, Rachel Buckland, was a watercolour artist.

[1] Orbell attended Waitaki Boys High School, Oamaru and Christ's College, Christchurch, before graduating in medicine from the University of Otago, Dunedin.

Orbell heard bird calls he did not recognise, and found tracks that convinced him the takahē existed.

While searching, Orbell again discovered a set of unfamiliar footprints and heard a strange bird call.