Born in Helensville, Narbey was educated at the Elam School of Fine Arts, specialising in sculpture.
In the mid-1970s, he shot the Geoff Steven documentary Te Matakite o Aotearoa, about the 1975 Māori land march.
In 1978 he made Bastion Point: Day 507 with Merata Mita and Gerd Pohlmann, which he also edited and co-produced.
Later he continued his partnership with Steven on three documentaries shot in China in 1979, including Gung Ho (about Rewi Alley) and The Humble Force.
[1] In the 1990s Narbey worked extensively with documentary director Shirley Horrocks on productions including Pleasures and Dangers, Act of Murder, Flip and Two Twisters, and Early Days Yet.