death_place death_date birth_place birth_date article_title name occupation
dunedin , new zealand 15 august 2007 pukeuri , new zealand 7 october 1908 geoffrey orbell
 geoffrey orbell doctor
geoffrey orbell

geoffrey buckland orbell -lrb- 7 october 1908 -- 15 august 2007 -rrb- 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 .
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 appointed a member of the order of the british empire for scientific work in the 1953 coronation honours .
he retired from medicine at the age of 70 and in later years lived in mosgiel , near dunedin , new zealand .
