Lance Richdale
Born at Marton, New Zealand and educated in Wanganui, Richdale became a teacher based in Dunedin after obtaining a diploma in 1922 from Hawkesbury Agricultural College near Sydney, Australia.[1] Richdale's main ornithological interest was in seabirds, especially penguins and petrels, and he was engaged in long-term studies of various species for most of his life.He was the driving force to gain protection for the colony of northern royal albatrosses at Taiaroa Head, Otago, after discovering the first successful fledgling there in 1938.[2] Richdale completed a Master's degree at the University of Otago in 1935, with a thesis on the history of agricultural education in New Zealand.[citation needed] In 2016, Richdale's archival documents of his ornithological studies, held in the Hocken Collections in Dunedin, were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Ngā Mahara o te Ao register.