Gilbert Edward Archey was born in Marygate, Yorkshire, England, in 1890 and emigrated to New Zealand with his family at the age of two. In 1913, he gained an MA with honours in zoology from Canterbury College. During the First World War he served with the New Zealand Field Artillery and was appointed an OBE (military) in 1919. Archey was Auckland Museum Director for 40 years, from 1924 to 1964, overseeing the move to the present building which opened in 1929. He was active in the Royal Society of New Zealand, becoming a Fellow in 1932 and RSNZ President from 1942 to 1943. Archey was awarded an honorary DSc in 1941, appointed a CBE in 1958, and knighted in 1963. He died in 1974.