Dr. Peter Lavarack, known to everyone as 'Bill', gained a PhD degree on numerical taxonomy of orchids. He has worked as a botanist and planner in the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service for almost 30 years and has lead several scientific expeditions to Cape York and Torres Strait for the Australian Orchid Foundation, collecting orchid data. He has compiled management plans for national parks in tropical Queensland and was responsible for drafting legislation for the protection of rare and threatened plants including many orchids. He is the author of two books and about 100 papers, both popular and scientific, mostly on orchids. He lives with his wife Beverley in Townsville.
Dr. Geoff Stocker is a forester by training who has specialised in the ecology and management of tropical forests in north Australia and Papua New Guinea. He also has farming interests on the Atherton Tableland in north Queensland where he and wife Jacquie run beef cattle and have a small nursery specialising in orchid species. He has worked extensively in New Guinea over 30 years and has a detailed knowledge of high altitude orchids on New Guinea.