Neville Peat, New Zealand natural history writer and photographer, died on March 1, 2026, aged 78.
Born in Dunedin in 1947, he was based at Broad Bay on the Otago Peninsula and specialised in natural history, particularly the south of New Zealand and the country’s subantarctic islands. He wrote more than 40 titles from the late 1970s and worked full-time as a writer from 1986.
Peat was elected to the Otago Regional Council in 1998 and served as deputy chairperson from 2004 to 2007. In 2013, he was elected to the Dunedin City Council and served one term.
Neville Douglas Peat MNZM (29 November 1947 – 1 March 2026) was a New Zealand author and photographer, based at Broad Bay on the Otago Peninsula. He specialised in topics about natural history, notably that of southern New Zealand and New Zealand’s subantarctic islands. Peat wrote over 40 titles from the late 1970s and wrote full-time from 1986.