Neville Peat

• Name — Neville Peat • Honorific Suffix — MNZM • Office — Dunedin City Councillor • Term Start — 2013 • Term End — 2016 • Office2 — Otago Regional Councillor • Term Start2 — 1998 • Term End2 — 2007 • Birth Name — Neville Douglas Peat • Born — 29 November 1947 • Birthplace — Dunedin, New Zealand • Died — 1 March 2026 • Place of death — Dunedin, New Zealand • Occupation — * Author • photographer

Peat was born in Dunedin on 29 November 1947, the son of Ernie Peat and Jessie Peat (née Ayson). His heritage is Scottish, described as a fifth-generation descendant of Scottish pioneers in Otago. He was an elected member of the Otago Regional Council from 1998 to 2007, and was its deputy chairperson from 2004 to 2007. He stood down in 2007 to take up the Creative New Zealand Michael King Writers' Fellowship, during which he completed a comprehensive book on the Tasman Sea, The Tasman: Biography of an Ocean. In 2013, Peat was elected to the Dunedin City Council, and served one term before standing down in 2016. In 2004, Peat was behind moves to create an official flag for Otago. This culminated in a competition run through the auspices of the Otago Daily Times newspaper and Otago Polytechnic School of Art towards the end of that year. Peat published over 40 titles including those on regional national history of New Zealand and on national birds such as the kiwi and New Zealand falcon. Peat died in Dunedin Hospital on 1 March 2026, at the age of 78.