Peter Thomson

c. 1872

Dunedin Naturalists’ Field Club Archives

Unpublished

In 1862, Peter Thomson (1823-79) arrived in Dunedin from St Andrews, Scotland with his first wife and three children. He worked at the Otago Daily Times and the Otago Witness as a proof-reader. In 1871, he suggested that ‘gentlemen [who] associated for the purpose of studying the natural history of the district surrounding Dunedin’ should form an interest group. The first field trip to the Leith Valley took place in September. In October 1872 the first official meeting of the Dunedin Naturalists’ Field Club (DNFC) was held at the Otago Museum. J. S. Webb was duly elected first president, and the rules were decided upon; one of which was ‘Ladies are eligible for membership’.