Peter Entwisle

Peter Malcolm William Entwisle (20 September 1948 – 14 March 2018) was a New Zealand art historian and writer, notably on the history of Dunedin and of New Zealand art.

Early life Entwisle's parents both worked within the book industry. His father, Arnold, had been born in Cheshire, and moved to London where he worked as a buyer for a bookshop. Here he met Mary Crabb, who worked at Hogarth Press for Leonard Woolf. They married in 1936. After serving in World War II, Arnold got a scholarship to Oxford University, and gained a degree in history.

Peter was born in Newmarket, Suffolk, England in 1948. He had three sisters, Jane, Susan and Sarah. Peter was the third child. In 1952, the family moved to Kuala Lumpur in Malaya, where Arnold worked in the British Colonial Service. The family moved from there to Dunedin in 1955, where Arnold had gained a post as a lecturer at the University of Otago. From a young age, Peter became acquainted with many of the city's top literary and intellectual names, whom his father had become friends with through his university work. These included the circle of poets and artists who surrounded Charles Brasch. It was Brasch who awakened Entwisle's interest in Dunedin's history and architecture. He also curated a number of art exhibitions.

Heritage and conservation work Entwisle was involved in the preservation of Dunedin's architectural heritage, and was involved in several campaigns including those against structural changes to the exterior of the Dunedin Municipal Chambers and against the construction of the Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza. He stood for the office of Mayor of Dunedin in 1980 as part of a campaign against the building of an aluminium smelter at Aramoana.

Death Entwisle died on 14 March 2018 due to illness at his home in central Dunedin.