Peter Waite

Peter Waite (9 May 1834 – 4 April 1922) was a South Australian pastoralist, businessman, company director and public benefactor. Waite's philanthropic endeavors provided significant benefit to the University of Adelaide and to local public schools, and generations of students have benefited from his largesse.

Career Waite was born at Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, son of James Waite, a farmer, and his wife Elizabeth, née Stocks. Waite was left fatherless.

On 21 November 1864 Waite married his first cousin Matilda Methuen (d.1922), a daughter of James Methuen of Leith, Scotland. Together they had eight children. The Waite Institute was established on the site in 1924.

The donation remains one of the largest public benefactions in South Australian history. The Waite Institute has developed into an integrated research and teaching precinct that has been presented as a model for the collocation of agricultural research institutions.