Peter Seton Hay (1852–19 March 1907) was a New Zealand civil engineer and public servant. He was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland on 12 July 1852. He was brought to Dunedin in April 1860. In 1875, he joined the Public Works Department, as an engineering cadet, and was awarded a University of Otago BA in 1877 and an MA in 1878. He married Mary Clarke on 22 April 1879 and was survived by her, four sons and a daughter. Peter Seton Hay helped build parts of the Main South Line,

Central Otago Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River and tributa ...

Midland Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...

and

Catlins River The Catlins River flows southeastward through The Catlins, an area of the southern South Island of New Zealand. Its total length is , and it flows into the Pacific Ocean at the holiday settlement of Pounawea, south of Balclutha. Its upper est ...

railways, before moving to the Wellington head office in 1884. His works then included

Timaru Harbour Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

, the NIMT (with the Makohine, Mangaweka, Hapuawhenua, Taonui, Manganui-a-te-ao and Makatote viaducts), Awatere bridge;

Farewell Spit Lighthouse The Farewell Spit Lighthouse is located at the end of New Zealand's longest sand spit in Golden Bay / Mohua, near the northern tip of the South Island. It guides vessels entering Cook Strait from the west and south. The LED rotating beacon flash ...

, Rakaia Gorge Bridge, Christchurch Exhibition towers, Motueka Harbour and reports on the

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

potential of the Waikato, Waikaremoana, Mangawhero–Wanganui and Lakes Coleridge, Hawea, Te Anau and Manapouri. In 1906 he was promoted to engineer-in-chief, but died the next year, aged 54, of pleurisy, after several months in hospital, following exposure whilst inspecting the railway near Waiouru.

References

1853 births 1907 deaths Engineers from Glasgow New Zealand public servants Scottish emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand engineers 20th-century New Zealand engineers New Zealand people in rail transport {{NewZealand-gov-bio-stub