Peter Cahill was born in 1935 on the island of Samarai, Papua New Guinea. Peter’s family was evacuated to Australia after the Japanese invasion of Papua New Guinea during World War II. The family returned to Port Moresby, and later Rabaul, after World War II. Cahill completed his high-school education at a boarding school in Australia. Peter returned to Papua New Guinea and worked in various government departments. During this time, Cahill completed a Bachelor of Arts degree externally through the University of Queensland. Cahill later completed a Master of Arts degree through the University of Pauapa New Guinea. In 1973, Cahill, and his young family, moved to Brisbane, Australia. After completing a Graduate Diploma in Library Science, Cahill worked at the University of Queensland Library until his retirement. During the 1980s, Cahill completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree through the University of Queensland. He wrote and published two books in 2012 and 2017 about the history of Chinese people in Rabaul. Cahill created a collection of documents, photos and other materials from the Papua New Guinea Association of Australia (PNGAA) as a research resource in the Fryer Library at the University of Queensland. Cahill passed away in 2022.