Born in Auckland and growing up on the West Coast, Bush had been taking pictures since the 1940s.
He began capturing the All Blacks on his first assignment as a news photographer for the New Zealand Herald in 1949.
"He is renowned as a rugby photographer and is as much a part of rugby in New Zealand as any of the players he has photographed," his biography on the Peter Bush photography website said.
"His images are fundamental to the mana rugby holds in New Zealand, and his extensive portfolio of work appeals to a broad cross-section of people."
Bush also captured many key social and cultural events, both in New Zealand and overseas, including many from New Zealand’s involvement in the Malaya Emergency during the 1950s.
During his career he documented the sinking of the Wahine, the arrival of Cliff Richard, the Beatles, David Bowie, Eartha Kitt, and the 1981 Springbok tour.
In 2010, his work was the subject of a successful exhibition, ‘Hard on the Heels’, that toured New Zealand and overseas.
The exhibition gathered many of Bush’s iconic photographs over 60 years, including images of many of the All Black legends, such as Bob Scott, Wilson Whineray, Ian Kirkpatrick, Colin Meads, Graham Mourie and Jonah Lomu.
Bush, in recent years, handed over management of his collection, estimated to be around 300,000 images, to his daughter Rachel.
Early this year, his collection was donated to Palmerston North’s Te Manawa Museum, enabling the collection to remain in Aotearoa and be available for future generations.
Rachel said at the time the family is delighted to have found a home for his work.
"It means the collection will remain in Aotearoa and [be] available for future generations," she said.
"Te Manawa and the rugby museum are natural homes for Peter’s work, which spans not only rugby, but a lifetime of capturing significant moments in New Zealand’s history."
Bush passed away peacefully at age 93 on December 16 and is survived by his partner Jane, his two daughters Trinette and Rachel, and grandchildren.
