Allan & Lois,

The Peel River starts in the ranges south of the New England plateau near a
village called Nundle and runs through or past the villages of Bowling Alley
Point, Woolomin, Dungowan and Nemingah before running through the city of
Tamworth then near the villages of Attunga, Somerton and Carroll before
joining the Namoi river at Keepit Dam. It is approximately 120 kilometres long.
I presume therefore that the name Peel River could have belonged to a
village r area along the river that was later changed or belong only to the
river as a whole. The area around Nundle at the headwaters was once a
goldfield teeming with miners and probably had several 'towns' that
dissapeared before my time.
The Tamworth public library probably has records on that area and era or you
could contact the University of New England at Armidale for more extensive
records.

Lots of luck with your search.

Nevyl