TONY JONES, PRESENTER: Michael Peterson, one of the greats of surfing, has died in Queensland at the age of 59.

In the 1970s, Peterson was the most famous surfer in the world, but he suffered from schizophrenia which went undiagnosed for years.

The man known as MP declined most interviews and lived with his mother near his old haunts on the Gold Coast.

It's believed Michael Peterson died of a heart attack.