Legacy to the arts will last for years
Bill Sheat has an unusual claim to fame – he turned down Peter Jackson’s first funding application to the Film Commission.
Although he liked to joke about saying ‘‘no’’ to Jackson, Sheat will be remembered for generations for his impact on the arts, both nationally and in Wellington.
His career in the arts spanned more than 60 years and, in that time, he was involved with just about every aspect of the performing arts in Wellington.
Sheat, who has died of cancer aged 90, played a leading role in the construction of the Hannah Playhouse (which later became Downstage), chaired the Embassy Theatre Trust and the New Zealand Film Festival Trust, and was influential in saving the Embassy Theatre and Opera House from the wrecking ball. He was also pivotal in setting up the New Zealand Film Commission, serving as its inaugural chair for seven years.
For someone entrenched in the arts scene, his background was more typical of an All Black than a major figure in the arts world. Born in 1930, he was raised on the family farm near Opunake, a small coastal town in Taranaki. In an era where most boys would be following their local rugby team, Sheat was always more interested in the arts than the oval ball.
His early passion for performing arts began at the movies – Everybody’s Theatre in Opunake.
Friday was late-night shopping in Opunake, and the family would go to the movies. It was the golden age of the cinema, and Sheat would later fondly recall watching George Formby doing his light comedy and song routines. Gershwin, and the Buck Rogers sci-fi serials, were other influences.
He enjoyed film magazines and enthusiastically read Listener reviews by Gordon Mirams.
After attending New Plymouth Boys’ High School as a boarder, he enrolled at Victoria University, in 1948, to study law.
He eagerly took part in the Vic Capping Review Extravaganza – then a big part of the Wellington cultural scene – doing everything from directing to writing and acting, long after he had finished his degree.
Although performing arts were his passion, he still had to earn a living, and in 1953 he joined the Lower Hutt law firm that would later bear his name, Gibson Sheat. Inevitably he turned the firm’s attention towards art and culture. The firm became a sponsor of the New Zealand Ballet Company, a relationship that lasted despite his retirement.
Legal interests included transport licensing, entertainment and copyright law, and charitable trusts.
Despite his love of writing, performing and directing, his passion for the arts increasingly focused on governance. With his sharp legal mind, he was an obvious choice to chair arts organisations, and he was also a friend and mentor to a vast array of artists.
His motivation was simple. He wanted to create a culture where the arts would flourish, and in which talented artists could stay in New Zealand.
He also wanted New Zealand stories to be told on film and on stage, so that New Zealanders had a voice.
Appointed to the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council (now Creative NZ), he spent eight years as chair or deputy chair, during which time he advocated for and oversaw two of his most important contributions.
The NZ Drama School (Toi Whakaari), headed by Nola Millar, was established during his tenure. In the 1970s he began advocating for the Film Commission to be established, and internal affairs minister Allan Highet was eventually persuaded to back the project, in 1978.
Sheat was even given the responsibility of drafting its legislation. The commission achieved early success with Goodbye Pork Pie and Utu. The success of Goodbye Pork Pie delighted Sheat, who took the view there was nothing more quintessentially Kiwi than a couple of characters thumbing their noses at the authorities.
One of the first people he turned down, however, was a fledgling film-maker and Evening Post photograph engraver by the name of Peter Jackson.
While on the Arts Council, Sheat was appointed as administrator of the NZ Ballet after a failed attempt to have a combined ballet and opera board, which led to mass resignations and management collapse. He rebuilt the ballet board, and was chairman from 1975 till 1990.
The list of organisations he was involved with over 60 years runs to more than 40 and includes the Film Archive, the Dowse Art Museum, Film Festival Trust, Wellington Repertory Theatre, NZ Drama Council, Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ, Summer Shakespeare and the National Dance Archive.
He was named as the Wellington Icon of the Year in 2019.
His son, Terry, says that despite his huge list of achievements and awards, his father died with one regret. ‘‘He wanted to get a performing arts museum established to showcase the history of theatre, opera and dance in all its forms, and of course film in New Zealand.’’
It frustrated his father that the country had so many museums but nothing for the performing arts.
Terry says his father had many influences, but three people stand out. He credited his drama coach, German-born Maria Dronke, for his appreciation of drama. In the 1950s and 60s he was mentored by lawyer George Swan, who showed him he could do his day job and still have time to influence arts locally and nationally, and advocate for change.
Thirdly, and most importantly, was John O’Shea – a trailblazer in the New Zealand film scene. Sheat said meeting O’Shea ‘‘changed his life’’ and was the reason he became involved in the film business. He was the de facto executive producer of a couple of O’Shea’s films in the 1960s, finding and negotiating finance for Runaway, and Don’t Let it Get You.
His parents, William Alfred Sheat and Ella Marjorie Sheat (nee Newton), were also influential in shaping his interest in law and the arts. William had a law degree from Victoria University, and was involved in setting up what would later become Federated Farmers. He also had two spells as a National MP. Ella had been dux at Wellington Girls’ College, and was a teacher with an MA in French.
Sheat was a prolific writer of letters to the editor, and Terry remembers him as a great storyteller who captivated audiences with his depth of knowledge and mastery of the English language.
William Newton Sheat married Genevieve Mary Leicester. The couple had three children, Graeme, Terry and Catherine.
His funeral will be held at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington on Thursday, January 28, at 1.30pm.
Over the years, he received numerous awards including OBE (1973), CNZM (Companion of the NZ Order of Merit) 2012, Absolutely Positive Wellingtonian 2004, the Wellington Mayor’s Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre – Chapman Tripp Awards 2009.
Life memberships included Downstage Theatre Society, Wellington Repertory Theatre, Theatre New Zealand and Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce. – By Nicholas Boyack