William Sheat

William Alfred Sheat (23 May 1899 – 24 May 1982), also known as Bill Sheat, was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for two Taranaki electorates.

William Sheat
William Sheat in 1950
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Patea
In office 1943 – 1954
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Egmont
In office 1957 – 1966
Personal details
Born	23 May 1899
Died	24 May 1982 (aged 83)
Political party	National (from 1940) Labour (until 1935) Independent (1935–1940)
Spouse(s)	Ella Marjorie Newton
Relations	Bill Sheat (son)

Early life

Sheat was born at Pihama, Taranaki, in 1899.[1] He was the son of Joseph Sheat and his wife Susannah (née Rose). He received his early education at Pihama Primary and Hawera District High School.[2] He attended Victoria University College and graduated B.A. in 1920 and LL.B. in 1923.[1] He married Ella Marjorie Newton, who was also a Victoria University College graduate (M.A. in 1925), on 22 January 1929.[3][4] The wedding was held at St John's Presbyterian Church in Wellington.[5] They had two sons, including Bill Sheat.[2]

Sheat was admitted as a solicitor in 1922. He lectured economics at the Workers' Educational Association from 1923 to 1925. From 1926 to 1928, he taught at Marlborough College. From 1928, he farmed in Pihama.[2]

Political activity

New Zealand Labour Party: General election, 1925 – Labour's candidates, including William Sheat

Early political career

Sheat served on the Egmont County Council for twelve years.[1] He stood as the Labour Party candidate for Taranaki in 1925,[6] and for New Plymouth in 1931.[7] At the 1935 election, Sheat contested the New Plymouth electorate as an Independent. He joined the National Party in 1940.[1]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1943–1946	27th	Patea		National
1946–1949	28th	Patea		National
1949–1951	29th	Patea		National
1951–1954	30th	Patea		National
1954	30th	Patea		Independent
1957–1960	32nd	Egmont		National
1960–1963	33rd	Egmont		National
1963–1966	34th	Egmont		National

Bill Sheat represented the Patea electorate between 1943 and 1954[8] and then the Egmont electorate from 1957 to 1966.

In 1954, Sheat failed to gain reselection after boundary changes as a National Party candidate.[1] On 14 May of that year, he promptly resigned his seat and won it back in the 31 July 1954 by-election as an Independent, but subsequently did not stand in the 1954 general election.[1] In 1957 Sheat returned to Parliament as MP for Egmont and he retired in 1966.

Sheat was Undersecretary to the Minister of Works between 1949 and 1954.[9]

Death

Sheat died on 24 May 1982, aged 83 years. He was cremated in the Wellington suburb of Karori four days later.[10]

Notes

1. Gustafson 1986, p. 342.
2. Traue, James Edward (1978). Who's Who in New Zealand, 1978 (11th ed.). Wellington: Reed Publishing. p. 246.
3. "Papers of Bill Sheat". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
4. "Marriages". The Evening Post. CVII (68). 23 March 1929. p. 1. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
5. "Weddings". The Evening Post. CVII (69). 25 March 1929. p. 15. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
6. The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
7. The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
8. Wilson 1985, p. 270.
9. Wilson 1985, p. 86.
10. "Cemeteries search". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 12 September 2015.

References

• Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.