William Sheat, Lower Hutt, CNZM
For services to the arts. Mr Sheat has had a long involvement with the creative disciplines, restoration projects and arts governance. He was Chair of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, now known as Creative New Zealand, founding Chair of the New Zealand Film Commission and Chair of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. He was founding trustee and the first Chair of the Summer Shakespeare Trust, which supports Victoria University’s Summer Shakespeare productions. He helped establish the New Zealand Theatre Archive Trust, and was founding Chair from 1997 to 2010. He became a Hunter Fellow of Victoria University in 2010. Mr Sheat has previously received the Insignia of an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.