Background
Sheat was born at Pihama, Taranaki, in 1899.
Sheat was born at Pihama, Taranaki, in 1899.
He attended Victoria University College and graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1920 and Bachelor of Laws in 1923.
Early political career
Sheat served on the Egmont County Council for twelve years. He stood as the Labour Party candidate for Taranaki in 1925, and for New Plymouth in 1931. At the 1935 election, Sheat contested the New Plymouth electorate as an Independent.
He joined the National Party in 1940.
Bill Sheat represented the Patea electorate between 1943 and 1954 and then the Egmont electorate from 1957 to 1966. In 1954, Sheat failed to gain reselection after boundary changes as a National Party candidate.
In 1957 Sheat returned to Parliament as Member of Parliament for Egmont and he retired in 1966. Sheat was Undersecretary to the Minister of Works between 1949 and 1954.
Sheat died on 24 May 1982, aged 83 years.
He was cremated in the Wellington suburb of Karori four days later.
Member of Parliament.