Dame Helen June Patricia Evison (née Blamires; 2 June 1924 – 30 May 2010), known professionally as Pat Evison, was a New Zealand-born actress.

Early life and education

Evison was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand, on 2 June 1924, the daughter of first-class cricketer and clergyman Ernest Oswald Blamires and Annie Blamires (née Anderson). She was educated at Solway College in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a ...

. She attended

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Z ...

, Auckland University College and the Auckland Teachers' Training College. In the 1940s, she became one of the first New Zealand students to be awarded a scholarship to the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

Theatre Centre in London, where she studied directing. She then worked as an assistant director at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

, before returning to New Zealand where she worked as a freelance director and actor at the Downstage Theatre in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

Acting career

Evison first began acting while studying an arts degree at Victoria University, performing in radio plays recorded onto

acetate disc An acetate disc (also known as a ''lacquer'', ''test acetate'', '' dubplate'', or ''transcription disc'') is a type of phonograph record generally used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use ...

s. Following her return to New Zealand from London, she began acting in television roles, with a small role in the television play ''All Earth to Love'', and guest appearances and a regular role on the sketch comedy series ''In View of the Circumstances''. In 1971, Evison in the television drama serial ''

Pukemanu ''Pukemanu'' was a New Zealand television series that ran from 1971 to 1972. Background The series, set in a fictional location, was considered to break ground in the way it approached the subject and examined the town that it was set in. It was ...

'' as storekeeper Phyllis Telford, a role written specially for her by series creator Julian Dickon. In her 1998 autobiography ''Happy Days in Muckle Flugga'', Evison stated that the role as Mrs Telford changed her life, and she was thereafter recognised throughout New Zealand as "Mrs Pukemanu". Evison also starred in the first production at Palmerston North's

Centrepoint Theatre Centrepoint Theatre is a theatre and theatre company in Palmerston North in New Zealand. Established in 1973, the theatre has employed more than 2500 actors and produced more New Zealand plays than any other theatre. History The theatre open ...

in 1973, ''An Evening With Katherine Mansfield''. She is likely best known for her roles in

Australian television Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with radio stations 3DB and 3UZ, and 2UE in Sydney, using the ''Radiovision'' system by Gilbert Miles and Donald McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Bris ...

, such as Jessie Windom in ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'' and Violet Carnegie in ''

The Flying Doctors ''The Flying Doctors'' is an Australian drama TV series produced by Crawford Productions that revolves around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. ...

''.

Honours and awards

In 1979, Evison won the

Australian Film Institute Award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry ...

for Best Supporting Actress, for her role as

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...

's character's mother in the film '' Tim''. Her co-stars also won AFI Awards for their roles: Gibson winning Best Lead Actor for the title role, and Alwyn Kurts winning Best Supporting Actor for his role as Tim's father. In the 1980 Queen's Birthday Honours, Evison was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, for services to the theatre. She was promoted to

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

1993 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1993 were appointments by most of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other count ...

, for services to theatre, television and the community.

Personal life

She married Roger Douglas Evison in 1948, and the couple went on to have three children. Evison suffered from numerous health problems in her later years including cancer, diabetes, several minor stroke sand arthritis. Pat Evison died in

, New Zealand, on 30 May 2010, aged 85.

Bibliography

*Autobiography:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evison, Pat 1924 births 2010 deaths 20th-century New Zealand actresses 20th-century Australian actresses Actresses awarded damehoods Logie Award winners New Zealand Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand expatriates in Australia New Zealand film actresses New Zealand soap opera actresses New Zealand television actresses People educated at Solway College Actors from Dunedin People from Masterton Victoria University of Wellington alumni University of Auckland alumni Best Supporting Actress AACTA Award winners 21st-century Australian women 21st-century Australian people