Tasmanians mourn death of arts identity Wal Eastman

A champion of local theatre and formerly a respected critic with The Mercury, Eastman died this week aged 89.

In 2010, Wal Eastman (pictured here with his wife Berenice) received the Order of Australia for his services to the arts and the community. Image courtesy The Mercury.

Described by those who knew him as ‘one of nature’s real gentlemen’, ‘unfailingly kind,’ ‘humane and remarkably wonderful,’ and ‘a stalwart of Hobart’s theatre scene,’ Walter ‘Wal’ Eastman OAM passed away on Tuesday 9 January. He was 89.  

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's former National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts