One of the people closest to Peter Blyth, but who choses to remain anonymous shared some of the memories of his very good friend, who sadly passed away on Thursday, 30 March at the age of 76.
It was with a heavy heart that we announced the passing of Peter Blyth.
Mr Entertainment. Mr Theatre.
He was the spark that ignited the flame in all the members of The Zodiac Players, a local theatre group from the 1970s until the 2000s.
Directing musicals, plays and theatre restaurants such as Fiddler on the Roof, The Pajama Game, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Grease and Shrek.
His plays included Move Over Mrs Markham and other and theatre restaurants included Dimboola, The Sinful Saga of Ella, Bella and Stella and others that he had written.
When not directing he was the manager of Wide Bay Dairy before he bought Toyworld and expanded it from a small shop in Mary Street to one of the largest stores in Queensland.
He eventually sold it and bought three Harvey World Travel agencies on the Sunshine Coast to name a few of the businesses he worked for.
Pete was one of the three local directors and musical people who were asked by Mayors and Mayoresses to direct the Mayoress’ Concerts which were the week of the Gold Rush Festivals each year.
He joined the Gympie Musical Union in the 1960s and was their treasurer when the Witham Theatrette was finally paid off.
He was studying accountancy when he was drafted into the army.
While there, he was promoted to the rank of corporal, and after that, the government sent him to Sydney to finish his studies.
On returning to Gympie he and several others broke away from the Musical Union and formed The Zodiac Players in 1971.
In the early 70s he directed shows that were staged in the St Patrick’s Hall, Hamilton Hall and The Olympia Theatre.
Then, in 1976 he was asked to direct a show to open the new Gympie Civic Centre.
And from then on nearly all the shows he directed were staged at the Civic Centre.
It was during that time he organised for a trap door to be cut into the stage.
Wjth the conteast he had made with professional theatre company executives he arranged for Zodiacs to get the professional scenery for his productions of Irene, On Our Selection, The Wiz and more.
Many of his shows in the following years would have professional costumes from those shows.
It was his contacts that allowed Gympie Audiences to have the experience of seeing great shows in their local theatre.
He also directed shows for Sunshine Coast based theatre groups and two of his shows, Grease and The Boy From Oz, where performed at the Gympie Music Muster.
Peter will be sadly missed by all his friends in the theatre and family.
