The man who started the Lilac City Cinema had a vision for Goulburn that transcended the critics, says local woman Judy White.

“He always had a passion for cinema,” Mrs White said.

“People said at the time that he couldn’t do it (for Goulburn) but he had a plan and he could see the need. I give him full marks...Every time I walk in there I say ‘thank you, Bill.’ He fought tooth and nail for it.”

Mr Fawkes passed away at a Wangaratta hospital on August 10, following a heart infection. He was eighty-seven.

Mrs White said she met Mr Fawkes in Seymour and Wangaratta in the 1970s where he managed the Village theatres. She and her former husband also worked at the facility.

“He had a vast knowledge of cinema and always had a smile on his face, no matter who walked through the door. He thought the world of people,” she said.

Mrs White moved to Goulburn in the 1970s and reconnected with Mr Fawkes when he came to the city in about the 1980s. By the late ‘90s he was leasing the Lilac Time Hall from the council for a cinema. Then in 2000 he bought the building from the council, sparking controversy about the loss of the large performance space.  

But daughter Sharon Giggins said it was a natural progression for her father, who always loved the cinema. 

Mr Fawkes was born in Melbourne in 1930, the eldest of three children. He started his working life as a projectionist in the small Victorian country town of Numurkah where his family had moved. But he also worked as a baker and a mechanic. After moving to Melbourne he drove buses. Following marriage to his first wife, Jean he once again became a projectionist in Geelong but also showed movies out of a small hall at nearby Lara.

When television came in, “that was the end of that,” Mrs Giggins said.

Mr Fawkes moved to Melbourne and started again as a projectionist with Shell Petrol. He also drove around the countryside in his panel van with a screen, showing open-air movies

Later, he moved to NSW where he also managed the Tamworth cinema. In Orange he met his second wife, Sue and together they had a daughter, Anthea.

Next stop Goulburn. Mrs Giggins said her father was “very passionate” about the Lilac Cinema, which he grew from one to four theatres. 

“He also loved having functions and and Christmas parties for the kids. He got great pleasure from doing that,” she said.

Mrs Giggins told The Post her father brought home “all the lost souls” and would never walk past a disadvantaged person.

“He was always looking out for people,” she said.

“He was also devoted father who always had our best interests at heart. He had high morals and a great work ethic that he drilled into us. Dad always said that if you work hard you’ll be rewarded,” she said.

Mr Fawkes’ funeral will be held at Saint Patrick’s Church, Wangaratta on Friday at 1.30pm. He is also survived by daughters Suzanne and Anthea, and his brother and sister. His daughter Deborah predeceased him in 2009.