THE death of John Fowler on February 13, aged 93, will be felt by many who crossed the star-struck creative innovator’s path.
Mr Fowler enjoyed a successful life in the creative-arts sector and is notable for bringing several unique opportunities to the region.
As Swan Hill arts director, Mr Fowler was instrumental in setting up the Fairfax Festival, which has now been running for 27 years.
The festival gives young people the chance to explore their creativity with an array of workshops facilitated by visiting presenters across multiple disciplines, including dance, music, voice, miming and more.
Students taking part in the workshops are often taught by the best in their industry, with celebrities taking part in the festival.
But Mr Fowler’s life and adventurous career began long before he arrived in Swan Hill.
Born in Frankston in 1930, he developed an interest in lighting and went on to become the head of lighting at GTV9 (Channel Nine) in Melbourne.
While there he joined with colleagues to create Odessa Promotions and was largely responsible for promoting the iconic Sunbury Rock/Pop Festival.
Starting in 1972, the festival was held over the Australia Day weekend for four consecutive years and drew a variety of local and international stars to a 620-acre private farm in Sunbury, north of Melbourne.
AC/DC, Queen, Deep Purple, Skyhooks, and Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs were just some of the headliners at the history-making event that modelled itself on Woodstock.
While Woodstock became synonymous with the hippie era, Sunbury became known for pub rock and pop music, and in 2015 it was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.
After moving to the Swan Hill region, Mr Fowler set up Lake Boga Observatory on the Murray Valley Highway.
Designed as a visitor experience and geared around astronomical phenomena at the time, Mr Fowler gave informational talks and allowed visitors to gaze the night sky from four telescopes.
The observatory also housed his collection of glassworks.
Sticking with his love of lighting, Mr Fowler said he had always been fascinated with glassworks because of the effect light had on them.
Mr Fowler was a regular in The Guardian newspaper and features, for his adventurous spirit and contributions to the creative community.
Mr Fowler is survived by wife Marianne and children Anthony, Wendy (deceased), Christopher, Andrew and Michael.
He was grandfather to 13 children and great-grandfather to eight.
