Overview
- Organisers confirmed his death late Monday via festival director Amanda Jackes, who did not detail the circumstances but noted his recent ill health.
- Hauritz launched the Maleny Folk Festival in 1987 and moved it to Woodford in 1994, developing Woodfordia into a roughly 500-acre cultural site drawing more than 120,000 attendees each year.
- He led the event through two COVID-19 cancellations before stepping down in 2023, the year Woodfordia received a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Award in Jeonju.
- His honours included the Order of Australia, recognition as a Queensland Great, and a Smithsonian Fellowship.
- This year’s festival runs December 27 to January 1 at Woodfordia, with organisers and the community pledging to honour his legacy; he is survived by his wife Ingrid, sons Tom and Jack, daughter-in-law Mel, and grandchildren Elke and Stellan.