Visionary Founder of Woodford Folk Festival and Woodfordia
Australia is mourning the loss of one of its great cultural leaders following the passing of Bill Hauritz AM, founder of the Woodford Folk Festival and Woodfordia. Bill died on 9 December 2025, aged 71, leaving behind one of the most significant legacies in the nation’s arts and festival landscape.
Bill’s lifelong love of folk music shaped the extraordinary cultural movement he went on to build. In the early years, music, stories and song taught him the power of culture to connect people, spark conversation and strengthen community. That belief was the foundation for the Maleny Folk Festival, which he launched in 1987. What began as a humble gathering soon evolved, under Bill’s leadership, into the internationally respected Woodford Folk Festival, now attracting more than 120,000 attendees each year.
Through Woodfordia, the 500-acre cultural parkland he helped transform, Bill created more than a festival site. He crafted a living, breathing village that embodied care for Country, respect for Indigenous culture, environmental stewardship and intergenerational knowledge-sharing. For many, Woodfordia became a glimpse of what a kinder and more connected world might feel like.
Bill was known for dreaming far beyond the next season. His most ambitious legacy is the 500-Year Plan for Woodfordia—an imaginative and practical blueprint designed to ensure the culture, land and community at the heart of the festival continue for centuries to come. While others planned year to year, Bill planted trees he knew he would never sit beneath and built systems intended to last for generations.
His achievements were recognised around the world. In 2023, Woodfordia received the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Award at the Jeonju International Awards, honouring Bill’s decades-long dedication to nurturing living cultural traditions. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2005, named a Queensland Great in 2018, and honoured as a Smithsonian Fellow, reflecting his outstanding contribution to Australia’s cultural fabric.
Beyond his visionary leadership, Bill was deeply admired for his humility, humour and heartfelt belief in people. He mentored countless artists, organisers and volunteers, and his ability to create spaces where people felt safe, welcome and inspired became one of his most cherished qualities. As tributes flow from across the country, Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke reflected on Bill as a man who built a home for “love and friendship.”
Bill co-founded Woodfordia Inc with his wife Ingrid, whose partnership was integral to the festival’s evolution. He stepped down as Festival Director in 2022 due to ill health and personal tragedy but remained an enduring presence in the Woodfordia community.
He is deeply mourned by Ingrid, sons Tom and Jack, daughter-in-law Mel, and grandchildren Elke and Stellan, as well as the extended Woodfordia family of artists, organisers, volunteers and festivalgoers who he inspired and loved.
Bill Hauritz leaves behind a cultural legacy unmatched in Australia—one built on imagination, compassion, creativity and an unshakeable belief in the power of community. His influence will live on in every song sung at Woodford, every tree planted at Woodfordia, and every person who continues to dream of a better world.
Vale, Bill Hauritz AM.
