William (Bill) Hauritz AM | UniSC | University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

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William (Bill) Hauritz AM

Honorary Senior Fellow (October 2015)

William (Bill) Hauritz was named an Honorary Senior Fellow in October 2015 in recognition of his exceptional achievements in developing and leading the Woodford Folk Festival to become one of the world's biggest folk festivals, and in managing the sustainable and environmental practices in rehabilitating the 300 hectare festival site to minimise the impact of the festival in the ongoing restoration of the site's natural environment.

For more than 30 years, Bill Hauritz has led a small team of staff and an army of volunteers to deliver one of the world’s biggest folk festivals. Woodford brings around 120,000 people together each year to engage in a week long celebration of music, arts, dance, circus, comedy, cabaret, provocation, education, films and children’s activities. And along the way, Bill and his team have been slowly and methodically rehabilitating the 300-hectare site, previously a dairy farm, to return it to its original rainforest vegetation. To manage the festival’s impact, they have built in sustainable environmental practices.


Bill’s leadership, vision and hands-on approach are commendable. He is a long-time supporter of the University’s education programs, hiring interns and graduates, and working in close partnership to offer research opportunities for students in areas such as climate change adaptation and GIS mapping. With a joint focus of promoting sustainable futures for sustainable communities, the productive partnership between Woodford Folk Festival and USC will continue to provide outstanding research and educational opportunities for our students and our community for many years to come.