Tributes to great all-rounder

Karl Quaass

An Australian man who died when he fell 40m while tramping in Mt Aspiring National Park at the weekend was a great all-rounder who was doing cutting-edge work, his Dunedin boss says.

Karl Walter Quaass, aged 30, was a cheeky and adventurous man who died in the prime of his life, Professor Murray Tilyard said yesterday.

Mr Quaass died on Saturday after he fell about 40m while tramping with eight others, including his partner and friends, near the Wilmot Saddle in a remote area of the park.

Members of the group climbed down to help him but he had significant head injuries and was unable to be revived, despite CPR being applied for 30 minutes.

Three of the group walked out to raise the alarm, and Mr Quaass's body was recovered earlySunday.

Wanaka police search-and-rescue co-ordinator Sergeant Aaron Nicholson said the group had been devastated by Mr Quaass's death, especially his partner Heidi Baillie, who was with him when he died.

"That would have been the last thing she anticipated ... having to deal with that."

Professor Tilyard, chief executive of Dunedin-based Best Practice Advocacy Centre, said Mr Quaass had worked as a content developer for the organisation, which develops healthcare interventions, for the past three years.

The team was this week to celebrate milestone usage of a second-opinion computer programme for GPs which Mr Quaass was instrumental in developing. "He was doing some cutting-edge work," said Professor Tilyard.

Mr Quaass, from Adelaide, had followed his partner to New Zealand. He was "very, very happy" in Dunedin and was passionate about the outdoors.

"He took on New Zealand's great outdoors with vigour, but he was sensible with it."

Mr Quaass and other staff often exchanged the usual sort of jokes and general cheek. "He was a slightly mad Australian ... with a positive attitude," Professor Tilyard said.

The firm was in shock after Mr Quaass's death, especially as it followed the unexpected death of another employee, Dave Hall, in March. He died in hospital after hitting a parked vehicle while riding his mountain bike on Barr St in Dunedin.

It was sad when good young people were suddenly taken, Professor Tilyard said. "It seems that the good die young because they are adventurous and have a free-spirit. This is a real tragedy."

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES