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The families of the six children killed in a primary school jumping castle incident are angry after the operator who set up the castle was found not guilty of a workplace safety charge.
Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after the incident at Hillcrest primary school in Devonport in December 2021.
They were enjoying end-of-year celebrations on the Tasmanian school’s oval when a wind gust lifted the castle into the air. Three other children were seriously injured.
Rosemary Gamble, owner of Taz-Zorb which set up the equipment, pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a workplace health and safety duty. She was accused of failing to anchor the castle properly.
She was found not guilty by magistrate Robert Webster in Devonport magistrates court on Friday.
In delivering his decision on Friday, Webster said Gamble “in some respects” failed to comply with her health and safety duties.
“However I am not satisfied, pursuant to [the charge] those failures were a substantial or significant cause of the children being exposed to the risk of serious injury or death,” he said.
Webster said the incident occurred due to an unprecedented weather system, namely a dust devil which was “impossible to predict”.
“Ms Gamble could have done more or taken further steps,” Webster wrote in his written decision.
“However, given the effects of the unforeseen and unforeseeable dust devil, had she done so, that would sadly have made no difference to the ultimate outcome.”
Webster told the court the charge was dismissed and Gamble was “free to go”.
Zane’s mother Georgie Burt yelled at Gamble inside the courtroom after the decision was handed down.
“I hope you see them every time I miss a birthday, miss a Christmas,” she said.
A representative of Gamble read a statement on her behalf outside court, saying she recognised the scars of the incident would likely remain forever.
“I never meant for something like this to happen. And I am just so sorry that it did,” the statement said.
“I am a mother. I can only imagine the pain that other parents are living with each and every day because of this terrible thing that happened.
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“Their loss is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Peter’s father Andrew Dodt said he had been broken for a long time.
“Our hopes are just shattered now,” he said.
“At the end of the day all I wanted was an apology for my son not coming home and I’m never going to get it and that kills me.”
Gamble faced a 10-day hearing in November where it was alleged she only used pegs at four of the castle’s eight anchor points, despite the manufacturer’s instructions recommending eight.
Her lawyer, Chris Dockray, argued Gamble had been left out to dry by the castle’s Chinese manufacturer.
East Inflatables didn’t provide instructions to Gamble upon purchase and only supplied four pegs, Dockray told the court.
Gamble instead downloaded a two-page manual from the company’s website, he said, which resulted in an interpretation that four pegs were sufficient.
According to court documents, seven students were on the castle when a significant weather event dislodged it.
They fell from the castle, while a blower attached to the castle to keep it inflated struck a nearby student.
Preparations for an inquest had been paused due to the criminal proceedings, while a class action has also been launched against Gamble, as well as the state of Tasmania.
