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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, 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.
Gamble was in tears outside court, with a lawyer reading a statement on her behalf.
“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.
“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.
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“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.”
An inquest, which was put on hold because of the criminal proceedings, will be held while a class action has been launched against Gamble and the state of Tasmania.
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.
Gamble used pegs to tether the castle at four of its eight anchor points.
She had enough pegs available on the day to tether each point, Webster ruled, as she had done at times in the past.
However, even if eight pegs were used, it wouldn’t have prevented the castle from lifting, Webster said.
Weather and technical experts gave evidence during the hearing, while witnesses described a “mini tornado” hitting the oval.
During the hearing, Gamble’s lawyer Chris Dockray argued she had been left out to dry by the castle’s manufacturer.
Webster found the operator had provided four pegs which weren’t compliant with Australian standards and didn’t provide a manual.
On the day in question, Gamble used two of the non-compliant pegs and two other “V-shaped” pegs.
