Inquest into awning collapse that killed Chris Walton in Burleigh on Gold Coast in 2012 continues

KERRY SHEPHERD will always remember her husband’s smile. “That’s what I remember most about Chris,” she said.

Kerry Shepherd and her late husband Chris Walton at the Currumbin Ecovillage they developed.

KERRY  Shepherd cannot forget her husband’s smile.

“That’s what I remember most about Chris,” she said.

The memory of this face burned stronger than ever for Ms Shepherd yesterday as she sat through the first day of the inquest into the death of her partner of more than 20 years.

Ms Shepherd’s husband, Currumbin EcoVillage developer Christopher Walton, was tragically killed after an awning collapsed suddenly on top of him at Burleigh Heads just days before Christmas in 2012.

Kerry Shepherd and son Fin Walton pictured with the late Christopher Walton.

Yesterday, Queensland coroner James McDougall began the task of determining the circumstances around Mr Walton’s death and whether the awning that killed him was a type commonly used in Queensland.

Ms Shepherd welcomed the inquest, but said she felt “bittersweet” about the whole thing which has consumed so much of her life for the past three-and-a-half-years.

“The problem with something like this is you’re not just suffering the normal grief of losing someone,” she told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Kerry Shepherd, widow of Christopher Walton, 54, who was killed when an awning came loose and struck him on James St in Burleigh Heads just days before Christmas in 2012. She is pictured outside the Southport Court while attending the inquest into the incident on the Gold Coast. Photo: Regi Varghese

“There has been this background of it being a personal project to try to get justice or make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she said.

The inquest yesterday heard from seven witnesses who had either been first ­responders at the James St scene, assessed the damage, or were involved in main-­tenance or repairs of the building.

Forensic engineer Robert Lewis told the inquest the awning collapsed because the bolts attaching it to the building were more than half the size they should have been.

He said his report found the bolts were attached to a block between the awning and the building, rather than the “core” of the concrete structure.

Ecovillage Currumbin developer, the late Chris Walton.

“The bolts were grossly inadequate to engage with the concrete,” Mr Lewis said.

“The design was defective, the structure was defective.

“It is just incredible that the awning stood up for 35 years.”

Mr Lewis said he believed the awning stayed in a “state of inertia” for more than three decades before it fell.

It was also revealed yesterday that the building where Mr Walton was killed had been repaired six months before the tragic incident.

The inquest into the death of Currumbin Ecovillage developer Christopher Walton began on the Gold Coast yesterday.

Equity House maintenance manager Peter van Dorph yesterday told the inquest he asked a contractor to repair the roof of the building in May 2012 after noticing it was rusted in some areas and leaking into tenancies in the building.

Roofing contactor Paul Smith, of Top Stuff Plus, told the inquest he replaced the roof on the top of the building, built in 1977, and the roof that attached to the awning in four days. He said the awning roof was replaced prior to the collapse because the rusting “wasn’t good”.

Kerry Shepherd, widow of Christopher Walton, 54, who was killed when an awning came loose and struck him on James St in Burleigh Heads just days before Christmas in 2012. She is pictured outside the Southport Court while attending the inquest into the incident on the Gold Coast. Photo: Regi Varghese

Senior Constable Barry McAuliff told the inquest he had gone to lengths to find the original builders of Equity House but all companies involved had now wound up.

Building owner Greg Cavanagh told the inquest the awning roof was replaced even though it was not severely damaged because “there could be a problem down the track”.

Mr Shepherd is believed to have died a hero, pushing others aside as the awning fell.

“Chris by all accounts pushed two children out of the way, it could have been 20 people hurt or killed because there was a Christmas choir there,” Ms Shepherd said. “So really the public got off lightly. I didn’t, but the public did.”

The inquest continues today.