Haileybury locked in WorkSafe battle after groundsman killed by falling tree branch
Haileybury College is fighting four WorkSafe charges after a groundsman was killed by a falling tree branch on its Berwick campus. Here are the allegations the elite school’s now facing.
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A groundskeeper at an elite Melbourne private school was killed by a falling branch from a tree which had been deemed dangerous a year earlier, court documents allege.
Kym Page, 38, died from head injuries on Valentine’s Day 2018 after a large eucalyptus branch struck and killed him while pruning the gardens at Haileybury College’s Berwick campus.
The top private school will fight four charges laid by WorkSafe, including failure to provide a safe workplace and necessary training.
Court documents released to the Herald Sun allege the Manna Gum tree had been assessed a year earlier as “posing a risk of further branch failures” and advice was given that no pruning be done and recommended no one stand underneath the tree.
Mr Page, a married father-of-two, was found deceased on February 14 next to a large Eucyalyptus branch and a “neat pile of smaller cut branches nearby”, the summary alleges.
The branch he was cutting was believed to be attached or partly attached to the tree while he was cutting it.
The much-loved staff member was not wearing a helmet at the time and two chainsaws, one still running, were also found near his body.
According to documents filed with Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, trees at the school’s Berwick campus were assessed in 2013, 2016 and 2017 and the school was in possession of a Tree Management Plan.
The tree which killed Mr Page was reviewed on all three occasions and it was recommended “no live foliage” be removed, court documents allege.
The summary states a self-employed tree removal specialist had previously been appointed to conduct tree works including pruning and branch removal at the request of the school’s Grounds Manager.
“(The specialist) states, had he been engaged to undertake the work being performed by (Mr Page) prior to his death, he would have put a rope or chain on the end of the branch and driven off with a truck,” the court document reads.
Four Haileybury employees will be cross-examined at a contested hearing in August about 45 photographs taken in the aftermath of the incident.
The court heard the witnesses will be quizzed about the angle from which the photos were taken and whether the branch from the Manna Gum was in an ‘out-of-bounds’ area.
There were no eyewitnesses to Mr Page’s death.
Following Mr Page’s death, Haileybury paid tribute to the much-loved staff member who had worked at the school for 16 years.
“Kym was passionate about this role at Haileybury.
“His work contributed to the beauty of the grounds that we admire today,
“Kym gave his time and energy for the betterment of this community and for the enjoyment of our students, staff and families,” the tribute read.
The matter will return to court on August 26.
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