By Ethan James and Emily Kowal
Families of six children killed in a primary school jumping castle accident in Tasmania are angry and in disbelief after a court dismissed a workplace safety charge against the castle’s operator.
Rosemary Gamble, owner of Taz-Zorb, was found not guilty on Friday morning after previously being accused of failing to properly anchor the inflatable castle.
Georgie Burt (centre), the mother of Zane Mellor, with supporters outside Devonport Magistrates Court on Friday.Credit: AAP
Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt died after a wind gust lifted the jumping castle they were playing on into the air at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport in December 2021.
They were enjoying end-of-year celebrations on their school oval when the castle became airborne and the children fell from it. Three other children were seriously injured.
In delivering his decision in Devonport Magistrates Court on Friday, magistrate Robert 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.
Taz-Zorb operator Rosemary Gamble (right) arrives at Devonport Magistrates Court in Tasmania last year.Credit: AAPIMAGE
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.
The 2021 funeral for Zane Mellor, 12, one of the six children killed in the jumping castle tragedy.
Georgie Burt, mother of Zane Mellor, 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.
Andrew Dodt, whose son Peter was killed in the tragedy, told reporters after the decision that he was “broken”.
“I’ve been broken for a long time and I think I’m going to be broken for a lot more,” he said outside court.
“I thank you for walking the path with us. It was a very long path, and I think we’ve still got a long way to go.
“I think our hopes are just shattered now. 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.”
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,” she said in 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.
Then-prime minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny at Hillcrest Primary School in December 2021.Credit: James Brickwood
“Their loss is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Gamble faced a 10-day hearing in November, when it was alleged she used pegs at only four of the castle’s eight anchor points, despite the manufacturer’s instructions recommending eight.
Her lawyer, Chris Dockray, argued she 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 said.
She instead downloaded a two-page manual from the company’s website, he said, which resulted in an interpretation that four pegs were sufficient.
Preparations for an inquest were paused due to the criminal proceedings, while a class action has been launched against Gamble and the state of Tasmania.
Lifeline 13 11 14; Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
AAP
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