Tasmania jumping castle tragedy: Chinese manufacturer reveals potential peg ‘shortfall’, as Hillcrest families confronted with blood evidence

The Chinese manufacturer of the jumping castle involved in the 2021 Tasmanian tragedy that claimed the lives of six primary school children has told a court it did not always provide a full complement of pegs for the inflatable.

Operator of Taz-Zorb Rosemary Gamble arrives at Devonport Magistrates Court. Image: AAP

Chinese manufacturers of a jumping castle involved in a 2021 tragedy that killed six children have revealed they do not always provide a full complement of pegs with the inflatable.

The evidence by East Inflatables Manufacturing Company Ltd was given on Wednesday via video link to the Devonport Magistrates Court.

Rosemary Gamble, owner of local company Taz-Zorb, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of failure to comply with a health and safety duty relating to the incident at the Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport on December 16, 2021.

The court has heard that the jumping castle, which became airborne in a “dust devil” wind event, was only pegged down with half a potential eight pegs and that those used did not meet Australian standards.

Ms Gamble’s defence team has told the court she only received four pegs when she purchased the jumping castle from East Inflatables in November 2015.

Giving evidence to the court with the help of an interpreter, East Inflatables sales manager Andy Chen confirmed that after the tragedy his company sent Tasmanian authorities a photograph depicting eight pegs in its sales package for the castle.

However, he said he could not recall how many pegs were included in the one sold to Ms Gamble and that sometimes customers received only four pegs.

“I can’t remember the details… but in general we provide four to eight (pegs),” Mr Chen said. “Some customers like to purchase some more.”

He said the company “generally” sent two operating manuals – one generic and another specific to the model sold to Ms Gamble – to customers, either in paper form or electronically.

Police erected privacy screens as they responded to the jumping castle tragedy at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport on December 16, 2021. Picture: ABC News

Lawyer for Ms Gamble, Chris Dockray SC, on Monday told the court his client did not receive a manual with the purchase and had found only 1.5 pages of “misleading” instructions on the company’s website.

The court was shown an East Inflatables floor plan of the jumping castle which showed all eight pegs being used in the eight anchor points. Mr Chen said the floor plan was provided to customers who asked for it.

The court was shown an email sent on January 25, 2024, in which an East Inflatables sales manager, Candy, told a customer that its jumping castles came with “four pegs”.

Mr Dockray pointed out to Mr Chen that Candy had told Tasmanian authorities, after the Devonport tragedy, that East Inflatables provided “eight pegs” with such products.

Earlier, some family members of the children who died wept and comforted each other as the court was shown photographs of blood stains on the jumping castle.

On Tuesday, the prosecution told the court it would argue Ms Gamble’s failure to use eight pegs, and pegs compliant with Australian standards, amounted to a failure of her duty of care.

“The crown case is that the defendant did not take all reasonable steps to ensure that others were not exposed to risk,” prosecutor Madeleine Wilson said.

Mrs Wilson said the pegs, which the court heard were 10mm in diameter, were not compliant with the relevant Australian standard of 16mm diameter.

Ms Gamble is charged with a “category two” offence under Tasmania’s Work Health and Safety Act, carrying fines of up to $1.5m for a company and $300,000 for an individual acting as a business.

Mr Dockray told the court he would produce expert evidence that none of the measures the crown suggested should have been taken “would have prevented the jumping castle being sucked high into the air”.

The case continues.