Jumping castle tragedy: Taz-Zorb workers give evidence
A Taz-Zorb worker tells about the aftermath of when a jumping castle became airborne at Hillcrest Primary School that resulted in the tragic death of six primary school students.
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When Taz-Zorb worker Jesse Barrett saw a jumping castle at Hillcrest Primary School become airborne, he said he looked over at his colleagues Rosemary Gamble and Robert Monte “to see if it was real”.
“And then, we just started running after it,” Mr Barrett said in court on Thursday.
During evidence, Mr Barrett and Mr Monte said they were hit by an airborne inflatable barrier while chasing after the jumping castle on December 16, 2021.
“As I was on the ground, it came around again – but I managed to duck it,” Mr Barrett said. “The jumping castle touched the ground for a split second, and that’s when the kids fell out.
“And then it went up again, and I didn’t see when it landed.
“We just ran to the kids after that.”
Mr Barrett and Mr Monte took to the witness stand on day three of the criminal hearing into the Hillcrest tragedy.
Ms Gamble, who owns Taz-Zorb, operator of the jumping castle in question, has been charged with one count of failure to comply with health and safety duty category 2.
She has entered a plea of not guilty in what is expected to be a nine-day hearing at the Devonport Magistrates Court.
The charge relates to the events at Hillcrest Primary School on December 16, 2021, where six children died after a jumping castle and Zorb balls flew several metres in the air after being lifted up by wind.
Once the jumping castle landed, Mr Barrett told the court he went to check if there were any children in it.
“But there wasn’t,” he said.
“We just went to the kids and helped them. Rosemary was on the phone with the ambulance, and we were doing CPR.”
Also while on the stand, Mr Monte told the court they only used four pegs to secure the jumping castle, despite having around “six or seven” extra ones available.
He also said the pegs were mixed in terms of type and was unsure whether they were installed on an angle.
“I thought they were, to be honest. We had a lot of trouble trying to get the pegs down because the ground was incredibly hard,” Mr Monte said.
“It was hard to get them on any sort of an angle. But I put them on some sort of angle, I think.”
After Mr Monte explained that six pegs were also used for the Zorb ball arena next to the jumping castle, Prosecutor Madeline Wilson asked him if there were any other pegs available that day.
“At a best guess, six or seven,” Mr Monte responded.
He told the court that he was with Ms Gamble when she received the jumping castle from East Inflatables in 2015 and that it only came with four pegs and no instruction manual, just a catalogue outlining the company’s other products.
Earlier in the day, the court was shown CCTV footage from the front yard of a property near Hillcrest Primary from December 16, 2021, showing part of the jumping castle being lifted up by wind.
People are then seen running around and near the jumping castle.
The footage formed part of the evidence Tasmania Police Senior Constable Dean Wotherspoon gave during the hearing.
UPDATE 2pm:
A Taz-Zorb worker has revealed in court they only used four pegs to hold down the jumping castle involved in the Hillcrest school tragedy, despite having around “six or seven” extra ones available.
Robert Monte gave evidence in the criminal hearing against his partner of 14 years, and Taz-Zorb owner Rosemary Gamble, in the Devonport Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Mr Monte also described what happened when the jumping castle, Zorb balls, and the arena became airborne on December 16, 2021, at the school oval.
He said he had one hand on a Zorb ball at the moment of the incident.
“I looked up, and the castle was in the air. It went straight up; it swirled as it went,” Mr Monte said.
“I just ran. I ran after the castle. Halfway across the field, I got knocked down by the Zorb ball arena barrier.
“It came down and hit me, then landed in a tree behind. I went down to try and help the kids.”
Mr Monte’s partner, Ms Gamble, has previously entered a not guilty plea to one count of failure to comply with health and safety duty category 2.
The charge relates to the events of December 16, 2021, at Hillcrest Primary School, where six children died after a jumping castle went airborne.
Mr Monte told the court that four pegs were used on the inflatable at the school oval, despite it having eight anchor points.
He also said the pegs were mixed in terms of type and he was not sure whether they were installed on an angle.
“I thought they were, to be honest. We had a lot of trouble trying to get the pegs down because the ground was incredibly hard,” Mr Monte told the court.
“It was hard to get them on any sort of an angle. But I put them on some sort of angle, I think.
“Trying to get a peg in on an angle was impossible.”
After Mr Monte explained that six pegs were also used for the Zorb ball arena next to the jumping castle, Prosecutor Madeline Wilson asked him if “any other pegs available that day”.
“At a best guess, six or seven,” Mr Monte responded.
He told the court that he was with Ms Gamble when she received the jumping castle from East Inflatables in 2015 and that it only came with four pegs and no instruction manual, just a catalogue outlining the company’s other products.
Mr Monte said the jumping castle was in good condition on the day of the Hillcrest tragedy.
Regarding the Zorb balls, he told the court he did not have a log book or anything similar to record the repairs that were made to them.
“It was very hard to record, actually,” Mr Monte said.
“I mean – if we had two clear balls, which ball could you record that there is a hole … it was just impossible sometimes.
“You couldn’t just record that. It was just a feel thing.”
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EARLIER 11am: CCTV footage from a property near Hillcrest Primary has shown a jumping castle on the school oval and a flurry of activity around it, by numerous people, on the day of December 16, 2021.
The footage was shown in Devonport Magistrates Court on Thursday on Day 3 of a criminal hearing into the incident in which six children at the school died when a castle became airborne.
Tasmania Police Senior Constable Dean Wotherspoon finished giving evidence on Thursday morning.
Sen-Constable Wotherspoon’s evidence was spread out over the first three days of the hearing.
In the CCTV footage shown to the court on Thursday morning, a gust of wind appears to move a magnolia tree at the property before part of the jumping castle at the centre of the tragedy is seen in the top left of the screen.
People are seen running around and near the jumping castle.
Constable Wotherspoon also analysed more pictures of the Zorb balls and arena, along with pegs and D-rings used on the day of the tragedy.
The court was also shown an in-depth 3D model of the position of the jumping castle, zorb balls and arena before they were lifted into the area.
INITIAL: Two Taz-Zorb employees who witnessed a jumping castle with children in it fly 10m in the air will be giving evidence in court on day three of the hearing into the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy.
Taz-Zorb owner Rosemary Anne Gamble is defending charges against her in relation to the events of December 16, 2021, at Hillcrest Primary School, in Devonport, where six children died.
Tasmania Police Senior Constable Dean Wotherspoon will also return to the stand today to continue giving evidence.
He also appeared during the first two days of the hearing to give evidence, detailing to the court a series of photographs taken at the scene that day.
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