A jumping castle at the centre of a primary school tragedy that killed six children was lifted, spun around in circles and tossed 75 metres by a “mini-tornado”, a Tasmanian court has been told.
Rosemary Gamble, operator of Taz-Zorb, which set up inflatable equipment at Hillcrest primary school on 16 December 2021, is facing a hearing after pleading not guilty to one count of failing to comply with health and safety duty category 2.
Zane Mellor, Peter Dodt, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Chace Harrison were killed after a wind gust on the school’s oval lifted the jumping castle into the air.
Three other children were seriously injured during the end-of-year celebrations.
In opening submissions in Devonport magistrates court on Tuesday, prosecutor Madeleine Wilson said when the castle was set up it was a dry, calm and sunny day.
Wilson said the school’s principal described a strong breeze coming out of nowhere which lifted the castle three to five metres in the air before it went “flying” 75 metres to the other side of the oval.
In statements read to the court, multiple witnesses said the gust of wind was like a “mini-tornado”, with one saying the castle spun around in circles.
Several inflatable Zorb balls were also lifted into the air with children inside them.
A girl who was getting a drink said she heard screams and turned around to see “everything go up into the air”. One child said she saw a friend fall to the ground, the court heard.
A man living near the school said the castle was tossed around. He then heard a large bang and saw it wrapped around a tree.
All the children died after falling from a height, while Addison was struck with an electronic blower.
It is alleged Gamble did not take all reasonable steps to ensure the children were not exposed to the risk of serious injury or death and she failed to ensure the castle was properly anchored.
The castle was tethered at four of its eight anchorage points, not in line with the manufacturer’s manual, Wilson said on Tuesday.
“She had sufficient pegs to be able to do that and it was easy to do,” the prosecutor said, adding none of the pegs met Australian standards requiring them to be a minimum 16mm in diameter.
It was alleged Gamble failed to properly train and supervise the two Taz-Zorb workers, one of them her partner, who were with her at the school.
Correct tethering would have likely prevented the anchorage failing completely, Wilson told the court.
Gamble, who was charged in November 2023, had operated the jumping castle at least 100 times previously at markets, fairs and schools.
Her lawyer, Chris Dockray, said Gamble had, before buying the castle, obtained an assurance from the manufacturer that it complied with Australian standards.
The manufacturer “supplied no manual whatsoever” but Gamble downloaded a one-and-a-half page guide from the company’s website.
Dockray said the instructions were ambiguous and the company only provided four stakes.
The sudden “dust storm” could not have been anticipated and, even if the castle was tethered with eight pegs, the outcome would have been the same, he said.
Dockray said a 13-page manual on the manufacturer’s website relied on by the prosecution had gone up online after the incident.
