Court document alleges jumping castle operator in Tasmanian school tragedy failed to secure all anchor points

A damning document submitted to the Devonport Magistrates Court in the case of the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy alleges that, on the day of the incident, only four of the eight anchorage points of the inflatable bouncy castle were secured and anchor pegs were not inserted at the correct angle.

The document was filed after the jumping castle operator was charged last month over the deaths of six children at an end-of-year event in 2021 when wind lifted a jumping castle into the air.

Zane Mellor, Peter Dodt, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan, and Chace Harrison died, and another three children were injured at an end-of-year celebration at the Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport.

The document filed with the Court alleges that the bouncy castle only being secured at half its anchor points was a factor in it becoming airborne.

Nearly two years after the tragedy, ride operator Rosemary Anne Gamble, trading as Taz-Zorb, was charged last month with a failure to comply with health and safety duty.

As reported by the ABC, Tasmania’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) alleges in a complaint outlining its case that the failure "exposed an individual or individuals to a risk of serious injury or death".

The document, seen by the ABC, alleges Gamble and two workers arrived on the day and set up the inflatable jumping castle, zorb balls and zorb ball arena.

It alleges the jumping castle was only secured at four of the eight anchorage points, and pegs were not installed at the recommended 45-degree angle.

It also claims Gamble "failed to use the pegs recommended by the manufacturer for use on the inflatable jumping castle or a suitable alternative".

The DPP claims the manufacturer's instructions, which could be downloaded, clearly stated all anchorage points were needed, and there were illustrations detailing how to insert pegs into the ground.

Alleging that sufficient pegs were available on the day, the document reads “the hazard giving rise to the risk, was the failure of the anchorage system to anchor the inflatable device to the ground.

"The risk arising out of the said hazard was the risk of death or serious injury associated with falls from height and/or being struck by the inflatable device or any part attached thereto, due to the inflatable device becoming dislodged from the anchorage points and becoming airborne.

"The defendant failed to ensure that the anchorage system was sufficient to prevent lift of the inflatable device."

The DPP alleges workers were ill-equipped to operate the jumping castle, without the necessary training and instruction, noting "(Taz-Zorb) failed to provide the workers with information including the manufacturer's operating manual for the inflatable jumping castle (and it) failed to provide workers with adequate supervision during the set-up of the inflatable jumping castle."

The DPP also alleges Taz-Zorb failed to use a continuous wind monitoring anemometer, despite having used them in the past.

Gamble has not yet entered a plea.

The DPP's complaint document outlines what it says happened on the grounds of the Hillcrest Primary School on16th December 2021, stating “seven students were on the inflatable jumping castle when a significant weather event occurred which lifted the inflatable jumping castle causing it to become dislodged from the anchorage points and to become airborne.

"Students playing on the inflatable jumping castle were carried on the device and lifted into the air by the wind.

"Students fell from the inflatable jumping castle and suffered serious injury and/or death.

"Further, the blower was lifted from its position and hit a student in the vicinity of the inflatable jumping castle."

In the time since, Tasmania's Education Department has banned inflatable equipment like jumping castles from all public schools.

Gamble is due to appear before the Devonport Magistrates Court in February, where the matter is listed for plea.

A Coronial inquest into the six deaths remains on hold while the case against the operator is before the court.

Images: The six victims of jumping castle tragedy -  clockwise from top left: Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt - with school signage as background (top) and a jumping castle understood to be similar to the one at the centre of the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy (below, credit: Taz-Zorb website).