Three years after a jumping castle accident left six children dead at a Devonport primary school. A hearing into a criminal charge against the castle's operator has started in court. Rosemary gamble is accused of not safely tethering the castle, but her lawyers argue she couldn't have foreseen the strong winds that caused the tragedy.
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00:00The events of December 16, 2021 sent shock and grief through Devonport in northwest Tasmania
00:10and beyond. Six children died and three were seriously injured when a gust of wind lifted
00:17an inflatable jumping castle into the air. Today, nearly three years later, a criminal
00:23hearing began in the Magistrates' Court in Devonport. The jumping castle's operator,
00:29Rosemary Gamble, trading as TasZorb, has pleaded not guilty to one count of failure to comply
00:36with health and safety duty. Crown Prosecutor Madeleine Wilson SC told the court the children
00:42had been enjoying an end-of-year school event when strong wind, described as a mini-tornado,
00:48struck. She quoted students who witnessed the tragedy. One said,
01:08A third student described seeing their friends fall from the castle as it flew through the air.
01:14The prosecution alleges the defendant only secured the castle at four of the eight anchorage points
01:20despite having enough pegs on the day and that the pegs didn't comply with Australian standards.
01:26It also alleges Ms Gamble had access to star pickets, which were compliant. Ms Wilson said
01:34the defendant owed a duty that as far as reasonably practical that the health and
01:39safety of children should not be put at risk. Defence lawyer Chris Dockray SC said Ms Gamble
01:46received written confirmation from the manufacturer that the castle met Australian standards before
01:51buying it. It came with only the four pegs which were used and the manufacturer didn't provide a
01:57manual. Instead, Ms Gamble downloaded one from the website. He said,
02:09He said the wind was so substantial that the anchor system would have failed regardless
02:14and quoted an expert witness who called it,
02:24Emotions ran high in court. Ms Gamble wept as details of the children's injuries were read out
02:32and at one stage a victim's parents said to Ms Gamble,
02:39before leaving the court. The hearing is expected to run for two weeks.