Hillcrest jumping castle tragedy: Operator to face questions at inquest in Tasmania
An inquest will hear from the operator of an inflatable jumping castle at the centre of a primary school tragedy in which six children died.
The operator of an inflatable jumping castle that became airborne, killing six primary school students, will give evidence at an inquest into the tragedy.
Rosemary Gamble was the owner of Taz-Zorb, which set up inflatable equipment on the oval of Hillcrest Primary School for end-of-year celebrations on December 16, 2021.
Addison Stewart, Chace Harrison, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Peter Dodt and Zane Mellor died when a freak dust devil wind gust lifted the castle into the air.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Ms Gamble was cleared of criminal workplace health and safety breaches in 2025.
The magistrate ruled she could have done more to secure the castle, but extra efforts wouldn’t have made a difference to the eventual outcome.
The inquest has been told the castle was tethered at four of its eight anchorage points.
Ms Gamble is expected to give evidence at the inquest on Thursday via a video link to the hearing room in north-west Tasmania.
There were, at times, heated scenes when she and families of the victims were in close proximity during the criminal hearings.
Ms Gamble cried when an apology was read on her behalf after a not-guilty ruling was delivered.
She will be questioned about the history of Taz-Zorb’s business with the school, as well as training and education she undertook and the purchase of the castle from Chinese supplier East Inflatables.
Ms Gamble is expected to say the castle did not come with an instruction manual, but she downloaded one proactively from East Inflatables’ website.
Taz-Zorb worker Jesse Barrett on Tuesday told the inquest he was never shown a manual but was familiar with instructions sewn onto the castle.
Decisions on whether to use four or more pegs were made based on the condition of the ground and the weather, he said.
Witnesses have described calm conditions on the oval before the dust devil whirlwind appeared from nowhere and picked up the castle to the height of a telephone pole.
Veteran constable and lead forensic investigator Dean Wotherspoon, who was involved in co-ordinating the scene, previously said he thought the castle was insufficiently tethered.
Everybody was doing their best to try to save the children in chaotic circumstances, he said.
The inquest began in September and will hold further hearings on Friday and in February.
