Jumping Castle Inquest
Tasmanian Coronial Inquest Opens Into Fatal 2021 Jumping Castle Accident
Anonymous
A coronial inquest has opened in Devonport into the deaths of six Hillcrest Primary School students who were killed when a wind gust lifted a jumping castle during an end-of-year celebration in December 2021. The opening hearing paid tribute to Addison Stewart, Chace Harrison, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Peter Dodt and Zane Mellor, all students in grades 5 or 6, with families recalling their personalities, interests and ambitions. Three other children were seriously injured. The inquest will examine the circumstances of the deaths, including weather monitoring, risk assessments, education department practices, national safety standards and the inflatable operator’s procedures; evidence from earlier criminal proceedings indicated that only four of eight anchor points were used. The operator, Rosemary Gamble, was acquitted in 2025 after a court found the wind event was impossible to predict and that additional anchoring would not have changed the outcome, but the coroner may reach different conclusions and issue recommendations.
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The inquest is scheduled to sit over four days in September, with additional hearing blocks planned for November and February; counsel assisting said the opening week would focus on establishing the circumstances of each child’s death wherever possible.
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Families have described the continuing impact of the criminal verdict. Zane Mellor’s mother, Georgie Burt, said after Rosemary Gamble’s acquittal: “There is a profound gap between what we know to be true and what the system was willing to recognise.”
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The children’s ambitions included Chace Harrison’s wish to play professional basketball, Jye Sheehan’s goal of becoming a forensic scientist and Addison Stewart’s intention to join the school council in 2022.
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Zane Mellor’s mother, Georgie Burt, is expected to testify during the first week of hearings, alongside other witnesses addressing the circumstances of the tragedy.
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