Teacher tells inquest of grief after jumping castle tragedy

A Tasmanian teacher who saw the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy unfold has told a court he was unable to return to work after the deaths of his students.

Stephen Fenn was a year five/six teacher who worked at the north-west Tasmanian primary school on December 16, 2021.

On that day, students Addison Stewart, Chace Harrison, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Peter Dodt and Zane Mellor died, and three of their classmates were seriously injured, when a freak wind lifted and tossed a jumping castle across their school oval.

Mr Fenn gave evidence via video link today before Coroner Olivia McTaggart in the coronial inquest into the children's deaths being held in Devonport.

Teacher says wind event like nothing he had ever seen

The coronial inquest resumed today for the second block of evidence, after four days of hearings in September.

Mr Fenn was the first witness to appear and told the court on the day of the tragedy he was supervising his students in the queue for the jumping castle when he saw the wind, known as a dust devil, approaching.

He told the court he was standing under the gazebo that had been erected near the jumping castle with its owner, Rosemary Gamble.

He said the dust devil appeared suddenly and lifted grass and dust as it passed over the gazebo, obstructing their view of the jumping castle.

"It was very hard to see; I just heard this whoosh sound," he said.

"I heard Ms Gamble, who was sitting in the gazebo, she said, 'Where's the jumping castle gone?'

Mr Fenn told the court he quickly set about trying to help the victims, and first went to Jye, before attempting to help resuscitate Jalailah.

He said at one point during the day, police asked him to go to the Mersey Community Hospital at Latrobe to help with identification of the victims.

Mr Fenn became emotional when he was shown the body of Addison Stewart.

"I didn't know she had passed away," Mr Fenn said, his voice breaking.

Tragedy forced early retirement

At the end of his evidence, counsel assisting the coroner, Maree Norton SC, asked him to detail how the tragedy has affected his life.

Mr Fenn said he was unable to return to work the following year, and that it forced his retirement three years earlier than he had intended.

"I found I couldn't go back to a classroom and work with the same care and love that I gave my students," he said.

"I'm always looking for danger now, especially with wind events; I'm very cautious.

He said prior to the tragedy he was a happy, outgoing and confident person, but he had to work to rebuild those qualities of his personality.

The tragedy had affected his personal relationships, made him fear anyone associated with the school and he avoided driving near its grounds.

Inquest to hear from jumping castle operator, police officer

At the outset of today's proceedings, Ms Norton told the court the inquest would be focusing on the Australian safety standards for inflatable amusement devices, and the instruction manuals provided to jumping castle operator Rosemary Gamble.

Ms Norton said Ms Gamble would be called to give evidence on Thursday about her knowledge of the standards, and the instruction manuals she used to set up the jumping castle after she purchased it from the Chinese company, East Inflatables.

She said the inquest would also hear this week from retired Tasmania Police detective inspector Kim Steven, who was present on the day of the tragedy.