WATERPLAY Solutions Corp
Whether your goal is increasing your centre's revenues or creating an engaging environment, why not add play to your project? If you're looking for stylish aquatic play features, kid-tested…
read moreThe Northern Territory Coroner has found "significant failings" contributed to the drowning death of a toddler in a remote public pool 530 kilometres from Alice Springs while he was under the supervision of a daycare service in 2020.
The five-day Coronial inquest held earlier this month heard that the death of Kumanjayi Jurrah occurred on 2nd December 2020 - in the remote desert community of Kintore - after three childcare workers took six children on their weekly excursion to the Kintore Swimming Pool.
Evidence presented to the inquest advised that on the day six children and two educators, Rebecca Pollard and Noretta Nolan, walked the short distance from the MacDonnell Regional Council-operated daycare to Kintore Swimming Pool while Team leader Paula Nadas followed behind.
The group was let in by lifeguard Paul Rigney, then got changed, grabbed balls to play with and headed to the round shallow children's pool, metres away from a 25m lap pool.
About 30 minutes later, Nadas signalled it was time to leave.
Council assisting the Coroner, Paul Morgan, told the inquest that Kumanjayi was last seen getting changed and the childcare workers left the pool without him.
Shortly afterwards, Jurrah's aunt saw the group walking back to the daycare and noticed her nephew was missing.
She sounded the alarm and within seconds council staff and community members began to search for Kumanjayi.
They quickly discovered none of the council keys, including the master key, could open the pool gate.
The Court heard the locks had recently been changed and the lifeguard, who couldn't be found, was the only one with access.
As the seconds ticked by, community members scaled the high barbed wire fence, ripping their clothes and skin to get over.
They then found Kumanjayi "floating face up in the part of the adult pool near the built in tiled steps".
Sitting with an Indigenous translator who relayed questions in Pintupi and Luritja, childcare workers Nolan and Pollard were both granted protection from incrimination.
Asked by Coroner Elisabeth Armitage "do you know how Kumanjayi got left behind that day?", Pollard responded "I don't know."
Nolan told the inquest she remembered watching Kumanjayi playing with a ball in the children's pool and recalled seeing him line up with the other children in the change area at the end of the swim session.
Nolan told the inquest that she'd worked at the daycare for a number of years but had received minimal formal training.
She noted that it was Nolan's "job to count the children" as they left the swimming pool.
In an emotional disclosure to the inquest Nadas conceded she was distracted and didn't count the children as they exited.
In February 2023, Nadas was charged with manslaughter, but earlier this year those charges were dropped.
She said she considered herself the "responsible person under the legislation" and had been left distraught.
She explained "I just don't know what happened."
The Coroner also heard that the lifeguard in charge of the pool was the last to leave and did not do a final sweep of the area.
He then locked the gate and took the only key, trapping Kumanjayi inside.
He had been summoned to the inquest but has not been able to be located by police.
The inquest heard there had been a series of systemic failings at the Macdonnell Regional Council leading up to Kumanjayi's death.
There was no evidence of parental consent for excursions nor risk assessments to ensure the safety of kids during them, and staff training wasn't provided in language.
Royal Life Saving Society - Australia data shows the Northern Territory has the highest rate of drowning deaths in the nation.
In addition, past research has shown that people living in disadvantaged parts of Australia are 71% more likely to drown than those living in areas of affluence.
Both the Kintore Swimming Pool and Kintore Child Care Centre have been closed since the incident.
Image: The Kintore Swimming Pool. Credit: NT Courts.
16th August 2024 - LIWA Aquatics’ WA Aquatic Recreation Conference features tribute to 20 years of Watch Around Water
25th July 2024 - Royal Life Saving highlights importance of World Drowning Prevention Day
22nd July 2024 - Royal Saving Society secures funding to review Northern Territory report on swimming pools in remote areas
24th June 2024 - Belgravia Academy supports pool reopening in remote Northern Territory community
31st May 2024 - Port Fairy Community Pool Management and the Victorian Department of Education fined following 2021 child drowning
27th May 2024 - The Y Northern Territory appointed to manage City of Darwin aquatic facilities
14th March 2024 - Wadeye community pool in Northern Territory closes due to lifeguard shortages
12th March 2024 - Drowning death at Cairns swimming hole highlights need for improved safety signage
5th March 2024 - Pool operator pleads guilty to safety breaches over child drowning at Port Fairy Community Pool
28th February 2024 - Aquatic Industry event highlights achievements of drowning prevention campaigns
5th December 2023 - Global water safety community converges on Perth with a mission to end drowning
15th September 2023 - Latest National Drowning report reveals rise of deaths among older men
27th July 2023 - Royal Life Saving Society Australia named as founding member of Global Alliance for Drowning Prevention
25th July 2023 - AUSTSWIM marks World Drowning Prevention Day with call for more Australians to become swim teachers
4th March 2020 - Balgo Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pool gets official opening
21st March 2018 - Royal Life Saving WA promotes family fun at remote Burringurrah pool
8th November 2016 - Swimming pools in remote Aboriginal communities provide health and social benefits
12th October 2015 - Drowning risk for children five times higher in regional and remote areas of Western Australia
2nd August 2014 - Remote Northern Territory communities receive major recreational upgrades
29th January 2011 - Federal funds to improve remote Northern Territory swimming pools
23rd May 2011 - Northern Territory Drowning highlights need for Watch Around Water
Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?
As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.
Click here to view our subscription options.
The Complete Guide to Leisure Industry Products & Services.
Whether your goal is increasing your centre's revenues or creating an engaging environment, why not add play to your project? If you're looking for stylish aquatic play features, kid-tested…
read morerevolutioniseSPORT is the emerging market leader in online club management in Australia. Whether it is memberships, registrations, events, online sales or governance tools - revolutioniseSPORT is the…
read moreSLE Worldwide Australia is a Managing General Underwriter specialising in insuring risks in the world of Sports, Leisure and Entertainment. Be it relaxing, playing, organising or watching sports,…
read moreHidroplay welcomes you to the exciting world of children's Playscapes, waterslide's and Water Attractions. Appealing to families, Hidroplay increases patronage in your facility during those…
read moreTPEC Pool Enclosures provide a large range of premium commercial and residential retractable swimming pool, spa and terrace enclosures throughout Australia, servicing residential, local government…
read moreWe live for media production and global events, providing real-time networks for video, audio, data and communications.
read moreStadiums and venues around the world recognise that success hinges on more than just what happens on the pitch. More than ever, fan engagement within each facility is a critical part of the overall…
read moreBH Fitness, part of the long-standing and iconic bike manufacturer BH Group, is a global leader in fitness equipment for both Commercial and Home markets. The company, with the headquarters based in…
read moreGet your business noticed in our targeted directory. Viewed by 10,000 industry professionals per week!