WA: Gracetown cliff collapse inevitable, court told

AAP General News (Australia)
08-03-2004
WA: Gracetown cliff collapse inevitable, court told

By Tim Clarke

PERTH, Aug 3 AAP - A cliff collapse that killed nine people at Gracetown was inevitable
and could have been avoided if authorities had acted on clear danger signals, a court
was told today.

On the second day of a multi-million dollar damages claim by the victims' families,
the West Australian District Court was told two experts had agreed that just by looking
at the cliff overhang at Huzza's Beach, authorities should have realised the potential
for tragedy.

And rather than being a "far-fetched or fanciful" risk to the public who used the popular
surfing spot, obvious characteristics of the cliffs meant it was a matter of when, not
if, the rock gave way.

The families of the victims have lodged a damages claim in the West Australian District
Court after the 1996 tragedy near Gracetown, near Margaret River, south of Perth.

Four children and five adults died when the limestone overhang collapsed, crushing
them under more than 1,400 tonnes of rock and sand, as they watched a surfing carnival
on September 27 that year.

The WA government, Augusta-Margaret River Shire, the Department of Conservation and
Land Management (CALM) and WA's education ministry are all being sued for liability over
the tragedy, which occurred as children from two local schools took part in a surfing
competition.

Those who died were among spectators who huddled underneath the limestone overhang
to protect themselves from rain.

The plaintiffs' lawyer Ian Viner QC said today two experts had concluded the cliffs
at Gracetown could easily be seen to be weak.

Warning signs in the rock formations included clearly visible vertical cracks, the
distinct rock overhang and evident layers of stronger and weaker rock, he said.

"Add all of those plain factors and that cliff was in danger of collapse not if, but
when," Mr Viner said.

"This is all indicative of potential instability and failure of the cliff - whether
it be a rock fall or a rock slide.

"CALM, the state and the shire were bound to take action to protect persons so ...

that if something suddenly happens, they will not be injured."

The plaintiffs claim all four authorities should have foreseen the tragedy and taken
steps to prevent it happening.

Because they did not, they were legally liable, Mr Viner said.

Judge Peter Nisbet, who is hearing the case without a jury, was also told it should
not matter that it would have been impossible to predict exactly when the cliff collapse
might occur - the mere possibility of it occurring should have prompted action from local
authorities.

"It matters not that one cannot say that this cliff will collapse tomorrow, or in a
week, or in a year - one does not wait until the fatality occurs before taking precautions,"

Mr Viner said.

"The obvious step would have been to fence the area off, to erect `no go' signs or
at the very least signs of precaution to the public."

Relatives of two of the victims of the tragedy - former shire councillor Peter McFarlane
and surfing coach Lindsay Thompson - were scheduled to give evidence later today.

The case continues.

AAP tc/rgr/sd

KEYWORD: GRACETOWN

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