Zoe Woolmer death: Tour company co-director expresses remorse to family

A young British tourist who fell from a ledge at Kings Canyon, near Alice Springs, in Australia’s Northern Territory, had been posing for a photograph when she plunged to her death, an inquest was told yesterday.

Zoe Woolmer, 23, died after falling during a rim walk of Kings Canyon in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Photos allegedly taken from The Rock Tour’s Facebook page and tendered to the coroner show the company’s tour guides and tourists at the spot, appearing to be hanging onto the cliff edge, but actually standing on a narrow ledge out of view.

In a letter to police shortly after the incident Mr Cooper was quoted as having written that The Rock Tour was an “unsafe and unprofessional organisation”.

Since The Rock Tour’s inception in 2006, Mr George estimated 93,000 tourists have used the service. She was looking up at me’.

It was on the tour company’s itinerary despite signposted warnings at the canyon and the death of an English tourist at the same ledge in 1996.

She said she remembered shouting: “Help is on the way darling”.

When rangers reached Woolmer 50 minutes later she was still alive despite suffering severe injuries, including skull fractures, bleeding to the brain, a broken back, a fractured pelvis and a fractured right shoulder blade.

He also outlined changes made since the tragedy, including better management of social media, clearer expec-tations for guides not to go within 2m of the edge of Kings Canyon and a chance for trainees to notify management if they thought experienced guides were breaking the rules.

Mr Currie told the court another witness described Ms Woolmer as jumping down to the ledge as she lost her balance and a third said she stumbled as she turned after reaching the ledge.

She said her daughter’s philosophy in life was that she worked hard, and played harder.

She was on a trip of a lifetime, the Daily Mail reported. “I just wanted to get everything right that was in the itinerary and I wanted to do a good job”.

As part of the tour the group were encouraged to climb down onto a ledge known as Kestral Falls for the group photograph.

Coroner Greg Cavanagh pressed Mr Cowan to acknowledge the company had led Ms Woolmer “to her death” and to address her family, who had flown from England to attend the hearing.

Friend Connie Patterson, who had been travelling with her in Australia, added: “I miss you like insane and can not ever put into words how much I love you and the great experiences we have shared together!”