Gary David Murphy (50) and Trevor Floyd Smith (55) died in March 2019 during a tour operated by Prestige Adventure Ltd and led by its director, John Thomssen.
The men were in a convoy of all-terrain vehicles illegally passing through Dome Hills Station, near Ranfurly, when their vehicle plunged more than 80m down a steep drop.
They died instantly.
A WorkSafe investigation found multiple failings by Thomssen and the company.
It had no documented training processes, no operations manual for the tour, and the tour group had received only about 15 minutes of basic training on much less hazardous terrain.
No-one had travelled the route in the off-road vehicles used by the group, and Thomssen had explicitly been denied access to the site where the tragedy occurred.
The company was not a registered adventure activity operator, despite Thomssen knowing that was required by law.
Thomssen and the company were sentenced by Judge Joanna Maze in the Timaru District Court on November 29 after admitting a raft of charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act and adventure activities regulations.
WorkSafe area investigation manager Steve Kelly said the men died because of Thomssen and Prestige’s failure to keep them safe.
‘‘The impact on their families and friends will last forever, and would have been avoided had the company and Thomssen not failed in the very basic duties required when people put their lives in their hands,’’ Mr Kelly said.
The company, which is no longer trading and expected to go into liquidation, was fined $595,000.
While the judge would have ordered reparation of about $230,000, the company and Thomssen’s financial position meant only $100,000 was ordered.
The money was shared between the two men’s families.
