Wallabies great Phil Kearns still carries the emotional weight of the October 23, 2005 accident that left his 19-month-old daughter Andie fighting for survival—an ordeal he connects to the Humpty Dumpty Foundation and the Balmoral Burn that helped fund critica
Phil Kearns still remembers the moment his suburban driveway turned into a nightmare more than two decades ago—when he believed he had killed his 19-month-old daughter, Andie.
The Wallabies legend. now 58. was speaking as Andie still cracks jokes about the trauma behind their family story. playfully reminding him: “Remember. Dad when you tried to kill me?” Kearns laughs off the banter. but the incident that took place at their home in Mosman on October 23. 2005. remains something that “deep down” still hurts.
Andie survived because of hospital equipment purchased through the Humpty Dumpty Foundation.. The funds were made available after the success of the Balmoral Burn. a fundraising event that Kearns had started four years earlier.. The Wallabies hooker played 67 Tests for Australia and now looks back at how that earlier push helped give Andie a chance when it mattered most.
The 2026 Kearns family will be at Awaba Street in Mosman for the next community staging of the event on Sunday, May 24. It will come with a brutal challenge for participants: a 420-metre climb.
Kearns said he remains proud of what the Balmoral Burn has built. He pointed to the reported $36.5 million raised for equipment used in over 500 hospitals across Australia.
“The intent was to raise $10,000 in that first year when we raised $70,000 – so it has exceeded all expectations from day one,” Kearns told News Corp. “It’s amazing – and who knows how many lives have been saved because of that equipment?”
Away from rugby, life looks very different now. Kearns lives with his wife Julie in Orange in Central West NSW, and the father of four has found a new pastime: tending to bees and selling jars of honey. He said the change in pace has been striking.
“There’s less traffic, there’s less people, but the opportunities are fantastic,” he said of life in Orange. “I never would have thought in a billion years that I’d have bees…it is fascinating and new, I love it. Also, our honey is unbelievable.”
For Kearns, the Balmoral Burn has always been more than a sporting test. It is tied to a day he feared was the end—and to the hospital equipment that helped keep his daughter alive.
Phil Kearns Wallabies Andie Kearns Balmoral Burn Humpty Dumpty Foundation Mosman Orange 420-metre climb rugby legend