KEARNS & THE BURN: A LEGACY OF PASSION AND PURPOSE
December 11, 2024
By Sandra Lee
Phil Kearns and his eldest daughter, Tilly, have a couple of things in common. First, they know what it’s like to be at the top of their sporting game.
For Phil, rugby, and for Tilly, water polo. He’s a two-time World Cup winner and former Wallabies captain. She’s a recently crowned Olympic silver medallist, one of the all-star Australian water polo team, which stormed the Paris Olympics in the best-ever attended match in history.
An emotionally proud moment - Andie, Phil and Finn Kearns, celebrating with Tilly
Second, both Kearnses are driven to ‘get things done’. Witness the 24th annual Balmoral Burn in May, which saw father and daughter take on Awaba Street despite massive immediate challenges.
Phil had recently recovered from open heart surgery, and Tilly was preparing for her second Olympics – so it was more of a walk than a run up the hill! “Dad had to take care of his heart and I didn’t want to get injured. But we got it done,” says Tilly.
They did indeed. Alongside hundreds of other Good Eggs, they raised $1.5 million for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation to buy medical equipment for children’s health services around Australia.
Phil came up with the idea for a one-off fun run to raise $10,000 to help provide a ‘lick of paint’ to the paediatric ward at Royal North Shore Hospital 25 years ago. Then, his second son, Finn, was being treated for suspected meningococcal and the kids’ ward needed a makeover.
Someone connected Phil with Humpty’s founder, Paul Francis, and the Balmoral Burn subsequently became an annual event that has raised more than $35 million dollars.
What does Phil remember about the first Burn?
"It wasn’t so much going up the hill that I remember but hoping that someone turned up on the day,” he laughs.
“Luckily, as we’ve discovered with 24 Burns, there are a lot of lunatics who love running up a hill…and they love the challenge even better if it helps someone else.”
And as of the huge sums raised and little lives helped – Phil can’t even fathom that number. “The more I think about it, the more emotional it makes me. We’re at hundreds of pieces of equipment a year and if it’s used even once a day that’s thousands of individuals right there.”
“Certainly, I never foresaw where it was going to go and as I’ve said many times, I thought there was only ever going to be one. Sometimes the dumbest ideas can be the best.”
The Burn has always been a family affair for Phil, wife Julie, and their four kids, Wilson, Finn, Tilly and Andie. Tilly, who is studying at the University of Southern California when not playing water polo for Australia, takes part whenever she can, "which fortunately or unfortunately is every year", she jokes. She was five on her first Burn, holding hands between mum and dad with little sister, Andie, in a pram.
“I had no idea, until later, that it started because of my brother. I’m not sure I was alive when Finn was sick, but I do remember Humpty having a massive impact on my sister’s recovery,” the 24-year-old says.
Andie sustained serious injuries in a car accident at home and spent weeks in hospital, treated with medical equipment covered with Humpty logos.
This year’s Burn was also especially significant.
“We heard first hand from a young boy named Griff who spoke about the equipment that saved his life, and that had such a profound impact on me,” Tilly says.
“It makes me want to do so much more in the world now. Seeing what my dad started—what began so small and is now a huge event—it's nothing short of amazing.”
Likewise, Phil’s proud of Tilly’s Paris success and, once again, it was a family affair with mum, dad and siblings cheering the Aussie Stingers.
“I’m not sure we’ve stopped crying,” says Phil. “It was incredible, just knowing how hard she works and knowing that we’ve played some small role in it.”
Participants enjoy the 'Celebration Run' race at the Balmoral Burn
When Tilly was 14, she was selected for the NSW Institute of Sport at Homebush, requiring 4.10am wake-up calls for 5am training.
“It was five days a week,” remembers Tilly. “Mum or dad would drive me – a huge commitment; they’d wait in the car. But I was determined. I said, ‘I don’t have a choice, I am making this team’, and to have their support to drive me to training was incredible.”
Did Phil impart any sporting advice?
“I try not to give too much advice …but I did tell Tilly to play with a smile on her face, and you can see that in the way she plays. You can see the joy there.”
Tilly’s dedication paid off. The Stingers won silver to Spain’s gold in a heart-stopping final 11-9, the best result for any Australian water polo team since the women won gold in Sydney.
“I did ask my doctor if we could wait for surgery until after the Olympics, and I’m glad we didn’t because with all the tension and the penalty goals, my aorta could have popped,” Phil jokes, adding he’s made a full recovery after successful surgery.
Says Tilly: “You dream about it as a little girl…and it was everything I thought it would be. It feels like a fever dream at the moment, even a few months later.”
As for the future, she adds: