Police issue rubber-soled boots may have saved the life of Constable Kelvin Mooney. The 20-year-old was wearing such boots on 3 September 1980 when he was struck by 11 000 volts of electricity that arced from a power pole into his face. Kelvin was interviewed for the Police Vedette journal in January 1981 and the following is an extract from the description of the event reportedly in Kelvin’s own words:
Constable Kelvin Mooney studies one of the boots which probably saved his life.
(Image PM4109 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum)
“A man reported that a telegraph pole was on fire, so the Sergeant sent me down to check. It was about 7pm on a clear night, and when I reached the pole I could see sparks flickering at the top, but I couldn’t see any wires. I drove down to the next pole and counted the number of wires on it, and then backed up to the problem one. The only wire I saw was hanging low, almost in the cane. The last thing I remember is opening the car door. Apparently, there was such a high voltage of electricity around the pole that it jumped into my body. I remember hopping back into the car and driving around for a while. I almost drove down the slipway into the river at one stage. Then I remember seeing a yellow flashing light and I drove towards it. On the way my feet felt like they were blistering so I stopped and removed my right shoe. I noticed some back stuff on my face and I tried to wipe it off.”
Constable Mooney’s police issue rubber-soled boots. The holes in the right boot show the exit points of the electricity as it passed through Kelvin’s body. The boots are on display at the Queensland Police Museum.
(Object No. QP21-1 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum)
Constable Mooney’s socks were melted to his feet as the electricity passed through his body. (Object No. QP21-2 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum)
Kelvin saw our original 2011 Queensland Police Facebook post about his brush with death and provided more information about his experience on that day in 1980.
I would like to fill in a few of the gaps if I may, I can see why some doubt what happened to me. When I saw what 13 newspapers across Australia had written about the accident – I did not believe what had happed either. Thirteen different stories……not one of them was even close to what happened. The stories ranged from – I had driven onto a power line – I had grabbed hold of a power line – A power line had fallen on the car to – I had walked into a fallen power line.
My story – It was about 7.00pm one cold night in Maryborough, I went to investigate a fire on the top of a power pole. When I got to the pole I opened the car door to see the power line. It appears the electricity arced from the power line across an irrigation ditch and entered the right side of my face. I believe after I was electrocuted I dropped to my knees and slid down the bank of the ditch. Sometime later I recovered and got back into the police car and drove around the Maryborough shipyards and surrounding area.
I only found out about dropping onto my knees about two years ago when talking to my mother. She has the trousers I was wearing on the night. The trousers still have the grass stains on the knees which could have only occurred by sliding down the grass slope of the irrigation ditch.
At the hospital I remember a nurse telling a doctor that she could not find my pulse…I can tell you that got me going. The doctor used his stethoscope and found my pulse – what a relief. YES, and I had one of those near-death experiences with the old bright light. I had lapsed back into unconsciousness and I remember seeing this bright light and I heard a voice. The voice told me to go back as he did not want to see me until I was 94. I then regained consciousness. YES, this changed the way I looked at life – if he does not want me then no one on earth is going to hurt me and I decided to do what I could to help others.
I remember starting back at work in Brisbane…a few days later an electrician touched a power line carrying 11,000 volts. He however was killed and his whole body was burnt black. YES, I agree that those rubber boots saved my life because I was not earthed to the ground. I still have the scars on my neck and feet to prove that it really did happen. My favourite quote is: “Every day above the ground is a great day”.
Kelvin recovered from his shocking experience and spent another 10 years as a Queensland police officer. He retired as a Detective Senior Constable from the Juvenile Aid Bureau on 6 April 1990.
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This information was assembled by Curator Lisa Jones and sourced from the best Queensland Police Museum resources available at the time of writing. The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“The shock of his life” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode