Former Sturt footballer and Bali bombing survivor, dad-of-five Julian Burton shares the best part of every day

Conversation with former Sturt footballer and Bali bombing survivor Julian Burton is peppered with words such as “gratitude”, “love” and “blessed” — he shares what drives his zest for life and why at 45, he’s happier (and busier) than ever.

The Burton clan: Julian and Kay with children Sebastian, 4, Max, 13, Mya, 3 months, Archie, 10 and Alexander (AJ), 2. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

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WITH five children aged between 13 and three months, approaching midlife is mostly far from the mind of South Australian identity, 45-year-old Julian Burton, amid the “pandemonium” of meal times, baths, readers, homework and kids’ sports.

“I am aware that I am getting closer to 50 and that tells me that I am middle-aged, or maybe I am getting there … but I do intend to live a long life, that is my aim and that is my objective to live a long healthy life, for my family but also for myself,” the former Sturt footballer and 2002 Bali bombing survivor says.

“There are times throughout your life that you evaluate and reflect on where you are and what is going on but I really believe if you are grateful for the love you have in your life, the family you have in your life, the friends you have in your life … if you have all those things, you have a good life.”

Conversation with Mr Burton is peppered with words such as “gratitude”, “love” and “blessed” and it would be easy to link his unashamed sentimentality with the horrific events of 2002 which left him with life-threatening burns.

However, he believes the seeds were sown much earlier.

“I think (it goes back) to my parents and how I was raised. I was raised with very strong values on being grateful for what you have in life – family and love was always number one,” he says.

“So when you go through adversity whether it be what happened in Bali, business challenges or a marriage breakup or whatever it is, those values get reinforced … it really is about just being grateful for what you have in life and surrounding yourself with wonderful people and hopefully, if you do that, while it will still be a tough journey, you will get through it somehow.

Julian Burton and wife Kay recently welcomed their first daughter Mya into the world ... a little sister to four brothers. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“(To be honest) I don’t really ever think about (what happened in Bali), I am just extremely grateful that I am still here, sitting at a table with five kids around me because there are many who didn’t get that chance … and there are parents out there who didn’t see their children become a mother or a father.”

Mr Burton’s fifth child and first daughter, little Mya, was welcomed into the world three months ago, bringing a “whole new dynamic” to the busy household, a treasured little sister for her four big brothers.

But her birth didn’t come without it’s own heartache, with the Burtons losing an unborn baby, another little girl, at about 12 weeks.

“It was an experience (my wife) Kay and I hadn’t been through before and couldn’t have imagined … and it wasn’t just us, the boys went through it as well - it was something we spoke about and shared as a family with the eldest, Max and Archie, obviously understanding it a lot better.

“After you get over the emotion, you really start to understand how tough it would be for people who have gone through that loss – and gone through it more than once, or at a much later stage than we did. We have so much compassion for those who have.

“We were very fortunate we were able to fall pregnant again and feel blessed to have Mya come into our world.”

In the five months since Mr Burton farewelled the burns charity (the Julian Burton Burns Trust) he set up and ran for 15 years raising in excess of $20 million, his focus has been the start-up of two biotech companies – one developing world-first artificial skin technology, the other aimed at finding a cure for type 1 diabetes – and spending time with his family.

“In the early years when I was setting up the Burns Trust, as with any start up business, I spent many hours in the office and on a plane – in hindsight, those hours could have been spent with my family,” says the 2010 South Australian of the Year who co-parents his two eldest sons with their mother.

Mr Burton says acknowledging mistakes is an important part of moving forward and something he appreciates, now in his 40s, more than ever.

“If you are going to grow as a person, husband, friend, you are going to make mistakes, as long as you learn from it and move forward and try to do the best you can wherever you are, it is all you can do,” he says.

“Some days you’ll get it right, some days you won’t … we’ve all got demons and ghosts in the closet – as long as we’re aware of them, that is the way life goes.

“I think if you have the attitude you always want to be a better person, hopefully as you get older, you learn a lot more emotionally and mentally based on your experiences in life.”

“There’s a great saying, ‘when you lose, never lose a lesson’.”

And, says the man who loves “a great saying”, no matter how crazy life gets, it’s the little things that matter most.

“When you’ve responsibilities such as mortgages and children’s school fees and things like that, life can get a bit tense ... but at the end of the day, if you look around the dinner table and you have five healthy children who are arguing, who are laughing, who are giggling, who are crying, Kay and I will look at each with a smile on our face and say, ‘well that is what life is about’.”