Years of playing video games may have unexpectedly prepared an Australian tradie for the day he uncovered what appeared to be a bomb hidden behind a fireplace.
Brad Harrison was renovating a historic property on St Vincent Street, Port Adelaide, alongside an electrician and a plumber when they made the startling discovery on Monday.
Brad told Yahoo News that his gaming experience helped him recognise the object as a potential bomb.
“I think years of playing video games definitely paid off that day, and was the reason I was able to identify it as a potential bomb,” he said.
His colleagues decided to alert police, triggering a response from the South Australia Police Bomb Response Unit and Australian Defence Force personnel.
A century-old discovery behind the fireplace
Brad said the group was surprised when police confirmed the mortar was still live.
“My colleagues and I were all quite excited when the police confirmed it was still live, as this was something none of us had ever experienced before,” he said.
The unusual mortar device was discovered during renovations at the historic St Vincent Street property, which dates back to the 1870s. Source: Facebook/Brad Harrison
The object was later determined to be an improvised mortar device that did not have military origins, the Advertiser reported.
Police said the device did not contain an explosive or detonation device, and there was no risk to the public.
The ADF collected the device for disposal.
Painter Simon said he had encountered ammunition while working on heritage buildings in England, but had never seen anything quite like the Port Adelaide discovery.
“Especially in this building, underneath a fireplace,” he told the Advertiser.
“Who in their right mind would put an explosive under a fireplace?”
The response team reportedly believed the device could be more than 100 years old.
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Brad Harrison and colleagues from Precise Plumbing and Electrical made the bizarre discovery while renovating a property on St Vincent Street, Port Adelaide. Source: Google Maps
An unusual clue adds to the mystery
The mortar was found alongside the remains of a shoe, adding another strange detail to the discovery.
Simon said the practice of hiding footwear in fireplaces dates back centuries, with concealed shoes linked to old superstitions around luck and protection.
The property is believed to date back to the 1870s and was once an undertaker’s premises.
It is now being renovated into a jewellery store and workshop after jeweller Claire Brooks and her family bought the terrace shopfront last year.
Claire said she was “a bit shocked” when she learned the unusual device had been found inside the property.
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