Julie Ramsay (47), of Broome, Australia, with her husband
Donald Hart and daughter Molly Hart (3), stand in front of
Wanaka's dinosaur slide which she designed as a schoolgirl
about 35 years ago. The family is on holiday in Wanaka.
Photo by Lucy Ibbotson.
Julie Ramsay had thought the dinosaur slide she designed
as a child about 35 years ago for a lakefront playground in
Wanaka would be long since extinct.
She was delighted to see it still holding pride of place in
the "Dinosaur Park" when she returned to the town for a
holiday last week.
Since it was built by the Wanaka Jaycees in 1976, the
much-loved dinosaur slide has drawn countless children and
families to the playground. The huge plaster reptile has
stood the test of time while other playground equipment has
come and gone around it.
Ms Ramsay (47) grew up in Wanaka but moved away with her
family after she finished school.
She now lives in Broome, Australia, with husband Donald Hart
and daughter Molly (3). She was about 12 and a pupil at the
Wanaka Area School when she won a Jaycees competition to come
up with ideas for an adventure playground for the town.
"I can remember my drawing and I think I had a lot of
dinosaurs in mine, but I don't remember being a fan of
dinosaurs at all . . . I just drew what I thought would make
a cool slide."
After winning the competition, she was presented with her
prize - an Instamatic camera, which was "a really big deal
back then" - at a school assembly.
For many years Ms Ramsay gave little thought to the slide
inspired by her childhood drawing until the popularity of
Wanaka, and its attractions, began to grow.
"Over the years, more people have been saying . . . `It's
called the Dinosaur Park'. And Donald's so proud that I
designed this thing at school, he's always telling
everybody."
Ms Ramsay's daughter does not share the same enthusiasm for
the dinosaur connection, though.
"I have to say Molly's not that much into it. She's only gone
down the slide once, reluctantly."
The family visited Wanaka in 2003 for the first time since Ms
Ramsay's school days and checked on the status of the
dinosaur.
"Donald was just taking hundreds of photos of it . . . and I
couldn't believe it was so big."
During her holiday, after seeing the dinosaur still going
strong and even sporting a different coat of paint and new
slide surface from a $350,000 playground upgrade in 2004, Ms
Ramsay has been finding it "quite funny" dropping her Wanaka
claim to fame into conversations.
"I've been telling everybody about how I designed the
dinosaur everywhere I go."
lucy.ibbotson@odt.co.nz
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