Dinosaurs may have become extinct millions of years ago, but one lonely reptile lives on in Wānaka and celebrates its 50th birthday this year.

Wānaka went the way of the dinosaur in the mid-1970s, after the local chapter of the service club Jaycees held a competition to design equipment for a new playground in the town.

Julie Ramsay, then aged 12, came out on top, but she was pretty nonchalant about it at the time.

‘‘I’ve got no memories of it being anything that I was proud of,’’ Ms Ramsay said. ‘‘I didn’t ever remember it being a big thing when I was a kid, and then when I was 18 or 19 we moved to Queenstown and I didn’t think about it much anymore.

Half a century later, however, an immense sense of pride has developed.

‘‘It’s amazing,’’ Ms Ramsay said. ‘‘As I’ve got older, I feel really very excited and proud.

‘‘I don’t want to take all the shine because there were also the people who built it as well, but yes, I’m very proud.

Ms Ramsay may have left Wānaka as a teenager, but her dinosaur design remains an indelible mark in the memories of generations of Wānaka residents and visitors.

When the dinosaur slide’s birthday was announced on social media, the response from the community was emphatic, with a flood of comments and messages reminiscing about the role the slide had played for residents as children, parents and grandparents.

Siblings James, 10 and Harriet Taylor, 12 of Hawkes Bay go for a ride down the Wanaka dinosaur slide as it celebrates 50 years. Photo: Evie Sinclair

Gemma Lowther, of Dunedin, whose family holidayed in Wānaka, said that four generations of her family had played on the slide: from her grandparents to her own children.

‘‘When we used to go to Wānaka with my parents when I was a kid, we’d head straight to the Dinosaur Park for a play,’’ Ms Lowther said.

‘‘The sheer size of it was always an attraction, because when you got to the top as a little kid, I remember not being able to see over the spikes.

‘‘As you got bigger, and you could see over the spikes, you realised how small you actually were on the slide.

‘‘I was looking through some photos of my son’s first time on the slide and he couldn’t see over the tail,’’ Ms Lowther said.

For Ms Lowther, the condition of the slide, despite its years, is a mark of the town’s good health.

‘‘It’s a testament to the community that the slide has been protected and looked after, and its pretty special that multiple generations can share those memories with their children,’’ Ms Lowther said.