Australia's First Big Roadside Icon Ploddy the Dinoosaur Tuns 50

Minister for Major Events and Tourism, George Souris, recently attended a luncheon at The Australian Reptile Park in Somersby NSW.

Celebrations have recently been held to mark the 50th anniversary celebration of Ploddy the Dinosaur, a life size replica of Diplodocus, which roamed the earth over 150 million years ago.

Perched atop a hill overlooking the F3 Freeway, the Ploddy monument is Australia’s first big roadside icon, is heritage-listed and has contributed to tourism in the region for half a century.

Ploddy was constructed with fifty tonnes of concrete at the former site of the Australian Reptile Park at Wyoming in 1963 and was the brainchild of the Park’s founder, the late Eric Worrell. Deciding that the Park needed a roadside mascot, Eric decided on a Diplodocus because fossils on this species were excavated from Wyoming in the USA around the same time. He sought a landmark that would “put Gosford on the map as a tourist destination”.

Ploddy was reconstructed by sculptor Ken Mayfield from a photograph of the largest individual specimen which was dug up in Holland. Ken created the model that acted as a guide for the builders and the finished product measured over 26 metres and weighed around 100 tonnes. Albert Sullivan donated and built the iron frame and a swimming pool company, Nucrete, the only ones capable of spraying such a large area, donated the concrete.

Ploddy was so significant to tourism that visitation to the Australian Reptile Park rose by 30% despite poor weather that period. Local businesses saw the success of the Reptile Park in the wake of the yellow dinosaur and this led to the establishment of a local tourism association in 1964.

Ploddy was moved from Wyoming to Somersby in 1996 when the Park relocated to its present location just off the F3 Freeway. Ploddy was given a memorable send-off, even though tailless and legless. He was paraded down the main street of Gosford to the largest crowd seen since World War 2. Ploddy’s concrete skin has been painted over one hundred times throughout his 50 year history. Originally 15.4cms thick, it has been estimated that, with all that paint, he is now 1.5cms thicker.

For more information, please visit http://www.reptilepark.com.au/ploddy-the-dinosaur/