Rumours of dinosaur sightings in the inner-west have been confirmed following the public unveiling of ‘Mimi’ the muttaburrasaurus.
The 7-metre-long, 3-metre-high dinosaur created by artists at Footscray’s BiGfiSh is the star attraction at a new dinosaur-themed playground opening in McNish Reserve, Yarraville, on Saturday.
The $100,000 playground was funded by Medibank as part of a healthy-living campaign and created with the support of Maribyrnong council. Mayor Grant Miles says he hopes the innovative playground becomes an icon known across Melbourne.
“I love it, it’s great stuff, it plays off well against the community garden. I’ll certainly be bringing my son down to have a play on it,” he said.
“There has been a lot of interest. It’s certainly going to be very well known in the coming years. Mimi is the best thing we’ve seen since the Cretaceous era.”
The muttaburrasaurus was an herbivorous dinosaur that lived in northern Australia more than 100 million years ago.
Medibank chief customer officer Laz Cotsios said he hoped Mimi encouraged children to lead healthier, more active lives.
The playground will be opened with a community day from 10.30am to 2pm this Saturday. There will be free activities, food and free copies of a specially-created Mimi children’s book.
Benjamin Millar
