By Oscar Parry
The anonymous ‘Giz Asaurus’ returned to New Gisborne, bringing joy to commuters as he held a sign encouraging people to brave the winter weather.
The character, created by a Gisborne teenager who chooses to remain anonymous, appeared at the new roundabout next to the Macedon Ranges Regional Sports Precinct on Wednesday, June 19.
Sending a winter-appropriate message, the character held a sign that read ‘Keep your hearts (and toes) warm’.
The teenager behind the character said the idea to create a public character stemmed from a desire to bring joy to people in his community.
“I wanted to bring joy to people in a fun and simple way, and what better way to do that than in a ridiculous dinosaur costume?” he said.
The teenager said that he has received plenty of positive feedback from community members and has now built up a local fanbase.
“I get lots of people telling me stories about how I made their day better,” he said.
“People have posted amazing things. My favourites are the lady who handmade a super cute crochet version of me and the guy who did a parody video [using footage] from Jurassic Park – it was so funny!”
A friend of the Giz Asaurus has begun joining him in some of his appearances – another teenager who plays the ‘New Giz Asaurus’.
The pair recently appeared at the Woodend Winter Arts Festival, where they got involved in a jazzercise class.
“I love supporting community projects so it was a good chance to branch out from only being seen in Gisborne,” the teenager said.
“I … really love overhearing how much people enjoy The Giz Asaurus and New Giz Asaurus’ silly antics. We have a lot of giggles at home planning what we’re going to do next.”
Residents can keep up-to-date with the Giz Asaurus’ antics by following their Facebook page: facebook.com/TheGizAsaurusRawr
