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."
