After weeks of anticipation, the mysterious egg being cared for by Central Coast Council childcare centres and libraries hatched over the weekend revealing a platypus.

The egg was kept safe thanks to the knowledge bestowed by the national initiative Paint the Town REaD, which encourages literacy development in young children to prepare them for school.

Council Director Connected Communities, Julie Vaughan, said children were ecstatic to finally meet the mysterious animal which hatched during the Kids Film Festival at Kibble Park on Saturday evening.

“The timing could not have been more perfect, even if we had planned it ourselves,” Ms Vaughan said.

“Since we found the egg we have been asking for name suggestions from children and after finding out the gender last week, we could not go past Parker.

“We need to thank all the children and their families who helped Parker the Platypus grow by reading, singing, rhyming and talking to him.

“To show his gratitude to children who read to him before he hatched, Parker will be making special appearances at Library storytimes and childcare centres over the coming weeks as well as at Kids Day Out.”

Between all these special appearances, Parker will be taking the time to discover the sights of the Central Coast and these adventures will be captured and documented into a book for all to enjoy.

To thank the children of the Central Coast, Parker will be giving away copies of his book at The Lakes Festival events – Park Feast and Light Up The Lake event.

With more than 20% of Australian children arriving at school without the skills necessary to make the most of their early education, Parker will be constantly encouraging carers to read, sing and rhyme with their young children to help overcome this statistic.

“This book is just the first as Parker plans to write many more books to help with the early literacy development of our children,” Ms Vaughan added.

Visit centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/paintthecoastread for details of Parker's appearances and to find out more on his journey so far.