Ossie Ostrich

Ossie Ostrich was designed and made by Werner Axelrad of Lamont Puppets[2] for The Tarax Show.

In late 1971, when VFL footballer Peter McKenna was forced to leave Hey Hey It's Saturday, which he had been co-hosting with Daryl Somers, Ernie Carroll resurrected the puppet which had been "packed away in a dusty suitcase in the GTV props bay"[3] to be Somers' sidekick.

The comic skill of Somers and Carroll was instrumental in leading to the wider appeal of the show and its move to a prime time spot on Saturday evening.

Ossie Ostrich stepped out of the case and, as if under the control of a superior being, walked to the host set and looked directly into the left eye of Daryl Somers.

TV Week carried an Ossie Ostrich comic strip, written and illustrated by Carroll, and these were collected in book form.