For many young Australians, being taught about sexual health, and the dangers of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes by a cartoon giraffe while sitting in a dimly-lit caravan was a rite of passage. Yes - you read correctly.
Healthy Harold the giraffe has long been the face of the Life Education Australia's school program, which is tasked with guiding primary school kids through the health-related choices they potentially have ahead of them.
So nostalgic Aussies on social media were absolutely distraught to learn that Healthy Harold had, in fact, been defunded by the federal government.
However, after watching the utter devastation unfold online, the Education Minister Simon Birmingham quickly realised an enormous mistake had been made and confirmed that Australian icon Healthy Harold would no longer be axed.
Twitter rejoiced:
While there's no concrete information about how the government will continue to support Life Education Australia, it has been confirmed that HealthY Harold will live on:
Life Education Australia CEO David Ballhausen released a press statement this morning, confirming the news and thanking the Australian public for their passionate support.
"The Australian Government has confirmed that its contribution to the funding of our work will continue," Mr Ballhausen said.
"Thank you for the extraordinary support we received last night. It was critical in helping generate this positive response from the Australian Government.
"We look forward to quickly resolving this issue and will keep you informed of the outcome."
Long live Harold! A true Australian icon.
