PARONELLA PARK

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Since being in Queensland we had seen a lot of leaflets recommending a place called Paronella Park. The leaflets all marked it as Number 1 thing to do in Queensland. None of the leaflets really give you much of an idea what its all about so it was all a bit of a mystery. The pictures looked beautiful so that was enough of a reason to give it a go. Entry to the park also includes use of the caravan park so for once we had our day planned and also somewhere to spend the night.

There was a daytime tour and an evening tour to go on so after setting up we rushed back to the office for the daytime tour. We were in such a rush that we had forgotten to put on out badges. They gave us some more and we rushed to catch the tour which had already left. The day tour is mostly about the history of the place which is quite remarkable. The park was built by Jose Paronella who sailed from Spain in 1930 to start a new life. He had always dreamt of building a castle so when he found the perfect place at Mena Creek falls he returned to Spain for his Fiancée. Unfortunately he discovered that she had married another man. Instead he proposed to her sister and they sailed back to Australia. They bought the land at Mena Creek Falls and a 47 step staircase was constructed so that building materials could be moved between levels. He did this with his own bare hands. The castle and entertainment area were all hand built with the couples fingerprints still visible in the concrete covering on many of the buildings. They built a theatre, tennis courts, swimming hole and a ball room with a massive mirror ball hanging from the ceiling! In addition to this 7000 trees were planted and the entire park was powered by Hydro electricity from the falls through a system designed by Jose. This was years before the surrounding area had any electricity. When it was complete it was opened to the public and must have been a very grand place. Now many of the buildings are ruins. Most that are complete are not safe to go inside and are covered in moss and other plants. I think that this only adds to the magic of the place and if anything makes it look better than when it was new. I find it totally amazing to think that all this was built just because it was Jose’s dream and that he was prepared to dig the ground himself and haul buckets of earth up and down the steps to make his dream come true - I think there is a lot that can be learned from this.

The park has been severely damaged over the years by fire and also by cyclone. Its no longer run by the Paronella family, but the new owners have worked very closely with the Paronella family since they re-discovered the lost park in 1993. The park is once again being powered by the falls using the original equipment and a lot of time and money has been spent maintaining and preserving the park so that it stays true to Jose’s dream.

During our visit it was in a semi flood state with the river so high that walls and seating areas were covered with water and the area that is normally open for swimming was closed as the river was running so fast. We were able to walk to the waters edge and feed the eels who were waiting patiently for the next visitors. After the tour we were able to explore the park on our own. We walked to the turtle nesting area and were able to feed the turtles although we were unable to coax one out of the water, even with a trail of food.

After dinner we returned to the office for the evening tour. Once again we were all without badges - well all except Andy who went straight to the top of the class! The evening tour took us a different way around the park, showing us how beautiful it was when lit up. As darkness fell we all gathered in front of the castle. Music began and the castle was lit up with a magical light display. The tour concluded at the waterfall which was now lit up and looked stunning.

The whole experience had been something completely different and we were all really pleased that we had come. But I must say that the thing that makes the place so special is the owners and the staff. Each and every one of them obviously loves working there and it really shows. They were all enthusiastic and knowledgable and our guide was the sort of person who you couldn’t help but listen to. Its as if Jose’s dream has now become their dream. Not many people are lucky enough to have jobs like that.

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