PARONELLA PARK

PARONELLA PARK

On the 11th and 12th of October we arrived at the little town of Mena Creek not far from Innisfail in Far North Queensland which is home to the amazing place known as Paronella Park. This place was a vision come true for a Spaniard with a dream of making an incredible pleasure park for everyone to enjoy.
Jose Paronella's dream was to build a castle not unlike the ones he had known in Spain. His dream park sits on a block of 13 acres beside the Mena Creek Falls. He built a castle, picnic areas at the lakeside, tennis courts, tunnels and bridges and surrounded it with an amazing range of 7000 tropical plants and trees. He began his building in 1929. He installed Queensland's first hydro electric plant in 1933 to power the park which opened in 1935.
The story of Jose's dream endured many set backs over the years with floods destroying the refreshment rooms which were rebuilt 6 months later. Jose passed away in 1948 leaving his wife Margarita and two children Theresa and Joe to run Paronella Park. When Margarita passed away Joe and his wife Val ran the park until Joe's death in 1972. The park was eventually sold in 1977 and went into decline. In1979 a fire swept through the park destroying the castle with only the walls and the turret as a reminder of what had been. In 1986 cyclone Winifred tested the parks endurance again.
In 1993 the current owners Mark and Judy Evans bought the park and have begun the long task of restoring the park to its former glory as well as improving the park by installing a new hydro electric plant and building a caravan park next door in which Keith and I stayed for 2 nights in order to enjoy the park further and take a look at the surrounding area. Your first night at the park is free with your entrance ticket.
The entrance fee to the park includes both a day and night tour. The owner Mark Evans takes the night tour himself letting you in to more revelations of what his plans are for the future of the park and giving us all a little gift at the end. A nice touch I thought. You also get a two year repeat visit pass before you leave. I loved Paronella Park and the story of Jose's dream which he worked so hard to bring to reality despite many set backs along the way.