Paronella Park is a tourist attraction 120 kilometres south from Cairns. The park was built in the 1930s by Spanish immigrant José Paronella. José arrived in Australia from Catalonia in 1913. Eleven years later, he returned to his native Spain, where he married Margarita in 1925 and took her to the "green" continent. In 1929, Jose purchased a 13-acre plot of land in the bay of Mena and and began to develop a public entertainment centre there.
First. Jose and Margarita built a house for themselves, and then began construction of the Castle.
With the exception except for the house, which is made of stone, all the other structures in the park are made of concrete. In 1935, the park was inaugurated to the public. Every Saturday. the local cinema showed films. And when the chairs were removed, the auditorium was transformed into a dance floor. The real marvel of those years was the huge rotating balloon suspended from the ceiling. spinning ball covered in 1,270 little mirror shards. In the mid-1960s. Paronella became a popular wedding venue. Heavy concrete tables in the lower Tea Garden and swimming pool were incredibly popular, and they remain so today. still are today. In 1933, a hydro-electric power station was built at the park's waterfalls, Queensland's first privately owned hydro-electric power station. The plant was subsequently decommissioned.
Jose planted more than 7,000 trees in the park, including magnificent New Zealand agathis (a.k.a. kauri) forming Kauri Alley.
The first disaster to hit the park was in 1946 - a massive flood. and the resulting landslide almost completely destroyed Jose's life's work. However family was not discouraged: Jose repaired the sideboard, built a fountain, repaired the Castle, planted trees in the garden, and the park took on a new life. Later on, floods repeatedly destroyed the park's structures in 1967, 1972 and 1974. In 1979 Paronella was badly damaged by fire. For some time, the park was closed to the public.
In 1993, the park was purchased by Mark and Judy Evans, who decided to to revitalise the Queensland landmark. But they decided not to restore Paronella Paronella in its original form, but to make only the most necessary repairs, and to and then display traces of history and natural destruction. Their concept was successful - between 1998 and 2009, the park won more than 20 tourism awards. awards. In 2004, Paronella was named Queensland's top attraction.
