A Passion for Paronella

Paronella Park’s modern history was sealed by stunned silence, Alison Huth reveals!

Paronella Park is a one off. It would be fair to say that there is only one Paronella Park in the world, let alone Australia. It all started as the dream of one man, Jose Paronella. It’s a fascinating history looking at the how and why this Spanish rainforest castle was built and I think that’s best left up to the people who really know it. The Paronella Park website has it all here.

Visiting Paronella Park has been on our bucket list for a very long time. Everyone who has been there raves about it, the atmosphere, the wonder of it, and the enjoyment of being able to wander through the gardens.

Onsite Camping

First thing to do was to book a powered site for the van at the Park. They have some sites, but they are not that big and it can be interesting fitting a van our size and car on the site. However, that won’t last forever as the current owners, Mark and Judy Evans,

are in the process of developing a caravan park close to the pub, which is 300m from the park, for people who are bringing their own accommodation.

We set up, and headed off to the starting point for the park tour. Amanda was our guide and you could tell she loved what she was doing, loved the history of the park’s birth, hard times and its future.

Highlighting the details 

The grounds are huge and there is a very interesting way of helping you to identify the plants. If something is a little rare you will see a metal leaf skeleton and a number by theplant. To get all the details, you simply refer to a park booklet about the plants. Clever and easy at the same time.

Not many of the original buildings are usable as buildings, but they are there and in the process of being secured so that they literally don’t fall down. I love the way that nature has made itself felt by starting to cover the buildings Jose built. The place has the feel of a lost city which has just been found and is being rediscovered building by building, step by mossy step.

After the tour, Peter and I went off for a wander and saw waterfalls, fed the fish and turtles, and marvelled at how one man could think, and create, something as beautiful as it is.

Not only was the architecture something to admire, Jose built the second hydroelectric plant in Australia and ran the park on its output, and that was back in 1933.

Owned by Vanners!

Like so many, we joined in for a second tour at 7pm. Mark Evans was there and we spent a little time chatting. Their story is another one of those amazing things that seem to happen at special places like Paronella Park. The Park, after opening in 1936, passed out of the Paronella family in 1977 and closed a few years later. Mark, Judy and their kids were doing what so many of us want to do and that was travel the country in a caravan. They were in North Queensland and loving it so the decision to stay in the area was easy.

Once they decided they wanted to stay they needed a job and liked the idea of being self- employed. As luck would have it, they went to a real estate agent and asked if there was a business available that would fit their needs and wants. The answer was: “Yes, I think I have just the place.”

When they got to the park, Mark, Judy and the agent walked through what could be seen, which was not as much as had been seen in the past. It was an eerie experience according to Mark: “We walked around and didn’t say a word to each other, we were just looking and looking. By the time we finished looking we both knew we would buy it, but still hadn’t said a word.” That is how the Evans family came to the park in 1993. They set about trying to clear the undergrowth away from the buildings and features they could see. One day, a visitor arrived who showed them a whole new side to the park, she was Jose’s daughter Teresa and enjoyed revealing all that disappeared in the under-growth over the years. Teresa became one of the many people who helped with the renewal of Paronella Park.

One thing Mark and his family are very proud of is getting the hydro back in action. It
took a long time and involved sending it to Germany, where the technology was available
to rebuild it. In 2009, the hydro was working once more and met the full electrical needs for Paronella Park. The cost to fix the system was $400,000 but Mark is convinced that it was money well spent. Not only does it provide all the power, but it adds to the sustainable credentials of the park.

Lights & Sounds After Dark 
Over the years various people have donated their time and skills to help develop Paronella Park and this is so evident on the night tour.

The light and sound show centered on the Lower Refreshment Rooms is extraordinary. The three pieces of music were written by visitors to Paronella to convey the history of the park, with its Spanish roots. The light show follows the ebb and flow of the music, with a huge range of lighting and colours. Sitting on a bench on the old Tennis Court watching an old building glow and bloom through the lights and music is a rare treat. Like everything at Paronella Park the effect is breathtaking.

A Very Special Carry-Home Gift 
As we left the area Mark was handing out gifts to everyone. Whoever thought of this particular idea is very good at marketing. During one of the cyclones, a
wall at the old ballroom was demolished by trees. Rebuilding was not an option because if you rebuilt it in Jose’s style it would not meet with current standards.
If you built it to meet today’s standards it would not fit in with the rest of the park.

What could be done?
Perhaps just take truckload after truckload to the tip? Not something they were keen to do. The answer was simply to make some little drawstring bags and put a bit of the wall in each one for visitorsto take away as a memento of Paronella Park.

It’s not hard to understand why this is such a successful tourist attraction, why so many people come back time and again.