Paronella Park
Spanish immigrant, Jose Paronella, came to North Queensland in 1913 to work as a cane-cutter. In 1924 he returned to Spain, married Margarita and brought her back to see the piece of tropical scrub that he was intent on buying. His dream was to build a castle within a beautiful garden open to the public. In 1929 they bought the land at Mena Creek and started to build the castle using poured, reinforced concrete covered with plaster showing their hand prints. Their park opened for visitors in 1935 but Jose had not finished creating his dream. The huge mirror ball in the dance hall was a popular feature and other additions were: tennis courts, refreshment rooms, a museum, a children’s playground, a tunnel, balconies, bridges, a hydro-electric generating plant, waterfalls and cascades. (more…)