The Mystique of Queensland’s Paronella Park
It’s 34 Celsius with the air con blasting and you’ve been driving South of Cairns for almost an hour. A local, who you happened to meet, recommended a ‘must see’ location while you visit Far North Queensland. It’s about now the cursing starts, while the road continues to stretch out in the distance, wavering like a mirage in the blistering heat, as the landscape blurs alongside the car.
‘It’s a bit of a hike,’ the local had said, ‘but Paronella Park has a habit of finding you.’
Looking out at the harsh landscape with not another car in sight, you wonder. ‘Find myself? I’m in the middle of nowhere.’
But as the thought lingers on the breeze of the air con, the road flattens out past a bend, presenting a hue of lush green cane fields and red and brown precipices reaching up into a clear blue sky. The sight is enough to stop the most cynical in their tracks.
This is the true tropical Australia, one of the many hearts of a nation known for its layered landscapes. But with the Australian landscape also comes a labour of love, sweat and tears; sometimes as Mother Nature still untold, while surrounded by agriculture and industry.
The journey to Paronella Park begins amidst this beauty, contrasting the labors of manmade environments with those of a million years ago. It isn’t until you reach the unassuming steps of the Park’s entrance, do you realise just how relevant man and Nature together, are.
To the local, Paronella Park is a feat continually defying the odds. To the outside world, it barely exists. The mysterious world of architecture, grandeur, history, labour, heartbreak and utter destruction simply awaits to surprise its visitor.
José Paronella, a Spanish immigrant, recognized his dream of building a castle when he spotted 5 Hectares beside Mena Falls, in 1914. Following his heart and staying true to his dreams, he saved his money from working the sugar cane fields, eventually paying £120 for the land in 1929.
Opened to the public in 1935, Paronella built his dream by hand. Starting with the Grand Staircase of 47 stairs, Paronella carried the mud for his bricks, from the base of the Falls to the plateau where visitors now enter.
Reinforced concrete with old railway track, make up the bulk of distinctive architecture. The finger prints in the plaster still remain in the ruins of Paronella’s love. While exploring the unique ‘lost’ ruins, or sitting at the base of the Falls where World War Two Veterans took respite, one can forgive the feeling of stepping back in time, to a lost city claimed by Earth.
The National Heritage site has earned its title. Over 7,000 exotic plants and trees were planted by Paronella’s hand, which are now mature rainforest. Paths snake through what can only be described as layered hidden worlds; bridges — weather worn — take you into a world of make believe. The adult easily becomes a child again.
Some locals say the grounds are jinxed, however. The mystery of Mother Nature taking over man-made structures, claiming one man’s dream as its own, is not without its dark side.
A celebration of the first hydroelectric plant ended all too quickly, when waters built up at the Falls during the first rains of the Wet Season in 1946. The Grand Stairs still mark the waterline today, reminding us of the first of many disasters to strike.
Having to rebuild most of what was lost in 1946, José Paronella passed away two years later, from cancer. His surviving family, wife Margarita, and children Teresa and Joe were left to continue his legacy.
Further floods devastated the grounds and all they worked for in 1967, 1972 and ’74. 1967 also saw the death of Margarita, and in 1972, son Joe passed away. By 1977, the burden was too great, and the park was finally sold. By 1979 devastation hit again, with a fire sweeping through Paronella’s Castle. Cyclone Winifred hit in 1986, 1994 brought more floods and Cyclone Larry in 2009, continued Mother Nature’s unforgiving assault.
But today Paronella Park is testament to one immigrant’s impossible dream. Leaving the ruins means leaving a part of yourself, or forcing one to reconcile their lost hopes: Paronella Park’s mystique has lured the inner you.