Paronella Park

Paronella Park
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Data
place	Queensland , Australia near Innisfail
architect	José Paronella
Client	José Paronella
Architectural style	partly Moorish style
Construction year	1929-1935
Coordinates	17 ° 39 '9 " S , 145 ° 57' 43" O Coordinates: 17 ° 39 '9 " S , 145 ° 57' 43" O

The Paronella Park is a complex located in the Australian state of Queensland , which the Catalan immigrant José Paronella there as a theme park and tourist attraction was built.

Building history

José Paronella came to Australia for the first time in 1913 at the age of 26 from his Catalan homeland, where he had previously worked as a baker , and was mainly involved in sugar cane production . As early as 1914 Paronella came across the site in northeast Australia, on which he was later to build Paronella Park. In 1924 he returned to Spain for the time being and married Margarita there in 1925. Their honeymoon took the Paronellas to Australia and eventually Paronella decided to buy the Paronella Park property. In 1929 he bought it for £ 130.

Construction phase (1929–1935)

The Paronellas began erecting buildings and structures shortly after purchasing the previously completely undeveloped property. The aim was to build an amusement park that would attract visitors and tourists. First, a home for the Paronellas and a bridge were built over the Mena Creek that flows through the property. Then work began on the buildings of Paronella Park that can still be seen today. They also mostly produced the building materials themselves; the Paronellas used sand from the river to make concrete, and they also used materials from an old railway line that ran near the park. After six years of work, the site was finally opened to the public in 1935.

Company (1935-1946)

After the completion of the building, the Paronellas operated an amusement park with a wide range of offers. Every Saturday, films were shown in the small theater of the building complex, events and dance evenings were held regularly in the large hall, the Paronella Museum presented finds from Queensland, meals were served on the ground floor, the tea garden, the pool and the tennis courts attracted further visitors. In addition, the entire design of the area with its playful construction and the more than 7,000 trees that Paronella planted was an attraction in itself. In addition to the residents of the surrounding cities and towns, soldiers were also among the visitors to the park. US soldiers in particular , who had been stationed in Cairns since 1943 , visited the park in large numbers.

Disasters and Setbacks (1946–1977)

The project suffered its first setback in 1946 when several trees were uprooted due to heavy rainfall and storms and an entire railway bridge was swept away. The rainfall and the numerous debris and tree trunks that washed into Paronella Park caused considerable damage. Shortly afterwards, José and Margarita Paronella began to rebuild the facility with the support of their children Teresa and Joe. Some buildings have been restored to their original state, others, including the dining room on the ground floor, could not be restored and had to be relocated or rebuilt. In addition, numerous trees in the park had fallen, so that José Paronella planted numerous new trees. The park was able to reopen after six months.

But in the following years the setbacks for the project increased. In 1948, José Paronella, the building owner and visionary of the project, died of cancer ; his wife and two children tried to keep the company going . In 1967 Margarita also died, so that son Joe Paronella, his wife and their two sons had to run the park alone. Floods in 1967, 1972 and 1974 made this task much more difficult and repeatedly caused considerable damage to the plant. In 1977 Joe Paronella finally sold Paronella Park.

Further destruction and reconstruction (1977 to today)

In 1979 the main building was badly damaged by a fire, cyclones and floods also represented a constant threat to the park in the following decades and caused destruction at regular intervals. In 1993, Paronella Park was bought by Mark and Judy Evans, who still own the site to this day. They try to preserve the park without having to undertake major renovations. Smaller restoration measures and the expansion of the Paronella Museum made the park attractive again for visitors. Today Paronella Park is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the state of Queensland.

investment

The entire facility extends over an area of approximately five hectares and is traversed by Mena Creek. Also on the Paronella Park grounds is Mena Creek Falls . The Mena Creek Environmental Park adjoins the park . Paronella Park can be accessed from a parking lot on the road between Innisfail and Japoon .

building

Paronella Park is characterized by numerous buildings that were built based on the Moorish architecture . The central building of the complex is the so-called castle, a three-story building near the Mena Creek Falls. The building is entered via a small forecourt with a geometrically patterned floor and a fountain. The ballroom used to be on the ground floor, but now there are some seating areas. The former kitchen can still be seen. A narrow staircase leads to the upper floors and the roof terrace. Rectangular plant pots on the top platform of the tower give the tower a defensive character thanks to their crenellated arrangement . All in all, the state of preservation of the building is poor; the building had to be supported in several places because the concrete used is showing considerable signs of deterioration.

Another building in the complex is the so-called Cafe by the Pool, which is located by the large swimming pool at Paronella Park. This is a two-story reinforced concrete building that can be entered on the ground floor through a wide opening.

There is a one-story building near the entrance to the complex, which is in a better state of preservation than the other buildings on the site and is still in use today. The building houses a tea room, a souvenir shop and an office.

There are only sparse remains of other buildings, the former tennis courts are now a large meadow, remains of changing rooms, sanitary facilities and the former music pavilion can still be seen.

garden

In addition to the buildings erected, the Paronellas also designed the rest of the park in an extremely elaborate manner. The central style element are five paths that criss-cross the entire complex. One of these paths is the so-called Kauri Avenue , which crosses the park in an east-west direction and is lined with tall Kauri trees . In the east there are larger stands of bamboo , in the north ferns dominate the appearance. In addition, the deep green of numerous tropical plant species characterizes the entire complex, most of the buildings are overgrown by plants, sometimes overgrown. Overall, the garden is characterized by its playful style with numerous winding paths and small terraces.

Hydroelectric power plant

As early as 1933 Paronella built a hydropower plant to cover the plant's electricity needs. For this he acquired an English turbine that was previously used by the British Army. He installed this on a waterfall around ten meters high on the site. Paronella had built the first hydropower plant in North Queensland and secured the power supply for Paronella Park. During the general decay of the facility, the small hydroelectric power station was also damaged and was therefore no longer functional. As part of the restoration of Paronella Park, the hydropower plant was also restored in 2009 and has been supplying the plant with green electricity since then .

Todays use

Paronella Park is now a major tourist attraction in the region. There are picnic and barbecue facilities on the site, cultural events take place regularly and there is also a museum. Occasionally, weddings are also held in the gardens of Paronella Park. Entrance fee is 47 Australian dollars for one adult. In addition, guided tours are offered across the extensive grounds.

The park has won several tourism awards and is listed as a Queensland Heritage Site. In 2011 the park received the Australian GECKO award for ecotourism due to the generation of electricity through hydropower .