Paronella Park in Mena Creek, Queensland, Australia | Landmark & historical place

Paronella Park

Locality: Mena Creek, Queensland, Australia

Phone: +61 7 4065 0000

Address: 1671 Japoonvale Road 4871 Mena Creek, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.paronellapark.com.au

Likes: 54577

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• Park
• Landmark & historical place
• Picnic ground

24.01.2022 "The true meaning of life is to plant trees under which you don't expect to sit." And that's exactly what Jose Paronella did

24.01.2022 Throw (way) back photo! The original cottage and top castle... Just imagine all the magical things that have happened in these buildings!

23.01.2022 Exciting News! Some of you may already know that back before the fire in the 70's, a highlight of Paronella Park's ballroom was a magical mirror ball. As the ball turned, lights danced around the floor and walls. Children would stare in awe at the shimmering sight, and race around the ballroom, chasing the lights, while adults slow danced under the reflected beauty, long into the night. Sadly, during the fire, the mirror ball went missing, and was never recovered. ... This year, in 2020, we are so excited to be able to bring some of that magic back to the Park. One day, a regular visitor, Russ Hill, Director of Truck Repair Group NQ Pty Ltd donated a beautiful, glittering, shining mirror ball to us. What a generous and thoughtful gift! This kindness was carried on by Duncan and the team from Innisfail Glass & Aluminium, who refurbished the mirror ball and donated all the time and materials to do so. The mirror ball now shines again in the tropical rainforest. Specks of light are thrown all throughout our plants and trees, a sight that will stay in your heart. We like to think that Jose Paronella’s spirit guided this mirror ball to us, through Russ and Duncan. We are very grateful to them, and can’t wait to share this magic with you.

20.01.2022 The beautiful fountains at Paronella Park, gravity-fed from the top of the waterfall, continue to flow day and night using nothing but the power of nature and the force of the Falls

18.01.2022 Tomorrow is the day!!!! We are officially opening, and we CANNOT WAIT to welcome visitors back to Paronella Park. Please come and visit us soon - we’ve missed you!

17.01.2022 Magical... We love this pic from our friend K-Man's Super Shotz

09.01.2022 Some potentially very exciting news for us, and our visitors!

09.01.2022 When you find a dream inside your heart, don’t let it go. Dreams are the tiny seeds from which a beautiful tomorrow grows

08.01.2022 Come away with us.... After today's announcement by the QLD Government of the relaxation of intrastate travel restrictions, our family has had a discussion, and we are delighted to announce that we will be re-opening on THURSDAY JUNE 25TH!! We have so missed telling the beautiful story of Jose Paronella and his dream to all of you, and we CAN'T WAIT to welcome you back. ... It's been a very tough year for tourism, and the tough times are going to continue for quite some time. The support that you've offered us with your comments, likes, shares, and messages, has meant the absolute world to us and we appreciate you greatly. Thank you.

05.01.2022 Scary Content Warning!! Last year we were chosen as a location for filming for a new SBS Australia miniseries, Hungry Ghosts. We don't want to give anything away, so here's a behind the scenes shot where you really can't see much of anything! It begins this coming Monday at 9:30pm. There's a link to the trailer below, but be warned, it's a bit scary so be cautious who you watch it around! http://bit.ly/HungryGhostsPP

04.01.2022 Cottage Roof Replacement Project The much-needed Cottage Roof replacement started on June 1st, and is now complete. The cottage was the original home of the Paronella family, built in 1931, and is the only intact building left in the Park. It now houses the museum, showcasing artefacts and images from the past. ... We’ve been working towards this project for a long time, and it was able to be completed with additional funding by way of a partial Community Sustainably Action Grant for Heritage Conservation, and donations from our generous guests over the years. Thank you for helping us keep Jose’s dream alive! Edit: We’ve had some queries as to why the roof is no longer red. Interestingly, the original roof was not coloured at all - the red paint was a later addition. The Department of Heritage (who we must have approval from on all works) recommended that we leave it unpainted, as it was originally unpainted. It wasn’t painted in Jose’s time so under the obligations attached to our Heritage Listing, any conservation work we do must be like for like. So we can use modern materials, but it needs to be made to look as close as possible to the original building.

04.01.2022 Powered by the Waterfall In 1933, Jose Paronella installed a hydro-electricity system which harnessed the power of the waterfall to provide lighting for Paronella Park. This was the earliest application of hydro-electric technology in North Queensland - what a pioneer!! ... After the fire in 1979, the hydro system fell into disrepair and was abandoned for many years. When Mark and Judy Evans purchased the Park in 1993, one of the first things on their to-do list was to restore the hydro, ensuring that the Park was once again lit with the power of the waterfall. The cost was enormous (it ended up being over $420,000!) but their goal was finally achieved in 2009. It is now producing more than enough power to supply the park, adjoining caravan park, and feed excess power back into the local power grid - and it's now powering our electric car charger, meaning even cars refilled at the Park are powered by the waterfall! How cool is that?? Here's a pic of Jose and his team installing the original system.

03.01.2022 It’s Opening Day!!! We’re so excited!! And to make things even MORE exciting, we have Dave and Inkie from Star 102.7 Cairns broadcasting LIVE from our tennis courts!!