Paronella Park is a heritage-listed tourist attraction located at Mena Creek, Queensland, Australia, 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Cairns.

[1] Paronella arrived in nearby Innisfail, Queensland, Australia in 1913, having sailed from his homeland, Catalonia, in northern Spain to plan a life for himself and his fiancée Matilda.

[3] In fact his full name was José Pedro Enrique Paronella, and he was born on 26 February 1887, in La Vall de Santa Creu, a hamlet in the province of Girona, north-eastern Catalonia.

While travelling through the beautiful countryside he discovered a virgin forest alongside spectacular Mena Creek Falls - the perfect location for his dream.

Inspired by childhood memories of Catalan castles, Paronella and his workers set to work designing an entertainment area.

A movie theatre transformed on weekends into a huge ballroom with live bands who entertained while a massive ball of mirrors spun from the ceiling to reflect a dazzle of pink and blue lights.

More than 7000 trees were planted around the Paronellas' home and castle, including an avenue of Kauris that tower now like cathedral spires in a sacred forest.

[5] North Queensland's first hydro electric plant was built in 1933 to power the 13 acres (5.3 ha) park, and the castle grounds were ready to welcome the public in 1935.

The Paronellas invited everyone to movies on Saturday nights, built tennis courts from crushed termite mounds, and a pavilion with turret-topped balconies, refreshment rooms and changing cubicles for swimmers.

Paths were uncovered, buildings repaired, trees identified, and a museum created in the original home built by Paronella for his family.

The Dream Continues tour - a 45-minute guided walk, departing every half-hour from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., highlighting features of the park and telling the story of José Paronella's ideas for the site.

On 24 July 2010, a theatrical production, The Impossible Dream, based on the story of José and Margarita, was launched at the Shangri-La Hotel, The Marina, Cairns.