Anzac Day 2013 - Ingham

Another year, another place, another Anzac Day but totally different from last year.  It's amazing how different communities remember the sacrifices of our men and women during times of conflict throughout history.  Being a far bigger community, Ingham's Anzac Day was perhaps for me less intimate than last years at Mapleton but nonetheless just as emotional and important for those involved.  A friend, however, attends the dawn service every year representing her father and finds it very poignant and emotional so perhaps if I had dragged myself out of bed earlier, it might have been a different experience.   It wasn't as if I had to be concerned about cold or wet mornings as is the case in a lot of other places in Australia. 
Erin participated in the march again this year and seems really keen to be part of it.  Her school however, was one of 4 schools within Ingham itself to march and was accompanied by another 7 regional schools which operate within the district outside Ingham.  There are 2 public schools, primary and secondary, as well as 2 private schools also representing primary and secondary in Ingham.  Then there is Victoria Mill, Bambaroo, Helen Hill, Canossa, Toobanna and Trebonne as well as Abergowrie which has a state primary school and separate boarding college for young men of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin.  As you can imagine, organizing all these schools to march as well as all the returned servicemen and women in their particular service leagues was quite a task.

Despite the march only being a short one, all representatives from each group were impeccably dressed with lots of colour.  The Bruce Highway which runs right through Ingham was blocked while the march was taking place.  When it reopened, the parade of trucks, caravans and cars was stretched way back out of town.  Steve, Becca and I walked across the highway to find a spot where I could take some photos and watch the march.  Nearby where we had stopped, a man with a sandwich board over his body was preaching about remembering how Jesus had died for us as well.  Now Steve is in no way a religious man and generally doesn't fuss but he was genuinely appauled that someone would almost desecrate a sacred day like Anzac Day.  Although religion does play a part in Anzac Day for rememberance purposes, it probably wasn't appropriate.  After all, we use Christmas and Good Friday to remember Jesus and those particular religious beliefs.  Anzac Day is to remember people that sacrificed their lives (whether dying or not) to keep our country free.  That being said, he had plenty of people to talk to as Ingham is a large religious community.
The main memorial spire for Anzac Day was located in the botanic gardens and stadium seating had been brought in across the road from there for spectators to use.  The gardens were standing room only once all the march spectators joined the servicemen and schools.  I had been watching the building of another memorial area in an adjacent part of the botanic gardens with an impressive eagle standing on top of a spire.  This was surrounded by three walls where it looks like plaques will be mounted.  As we walk to school through the botanic gardens every day, I've been watching concrete, formwork and cranes maneouvering things into place and crossing my fingers that it would be done in time for Anzac Day.  The area wasn't used as part of the service however, but will probably be ready for next year.
As the morning went on, it became quite hot and I wondered how Erin was going to be, sitting in the sun.  Although there was plenty of shade, Erin's school ended up sitting in the sun and even though they had their hats on and a drink bottle, it must have been uncomfortable for the over an hour that they sat there.  Once the service was over and we went home, the local RSL slowly became one of the most popular venues in town and our street was parked out by lunchtime.  Although we didn't go in, I'll bet there might have been some two-up going on in there.

Easter Part 3 - Paronella Park

Easter Monday......time for another road trip and today we are going to Paronella Park at Mena Creek which is inland between Tully and Innisfail.  All my ideas for places to visit have come from word of mouth from locals and tourist brochures.   Steve's employers had said that it is a beautiful place to visit and it was voted number 1 place to visit in Queensland in 2009.  Paronella Park is also a destination for weddings in the region so it must be a photogenic and picturesque place.

Kauri pine avenue popular for
wedding photos

The Paronella family home which
is now a museum

There are several ways to get to PP and our route took us through some beautiful country with sugar cane and banana farms surrounded by lush green ranges.  We drove through quaint little communities like Silkwood which had a quiet, laid back feel but with lots of families judging by all the kids toys and play equipment in the yards.  At one stage we crossed over a creek in the middle of nowhere which had a picnic area with grassy shaded spots and it was busy with people, probably locals because the creek was crystal clear and ideal for swimming.

Mena Creek falls

Fish feeding in the creek

The community of Mena Creek consists of a pub, community hall, school and a small scattering of shops but with Paronella Park just across Mena Creek itself, the area was abuzz with tourists and car traffic although not too crazy.  We parked the car and worked out how we were going to carry our picnic lunch and drinks etc without bringing the stroller with us.  We didn't think it was going to be too strenuous a walk and were not sure of the terrain.  As we entered the park, the owners were welcoming everyone at the door with good old fashioned hospitality and guiding us along with information about tour times etc.  The entrance fee is not cheap costing us $100 but the place is not subsidized by the government and that fee gives one a two year pass and one nights stay in the adjacent caravan park. 

Looking down from the dining hall
to water feature and what used to
be tennis courts

The dining hall

Once inside, we joined a tour to get an idea of the hows, whys and wherefores about the place.  We had arrived at about lunchtime as did a lot of other people and so this particular tour was very large.  In hindsight we should have taken the next tour which was much quieter but we didn't miss too much with the bigger crowd.  Paronella Park is, of course, heritage listed so many of the structures are propped up to make them more secure and safer.  With heritage listing comes the inability to restore or fix any of the buildings but we were assured that most of the buildings will still be standing for many years as long as the owners take steps to ensure the engineering of the structures remains sound.

One of many eels in the streams
inside the park

Teresa Falls named after Joses'
daughter

The original owner and forward thinker for this monumentous place was Jose Paronella from Spain who immigrated here in the 1930's to make his fortune before undertaking an arranged marriage back in Spain.  He bought, renovated and sold cane farms to make his fortune, a total of 10 farms in about 12 years.  He became a millionaire by 30's standards and returned to Spain to marry the woman his family had arranged for him.  When he returned to Spain, his intended wife had married someone else.  Now one might think that a bit harsh but he had not contacted her for those entire twelve years and so she thought he wasn't coming back.  Understandable I'd say!   Anyway to appease the girls' family's embarrassment for not waiting, they offered their younger daughter whom Jose married.

A green tree snake on the track

Mena Creek Falls through the
rainforest gardens

Despite the large age gap, they returned to Australia where he bought the acreage at Mena Creek and called it Paronella Park.  This man was never one to rest and worked tirelessly for most of his life making his dream come true to have the same castle-like building to remind him of Spain.  Paronella Park had grand ballrooms with stages, tearooms, tennis courts, a dining room and theatre for films at the time.  Imagine living in the 30's in the middle of nowhere but having communities of people gathering at Paronella Park for socializing, dinners, swimming and other recreational activities.  Photos in the museum show the grandness of the ballroom with polished floors and chandeliers.  Jose dug tunnels through hillsides to create shortcuts to waterfalls on his property and to create private spots for his family and friends.  Today, little microbats inhabit the tunnels as they are unsafe for people to use.  He was the first man to create a hydroelectric system to completely power the entire property using the Mena Creek waterfall as his power source.

The top of Mena Creek Falls and
suspension bridge

Paronella Park from across Mena
Creek

Of course not everything went smoothly with fires, several cyclones and a man-made flood creating havoc with his dream.  After his death, his wife and children took on the running of the park on their own and when Jose's wife died, their son took over the management.  Then he died too and the daughter ran it for a while but after a severe fire which destroyed the ballroom among other things, Paronella Park was more or less abandoned until the current owner found it in the 90's and created the tourist attraction that is there today.  Although it doesn't show the grandness of the day, the buildings themselves are a remarkable testament to one mans' dream as he built everything by hand.  His finger marks are still in the walls where he rendered it by hand, doing it in shifts to let his hands regrow the skin that had been worn off during his work.

Andrea, Becca and Erin at Paronella
Park lookout

View of Paronella Park from the cliff
top

The grounds have rainforest, bamboo forests and kauri pine avenues with magnificent trees towering overhead.  The mottled bark is the inspiration behind the camouflage patterns of the army field uniforms.  The large Mena Creek waterfall pool had large schools of perch and bream which the girls enjoyed feeding with the fish food provided at the entrance.  We also went to the back corner of the park to feed some wary turtles.  While walking along the tracks, we came across a green tree snake sunning itself on the path and large eels were seen sitting in the shallows of the creeks meandering through the park.  A suspension bridge to the other side of the creek was a bit daunting and I just carefully walked across looking straight ahead while trying to keep a good hold of Becca's hand.  Steve had to carry Erin across as she refused to step foot on the bridge and we couldn't leave her there.  She nuzzled into Steve's shoulder as he carried her across the bridge.  Once we were over the other side, Erin forgot what all the fuss was about and walked back across herself later.
Thankfully, neither of the girls' complained about the walking which was quite extensive but because we were meandering around and through different areas,  they didn't even notice it.  Funnily enough, when I was telling some of the mums' about our trip during the school holidays, many of them said they would like to go but just never get around to it.  It's amazing how life just takes over and people who live in this beautiful part of Queensland don't even take advantage of all that there is to see and do around here.  It's really important to be a tourist in your own town or region otherwise you miss out.  The generations of Inghamites need to get out there.  It's very easy to get complacent and forget what's around.  At least we've seen some of the attractions around our region although there are so many more to see.  One would hope that if we lived here for a long time, we wouldn't get slack and not explore more of North Queensland.  So get out there and do it!