No longer does it possess the fingerprints of those who lovingly hand-plastered its concrete walls. Cyclones, floods and fire have all conspired to steal the legacy of the family who tended the extensive estate for so many decades. But they are not forgotten.
Memories persist despite the tropical rainforest wrapping its tendrils possessively around pitted walls. Moss colonises the damp, and cloaks the relics in a blanket of green felt. Enough remains exposed to identify the public baths that brought so many in its heyday. Now, it is mostly black bream and eels that frequent its waters.
The park is enigmatic. Instead of the carefree laughter of children playing and splashing, there is only the hushed reverence of tourists treading its well-worn walkways. Towering bamboo and giant kauri trees dominate the paths upon which they have flourished. Against the odds, they have survived. The labours of the Paronella clan have not gone unrewarded.
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