Australia, Queensland, Sunshine Coast at Bli Bli; The Finnish Memorial Park

On the Finland Rd at Bli Bli, at the Sunshine Coast, there is a park that would interest the Finnish immigrant population to Australia, if not all the immigrants to Australia. It is the Finnish Memorial Park, created by the Finnish cane cutter families that lived there during the times when cane was still cut at the Sunshine Coast.

It was about 17-years ago that I had last visited this place. Then it was just cane fields, but the place for the park had been selected and the organisers of the planned park were just getting to ordering the memorial sculpture. After much discussion they settled in inviting Martti Väänänen, a sculpturer from Kiiminki in Finland to create the memorial. The park itself was opened in 1997. At the same time it was also donated to the Council for upkeep.

The Finland Rd as such is a long and lumpy ride amongst the last cane fields at Sunshine Coast. Not much of them is left as the new suburbs are born across the coastline. However, it is a delight to suddenly end up in a small, well tendered park that makes one remember those people who came to Australia on ships, after spending weeks on the oceans, and months on the migration centers in the south and ending up in Queensland on the cane fields.

The Migration Museum at Peräseinäjoki in Finland, previously presented on this blog, carries matching information about the emigration of the Finnish people to around the world. I am hearing that more than million Finnish people live permanently abroad.

One of the highlights of the Finnish Migration Museum is the cane cutters cottage that was actually dissembled in Ingham, Queensland and sent to the Museum at Peräseinäjoki, where it was reassembled in a totally new surroundings to the delight of many people interested in the migration history of the people of the area.

The Finnish Memorial Park at Bli Bli carries on the delightful tradition of people building spaces for themselves where they can comfortably meet and have a picnic in memory of the times gone by. I, for one, can very well see this park as a functional meeting place for a family gathering, even a wedding as there is a kind of Finnish style pavilion included in the park just inviting dancing.

When choosing a place where people could meet at Sunshine Coast for a celebration, the Finnish Memorial Park is a good pick. It is well kept, secluded and spacious. See you there sometime on your travels.

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Australia, Sunshine Coast, Bli Bli; The Sunshine Castle

For a compassionate world traveler interested in the historical sights of the world visiting the Sunshine Castle at Bli Bli in the Sunshine Coast of Australia is a curiosity without question.

History

The Bli Bli castle is a modern replica of a Norman medieval castle. The building of it started in the early 1970's by an enthusiast who thought to build a castle in Australia.

The first time my family visited the castle was in 1996. We were told by friends that this is a curiosity that we just must see. And truly, even then while we were swept beyond belief by the idea that someone would build a castle in such a place, we were also charmed by it, especially by the then new doll displays.

Visiting the castle today when it has grown and flourished into a real awarded tourist attraction is greatly inspiring.

The castle is a compelling experience of mixed and matched kind

The compassionate visitor is introduced to the medieval life through the objects and signs around the castle, including a considerable display of swords.

Visitors can dress the part, walk around the battlements hunting clues to the questions about the life in the medieval times and at the same time get the more frivolous fairytale feel of childhood memories through marveling the expanded doll exhibition and the fairytale panoramas scattered around the place. There is also a nice miniature train display to see.

Our only disappointment was that there is no access for the higher parts of the castle to people with wheelchairs. Some creative thinking would be greatly appreciated in getting the young disabled persons to see the dolls and experience the spectacular battlement views over the coastal area.

One of the highlights of the exhibitions is the room displaying different castles around the world. It is on the ground floor and would be accessible even to the people in wheelchairs. It truly shows the owner's love of castles, especially the German ones.

The other curiosity that greatly interested our younger mediaevalist minded friends is the original chair that was used in the production of the Hercules and Xena TV series.

The second highlight of our visit was the castle shop. It is filled with quality toys and figurines of knights, fairies and castles.

Our experience

All in all our visit was highly enjoyable. Our friend, who has lived near the castle for a long time, but never visited it before commented that it will be a great place to bring her grand children over the summer holidays. "It is just a place to wake their curiosity", she said. Be prepared to spend a much longer time there than originally planned.

If a visitor were to spend a longer time in the costal area there are scheduled events, such as opera and other theater events throughout the year, including a Medieval Fair.

The Sunshine Castle is a place that a traveler can visit again and again as it keeps growing and developing just like the old castles did. It's presence has been printed in my mind for the last 15 years and I look forward to taking my friends and family for renewed visits there in the future.

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