AFTER many years putting smiles on visitors’ faces, owners of Penola’s unique fantasy filled tourist attraction will wave goodbye to the vibrant business they built from scratch.
Penola Fantasy Theme Park, Model Railway and Tea Rooms operators Graham Russell and Rose Zemlany have put their Riddoch Street premises up for sale.
The construction of the vibrant railway was a 16-year process for the pair and has been open to the public for over eight years.
The intriguing fantasy-based theme combination which incorporates Merlin the Wizard, Dracula, rock stars, gnomes and dinosaurs has attracted tourists from not only the South East, but also Europe, America, England and Canada.
“A real highlight of our time here has been hearing the positive feedback from visitors and seeing the giant smiles on their faces,” Mr Russell said.
“The reaction to the railway is something we never anticipated until we opened.
“Some people’s whole lives revolve around searching for model railroads – so to hear them say they have never seen a combination of themes such as this created over two properties is amazing.”
Mr Russell said he fell into fantasy art while studying in Year 10 and went on to become an art and design teacher later in life.
“I have a love for surrealistic art and for me the trains are second to my fantasy theme,” he said.
“The colours and glitter and ‘way out there’ concepts that I can think up and throw at this place is what has made it so unique – I live in another world and I always have.”
Despite being a family-based attraction, the railway was deliberately designed for all ages.
“There is a lot of stuff here that goes straight over the young people’s heads and some stuff that goes over older people’s heads,” Mr Russell said.
“It has got to a stage now that with the amount of detail here you can guarantee anyone will walk out with a smile on their face.”
The pair now have their sights on moving to the Fleurieu Peninsula as they would like to live closer to Adelaide.
“We have been here for 16 years and have started from a blank canvas on the two properties with a lot of the time spent in construction, so it is time to move on so we can explore other avenues in our lives,” Mr Russell said.
“We will miss the interaction with people – to see people with smiles on their faces is fantastic – that will be missed.”
However, Mr Russell will not give up his artistic passion and aims to continue creating.
“Anyone in retirement needs something to do to keep their brain going and I have a desire to be creative and I will do a lot of railroad creations, but it will not be for public consumption – it will be a hobby,” he said.
The pair thanked the community and wider South East for their ongoing support.
