The History Of Zanzoo
Zanzoo Retreat was built in the 1870's and has mostly been used for farming over the last 130 years.
However the property and house have an interesting history, including being converted to a hospice for allied officers serving in the Coral Sea and Papua New Guinea during WW2. The Redlynch Valley was the site of the largest field hospital in the Southern Hemisphere.
If you decide to take the journey to Kuranda via the Scenic Rail, the train takes the initial ascent through picturesque cane fields that once were a hive of activity. All that marks that spot today is a single monument to the medical staff, visible from the Intake Road.
The property was also used as a Tea House during the 1950's and was a popular place with visitors during this time, with the first organised tour groups to visit the area calling in for refreshments.
Zanzoo is the local name for the widest part of Freshwater Creek at which the creek followed a "Z" course.
Following is a story describing Freshwater Creek at Zanzoo, which appeared in the Cairns North Queensland Guide Book printed in 1933.
"You find yourself upon the Great North Road again if you decide to visit the Intake, and the Crystal Cascades. You will assuredly do so, because it is one of those day trips that everybody who has the time needs little persuasion to make. The beauty of Freshwater Creek and its gorge is well known from many reports. An excellent taxi service caters for party trips to the Cascades; so do the rank and private cars. There is always a means of getting to the intake when conveyances to many other places fail.
As you run down the incline to the shadowed bend near the swimming pool we have already passed on our Double Island trip, you make your first acquaintance with Freshwater Creek. It crosses the road there on its way to join the Barron River. We have already admired its coolness and clarity even at this low level, but you shall have more cause to do so as you travel into the hills and trace it almost to its source. For be it known that the name of this creek is well applied; the freshness of its water is one of the many blessings of this Cairns district for the city draws its domestic water supply from this very creek. It has an established reputation as the purest and most beneficial water in Australia.
The car runs to Redlynch township then turns westward - that is away from the Barron River - toward the ranges. The physiography of the first part of the journey is somewhat familiar by this time, a rural road wriggling between nearby cane fields... The creek is soon crossed for the first time on this road in surroundings of extreme charm. The hills come down close but bulk vaguely in the scattered light of morning. The deep shadows fall gently upon the stream clothing it with a softness that compels one to linger by the way..."
