Tropical Fruit World - news - Fruit park still growing strong after 25 years

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Fruit park still growing strong after 25 years
19th Mar 2008
by Andrew MacDonald, Tweed bureau

COME April, Tropical Fruit World will have wowed locals and visitors with its exotic range of fruits for 25 years.

The Tweed Valley tourist attraction began life back in 1983, when owner Bob Brinsmead and his family decided to turn their substantial Duranbah orchard into Avocadoland.

In the ensuring years, Avocadoland's collection of fruit grew to the extent that the name just was not enough to sum up all that the exotic wonderland had to offer.

By 1995, the transformation from family farm to fully fledged theme park was complete as the Brinsmeads dubbed the attraction Tropical Fruit World.

Today the park employs more than 50 people and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Tropical Fruit World duty manager Mal Harm, who has worked at the park for 11 years, said he has lost count of how many varieties of fruit from accross the glove were grown on the premises.
"We just say it's more than 500," he said.
"We can count them all up, but I havent for a while, so that's what I'll go with."
Mr Harm said countless visitors from around the world had been impressed by the sheer volume of fruit on display at the park.

"Well of course ther's avocados but we've become quite famous for our chocolate fruit lamington," he said.

While uncertain of exact numbers, Mr Harm said the park would have attracted well over a million visitors in it's 25 years of operation.

Tropical Fruit World will run a series of tropical fruit-themed events over the first 25 days of April to celebrate its birthday.

The Gold Coast Bulletin