Barron Gorge National Park

Barron Gorge National Park Queensland
IUCN category II (national park)
Glacier Rock, 2009
Barron Gorge National Park
Nearest town or city	Cairns
Coordinates	16°50′34″S 145°39′08″E / 16.84278°S 145.65222°E / -16.84278; 145.65222Coordinates: 16°50′34″S 145°39′08″E / 16.84278°S 145.65222°E / -16.84278; 145.65222
Established	1940
Area	28 km2 (10.8 sq mi)
Managing authorities	Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
Website	Barron Gorge National Park
See also	Protected areas of Queensland

Barron Gorge National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,404 km northwest of Brisbane and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Kuranda. Barron Gorge is part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is a 7.5 kilometre scenic cableway running above the Barron Gorge National Park in the Wet Tropics of Queensland’s World Heritage Area north of Cairns which has won more than 25 awards. The Kuranda Scenic Railway line passes through the park with a station at Barron Falls. Two trains run from and returns to Cairns daily. The original weir, constructed in 1934 at the top of the falls, is visible from the station lookout and Skyrail's Barron Falls Station lookouts.

Barron Gorge formed where the Barron River passes over the eastern escarpment of the Atherton Tablelands. Barron Falls cascade 265 m to the gorge below. Two waterfalls—Stoney Creek Falls and Surprise Creek Falls exist on tributaries of the Barron River within the park. Slopes around the gorge are steep with some at a 45° angle. This made construction of the railway hazardous. 23 lives were lost during its construction.

In 1885 the explorer Archibald Meston described the Barron Falls in flood where the raging waters "rush together like wild horses as they enter the straight in the dread finish of their last race ... (where) the currents of air created by the cataract waved the branches of the trees hundreds of feet overhead ... the rock shook like a mighty steamer tumbling with the vibrations of the screw."

In 1935, the waters of the Barron River were harnessed in the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station to generate Queensland's first hydroelectric power. Two hundred metres from the base of the Barron Falls an underground power station was carved into the cliff face. Water was delivered through pipes to drive the turbines, two 1200 kW turbo-alternators. The substation, workshops and staff houses were built around the area now forming the Skyrail station.