Year: 2019

REMINDER: Glamour & Glitz Social

Well folks, it almost time for one of the most anticipated social events of the year – the Paluma Glamour and Glitz Social. This auspicious social occasion will be held on Saturday 10th August at the Community Hall, commencing at 6.30 pm.

Now’s the time to check that wardrobe and plan your most glamorous and glitzy outfit for this not-to-be-missed social event!

There will be a prize on the night of a free beverage for the Best Dressed Male, the ‘King of Bling’ – and also the best dressed Female – the ‘Queen of the Village’. No doubt this will be a hotly contested competition.

Rumour has it that several local ladies have been planning their outfits for some time and are set to dazzle and sparkle on the night!!

It’s time to put the mower, the leaf-blower and the chainsaw in the shed, ditch those work clothes and scrub-up for a night of glitz, bling, razzle-dazzle and fun.

As usual, please bring a plate to share (savoury or sweet) and don’t forget that the bar will be open with our very own ‘Blingy Barman’ (Les Hyland) who will be dispensing low-cost drinks.

See you there Darlings…..!

What’s Fruiting at Paluma….?

Trichosanthes pentaphylla (Red Gourd)

A plant you may see fruiting in and around Paluma at present is the Red Gourd, scientific name Trichosanthes pentaphylla. This is a vine with very conspicuous rounded, bright red fruit. The fruit grow to nearly cricket-ball size (40-70 mm x 50-60 mm). The usual fruiting season is from February to June, but sometimes there are a few late-comers (or late bloomers….!).

The fruit of the red gourd vine, almost the size of a cricket ball.

The distribution of this vine is from Cape York to Home Hill, south of Townsville. It is a tendril climber with both male and female plants.  Leaves are compound with 3 to 5 leaflets, 40-170 mm x 22-110 mm in size and are slightly rough (resembling sandpaper) on both sides.  Flowers, not particularly conspicuous, are white with 5 petals, 12-14 mm long. 

The fruit, which is eaten by cassowaries, is distinguished by its dark-brown to black, 9-17 mm long seeds which are suspended in a slimy, dark green pulp.

The black slimy seeds of the red gourd fruit.

Text & Photos by Colwyn Campbell

Rainforest Tree of the Month, July 2019 – Brown Silky Oak

Darlingia darlingiana (Silky Oak)

Have you ever been curious about the large leaves, shaped roughly like dinosaur footprints, commonly seen amongst the leaf litter on the forest floor?  These belong to the Darlingia darlingiana, also known by the common names of Silky Oak, Brown Silky Oak or Rose Silky Oak, a handsome tree which can grow to a height of 30 metres. The common name of ‘oak’ originates from the oak-like grain in its wood, which is a dark red lace-like pattern.  The tree was originally named after Charles Darling (1809-1870), Governor of Victoria. Distribution of this tree is from the Cooktown area to Paluma, at altitudes between 0 and 1,150 metres.

The leaves of Darlingia darlingiana are large: 70-500 mm long x 20-140.5 mm wide and may be lobed or unlobed. Juvenile leaves tend to be heavily lobed which gives them the ‘dinosaur footprint’ appearance. As they age prior to dropping, the leaves lose their bright green pigmentation and look striking in hues of red, orange and yellow, before fading to a coppery brown.

The bright green leaves of Darlingia darlingiana.
Aged leaves of the Darlingia darlingiana resembling dinosaur footprints…….!
Trunk and bark of the Darlingia darlingiana.

Darlingia has a dense crown of large leaves and conspicuous, strongly scented flowers which bloom from May to November. Prominent spikes or racemes of cream or white flowers are held at the ends of the branches and attract a variety of nectar and insect-eating birds. Many people find the scent of the flowers unpleasant. The fruit which follows, from November to January, are olive-green to brown leathery capsules, measuring 40-70 mm x 20-30 mm.  These split along one side only, (like a mussel shell), to release several winged seeds, around 40-60 mm in size. A sketch of the seed pods is shown below.

There are many of these attractive trees in and around Paluma.  Look for the distinctive green leaves in the canopy and also the aged brown leaves (dinosaur tracks!) on the forest floor next time you take a walk around the village.

Text, Photos and Sketch by Colwyn Campbell

2019 Paluma Push

The annual Paluma Push event was held last Sunday 21 July 2019. It was one of the best organised Paluma Push events in recent times. There was a ‘Check Point Operations Plan’ available in advance which was extremely informative, especially for new volunteers. It clarified set up times, duties and the number of persons needed at each Check Point. Equally useful, a digital map was provided and updated so that all organisers and volunteers were aware of the designated Check Points along the course. 

This year there were four categories:- Competition 70 km. Intermediate 53 km. Recreational 42 km and the new E-bike class 53 km. Start times from Paluma were at 09.00 am, 09.05 am, 09.10 am & 09.20am, respectively.

The Paluma Dam Road was in very good condition after the recent remedial roadworks (following the February 2019 deluge) and the fastest competitor arrived at Check Point 1 in just under 28 minutes. One has to say that at many of  the checkpoints some ‘assertive direction’ is necessary where the different competitor classes diverge to take different courses.

Radio communications were essential, provided mostly by handheld radios supplied by the Rural Fire Brigades, Mt Spec SES and Townsville SES. Members of all three services manned Check Points and some additional local volunteers manually recorded and counted the numbers of competitors as they passed through the Check Points. Waterfall Creek  Rural Fire Brigade handled from Check Point 5A onwards, while Paluma volunteers manned the rest. Interestingly some of the Check Points which had excellent communication in previous years had some issues with static and positioning problems.

From the Check Point 1 rider count we believe there was a total of 445 competitors. The rider numbers in the first three categories were quite similar, whereas in past years the highest number of riders were from the Recreational group. There were 9 riders in the E-bike class – a recent addition to the Paluma Push competitors.

All volunteers regarded their participation in the Paluma Push as rewarding and a great day out on what was a perfect Paluma winter day. Many enjoyed the excellent barbeque provided in the Paluma Community Hall after the race.

Report by Les Hyland

Paluma’s Len Cook Wins Major Art Award

Paluma’s own artist and potter Len Cook has taken out the major award at the 41st Hinchinbrook Art Awards. Len was named as the overall winner (Open Award) for 2019 at a ceremony at the Tyto Gallery last Friday evening (19 July).

Congratulations to Len from all his friends and colleagues at Paluma for this major achievement and recognition of his exceptional work in clay. Len’s award winning exhibit was a tea bowl with a shino glaze.

Len Cook’s award winning Tea Bowl with shino glaze (pictured on the right).

Local artist, Ange Venardos also took out the Watercolour Award for her work entitled ‘Diversity’ (female form). This work features the four corners of the earth, depicted by plants including magnolia, lotus and dutchman’s pipe.

Locals and visitors to Paluma are reminded that Len Cook Ceramics is OPEN on a regular basis with the usual business hours of 10 am to 4 pm. The Gallery is located at 29 Lennox Crescent, Paluma (off Mount Spec Road).

Len Cook in his Gallery at Len Cook Ceramics, Paluma.

What’s Flowering at Paluma: Spider Orchid

Wilfred and Suzanne at Mount Spec Road have a beautiful spider orchid in full bloom at present (Dendrobium tetragonum var. giganteum). The orchid is growing on the bark of a large tree and it is a rather small and inconspicuous plant – that is, until it is in flower. It currently has multiple delicate blooms which are spider-like in shape.

Spider orchids have distinctive four-angled stems. They generally grow in mountain rainforests, on tree trunks and often near watercourses. The flowers can be up to 10 cm long with attractive markings. The flowers are greenish to yellow in colour with prominent red to purple blotches. Spider orchids flower intermittently from April to November.

Further Reading: Lavarack, B. and Gray, B. (1992) Australian Tropical Orchids. Frith & Frith Books, Malanda.

Green-Eyed With (Frog) Envy

Substantial winter rainfall at Paluma over the past few weeks has meant that conditions are still rather wet and boggy round the village and in our gardens. While many of us are keen for things to dry out a bit so we can get into the garden and prepare for spring, the local frogs appear to be relishing the damp conditions.

In my garden there is a small, but apparently permanent population of very handsome brown/coppery coloured frogs that like to inhabit both the leafy garden and the back veranda. They especially love living inside the foliage of pot plants on the verandah where it is cool, shady and damp. I finally managed to capture a photograph of one of these frogs last weekend.

In consulting Clifford and Dawn Frith’s book on ‘Australian Tropical Reptiles and Frogs’, I have tentatively identified this frog as the ‘Green-eyed Frog’ (Litoria [serrata] genimaculata).

In describing the Green-eyed Frog, the Frith’s note that it is tropical species confined to rainforests in Australia and New Guinea. They note that this species has evolved to be a master of disguise as it can transform its colour and shape to closely match its microhabitat. It has developed rows of small pieces of skin (lappets) along the edge of its limbs – these can be seen in my photograph on the front and hind limbs. The lappets obscure the normal frog outline, or contours of the body, making the animal more difficult to see amongst its usual habitat of rainforest and vegetated creeks (and my garden).

The Green-eyed Frog is highly variable in colour, with the body usually a shade of brown, reddish-brown or copper, with irregular darker patches. There is usually a dark or russet larger colour patch between the eyes – this patch can be seen quite clearly in my photograph. These frogs grow to an average length of about 65 mm.

Another reference book, Tyler and Knight’s ‘Field Guide to the Frogs of Australia’ notes that the upper half of the frogs iris is green (hence the common name). This I cannot discern from my recent observations or my photograph – but next time I see a Green-eyed Frog in my garden I will be sure to look deeply into its eyes!

Text & Photo by Michele Bird

Another Flowering Camellia……

In response to last weeks post regarding flowering Camellia’s at Paluma (see Post from 3 July 2019), Glenda and Nick at Mount Spec Road have shared a photograph of their Camellia now flowering in their award-winning garden.

The deep pink ruffled flower is large for the size of the young plant. We originally featured this flower in a previous post in June 2018. The young Camellia shrub is still thriving and this winter has produced multiple blooms measuring some 15 cm x 15 cm. The large flowers appear incongruous with the size of this plant.

Do you have a flowering Camellia or other special plant in your Paluma garden that you would like to share with other gardeners? If so, please email a photograph to mbird09@bigpond.com

What’s Flowering at Paluma – Camellias

Many gardens at Paluma have a Camellia or two, and this time of the year they burst into flower with the blooms lasting for many weeks, often until spring. During a walk through the village you will notice a variety of Camellias amongst the village gardens, with blooms of many shades and flower shapes. Two gardens at 27 and 29 Lennox Crescent have many well-established Camellia trees with some remarkable blooms in all shades of pink, white and red. Some of the flowers are shown below.

Camellias are hardy, easy to grow plants which are native to eastern and southern Asia. There are several hundred species of Camellias and up to 3,000 hybrids. They are rewarding plants to grow, especially at Paluma where they thrive in the cool mountain air and the acidic soils.