On Saturday, August 7th, Paluma will host a “Freedom of Entry Parade” to celebrate the decommissioning of the HMAS Paluma (IV), a Navy hydrographic survey vessel that is (indirectly) the source from which our village got its name.
The original Paluma in ca 1890
Paluma IV ca 2010
When the vessel was originally commissioned in 1989 it was granted “freedom of the city” of Thuringowa at Paluma. This included an official ceremony in which armed navy officers marched into Paluma, where challenged by Police and, on producing an official scroll that authorised their entry, were formally granted permission to continue marching through the village. Following other formalities and speeches, refreshments were served and there was a cricket match between the Navy and villagers that was handily won by the village!
Some three decades later the HMAS is now to be decommissioned and the Navy has suggested that one final march through city would be a fitting part of its final days in service. It promises to be quite a spectacle!
The ceremony and parade will be similar to the one in 1989 and all residents are invited to attend as spectators. The event will start at 11am. Food and refreshment will be provided afterwards at the Community Hall.
The original vessel that Paluma was named after was a gunboat built in 1884 in response to a perceived threat to the colony of Queensland from the Russians. Upon its arrival in 1885 its defence capabilities were considered redundant and it was converted into a hydrographic survey vessel. During its early surveys, it named the northern extension of Hervey Range as the Paluma Range. Our village was subsequently named after the mountain range it is embedded in. There have been four vessels bearing the name Paluma. The most recent is the HMAS Paluma (IV)
For a more detailed and highly readable account of the history of all the Paluma vessels, Linda Venn’s book on “Paluma, the first 80 years” has a section dedicated to this topic. You can read this section here.
The Paluma Rural Fire Brigade would like to thank all volunteers who helped during the Paluma Push by hosting a BBQ and drinks at the Community Hall on Saturday July 31, at 4pm.
This year’s Push was a great success due, in no small part, to the wonderful effort of the many volunteers who help to man checkpoints and attend to various logistical tasks leading up to the event. We hope you will be able to come along for a drink and a feed as a token of our appreciation.
There is a huge pile of garden mulch at the Community Centre which we would like to move onto garden beds and other more useful areas. Also, a bit of weeding and planting in the garden bed wouldn’t go astray. So if you would like to help out, we are planning a working bee the Saturday after next, from 2pm to 4pm.
If you would like to help out in beautifying our Village Green and Community Hall surrounds please come along.
This will be followed by a BBQ hosted by the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade to thank all volunteers who helped out during the Paluma Push.
Don’t forget to come along to the Bush Dance at the Community Hall this Saturday afternoon. There will be a sausage sizzle starting at 12pm and the music will start up at 1 pm. Bring a gold coin donation in lieu of admission and extra cash for food and drinks.
Wilfried is having his septic tank pumped out next Wednesday morning. If you would like yours done at the same time and share the costs, please contact Wilfried direct on 0447 822 626.
It is with sorrow we report the passing on Saturday, of Bill White after a courageous battle with an aggressive form of cancer.
Bill was the former owner of No 8 Mount Spec Road and was a regular weekend visitor. It was always a pleasure to be in his company, enjoying his good humour and interesting anecdotes. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in and around the village.
Our condolences and loving thoughts go out to Carol and the family.
The species name “glomulifer” refers to the flowers and derives from glomulus (little ball) and -fer (bearing). Turpentines can refer to any member of the genus Syncarpia, which is a member of the Myrtaceae family
There are three Syncarpia species all of which are endemic to Australia. S. glomulifera is the most widespread as is simply referred to as Turpentine, while the other two, S. hillii (Satinay or Fraser Island Turpentine, and S. verecunda (Red Turpentine) have more limited distributions. The habitat most commonly associated with Turpentine is a transitional forest between rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest and woodland, in altitudes between 40 to 1100 metres. It is found from the Big Table-land near Cooktown to southern NSW. It grows as an emergent tree among other popular timber trees such as grey ironbark, tallow-wood, brush box, grey gum, red ironbark, mountain mahogany, spotted gum and various rainforest trees. Here, Turpentine can be seen in the vicinity of the rose gum forest west of Paluma.
Tall and straight trunked, Turpentine is a vigorous grower and can reach a height of 25 to 60 metres in tropical areas. The trunk can attain a diameter of 1.5 metres. Its bark is coarse, fibrous and deeply furrowed; new twigs are hairy. It is also a long-lived tree and some specimens are said to have reached 300 years.
The elliptic leaves are simple, opposite or whorled. 30 – 110 x 14 – 45 mm in size. The upper side is glabrous or minutely hairy while the under-surface is covered in white hair, with brownish oil dots visible with a lens. The leaves are mid green, red when young, with wavy margins. They are aromatic when crushed and this aroma reminded early settlers of turpentine, hence the common name.
Syncarpia glomifera flowers photo by Casliber CC by SA 3.0
Syncarpia seed capsule (about the size of a marble)
Flowering occurs from August to February. The fragrant flowers are clustered in axillary or terminal heads. The flower has four or five white or cream petals and fine filamentous white or cream stamens, similar in appearance to many Australian native flowers. They are very popular with pollinators like European honey bees, native bees, grey flying fox, little red flying fox and birds such as lorikeets.
Fruiting occurs between November and July. The grey or brown fruit is an aggregate capsule 10 – 12 mm long and 12 – 22 mm wide. There are usually seven valves containing numerous orange/brown seeds about 2 mm long.
Turpentine was much sought after as a hardwood with its reddish-brown colour ranging to a deep chocolate brown and its coarse even texture with a straight grain. It is an excellent timber for dance floors. It is also used in the construction of plywood, laminated beams, bench tops, joinery and parquetry, boat building and wine casks. Because the timber is fire resistant and highly resistant to termites, marine invertebrates and borers, it was much in demand for piers and building foundations. During the War years, Archie Taylor cut two turpentine logs over 100 ft long (one was 128 ft) for an American Radar station. It took several days to get the logs down the Range to Moongoobulla.
The area around Paluma was heavily logged, especially during the War-time years. So much so, that there are not even any relict trees known on the H Track or surrounding area. There are however, several fine living specimens in the vicinity of Hussey Road and around the Blackfriars district. Around Taravale there are many young trees.
Although the IUCN Red List status of this species is the lowest category (Least Concern), in NSW, the Turpentine-Ironbark forest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion is now listed as endangered or critically endangered in the Threatened Special Species Conservation Act, NSW, 1995 as are all the communities with which the Turpentine-Ironbark forest vegetation intergrades. The Commonwealth also lists the Community as critically endangered under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, (Commonwealth) 1999. The fate of these trees is an example of how easily and quickly human activity can change an environment and the habitats of many insects, birds and animals.
Turpentine trees have been introduced into Hawaii, Africa, New Zealand, and the Cook Islands and the species is considered an invasive weed in most of these areas.
For detailed information on the timber industry around Paluma, I recommend Linda Venn’s book ‘Paluma: the First Eighty Years 1870’s to 1950’s.’
Next time you drive out to the rose gum forest, see if you can identify the turpentine among the gums, stringy barks she-oaks and other trees.
Text and photos (unless indicated) by Colwyn Campbell
After some fears that the Bush Dance might have to be cancelled this year due to lack of accommodation, we have rescheduled the event to earlier in the afternoon (1-4pm) so that people can come up for the day and still get back to town before dark.
There will be a sausage sizzle before the band starts up (12pm) and the bar in the hall will be open so you will be able to enjoy a drink and a snack while listening to some great bush music or join in the dancing.
Pollia is a large herb often found in disturbed shady areas along some of the walking tracks around the village. It is sometimes called ‘Wandering Jew’, although it is much larger than the weedy Tradescantiafluminensis of the same common name. Both are in the family Commelinaceae.
Photo by Peter Woodard (cropped) Creative Commons)
A terrestrial creeping herb, rooting at the nodes1’, the plant somewhat resembles a Cordyline with an erect stem 50 cm to 2m high and narrow elongate leaves. It has attractive small blue/purple flowers borne at the tip of the plant.
Pollia macrophylla is endemic to Queensland.
There is a large and conspicuous patch near the large buttressed quandong (signposted) on the Witts Lookout track. It is just downhill from the quandong, growing along the old path on the other side of the quandong.
2. Pointed Aneilema (Aneilema acuminatum)
Also a member of the Commelinaceae family, this small creeping native groundcover can be found in shady areas beside rainforest tracks. It has elongate pointed leaves and a lovely delicate flower that is sometimes tinged with purple.
Pointed Aneilema flower. Copyright Russell Cumming on flickr
It is often found in Paluma gardens where it struggles to compete with the similar but aggressive introduced Wandering Jew or Trad (Tradescantia fluminensis) which often takes over large shady patches around the village in the wet season. Some Tradescantia species may cause dermatitis or skin rashes in dogs
Pointed Aneilema. Note the narrow pointed leaf shape compared to the invasive Trad at the bottom right of the image.
This small shrub is related (and looks very similar) to the showy purple-flowering Tibouchina that is common in gardens throughout the village. Both are in the Melastomataceae family. Melastoma can be found along the main road but also in sunny openings deep in the forest. Its flowers are light mauve/pink in colour and smaller than most Tibouchina flowers. The leaves are covered in fine hairs and have three prominent veins. The plant normally grows to 1-2m.
The fruit is red and eaten by double-eyed fig parrots and is apparently edible by humans. Its generic name Melastoma means “black tongue” and one of its other common names is Blue Tongue. Apparently, this is what you can expect if you eat the fruit!
Native Lassiandra can be found across west, northern and eastern Australia in rainforest and other wet areas. It also occurs throughout SE Asia. Some websites and books refer to this species as Melastoma affine, although M. malabathricum subsp. malabathricum is now the accepted name in Australian herbaria.
4. Pleated Ginger (Alpinia arctiflora)
There are several native species of ginger that can be found in disturbed areas of the Wet Tropics. Around Paluma one of the most common is the Pleated Ginger. This species is endemic to northeast Queensland. Gingers have a distinct growth form with the true stem below the soil (rhizome) and a ‘pseudostem’ above, composed of overlapping leaf sheaths. The bright green elongate pointed leaves are distichous – arranged in two alternately vertical rows. The pleated ginger can readily be identified by inspecting and feeling the under-surface of its leaves, which are covered in fine hairs giving it a greyish tinge, and a fine soft felt-like texture. The flowers are small and white and the fruit are elongate and green, turning dark purple when ripe.
Alpinia arctiflora
The Pleated ginger is one of the larger native gingers (2-3m tall). Another common species (also endemic to Australia) is the native ginger (Alpinia caerulea) which grows to around 1-2m, has smooth green under-surface to the leaves and distinct globular fruit on born on short stalks (1-2cm). The fruit is initially green, turning dark blue as it ripens. The fruit of both species are eaten by Cassowaries.
Alpinia caerulea
Don’t be tempted to eat these gingers – ‘edible’ ginger is the rhizome of Zingiber officinale.
5. Gahnia seiberiana (small-seeded saw-sedge)
Sedges are related to grasses, but they mostly have solid triangular stems, while grasses have hollow stems except at the nodes. The small-seeded saw-sedge is a very common sight in well-lit areas along the village walking tracks. It has a solid round stem and whorls of robust green leaves and often a skirt of dead leaves at ground level concealing a prostrate stem. In open sunny areas it can form large multi-stemmed tussocks. The leaf margins are serrated and can easily cause a painful cut if dragged across the skin. Under a mostly closed canopy these sedges rarely flower but along the roads or in clearings the flower spikes/seed heads can be seen, rising above the leaves with small (3mm x 1.5mm) reddish brown seeds.
Gahnia seiberiana
Another round-stemmed sedge with serrated margins that is more common beside the main road through the village is the red-fruited saw-sedge (Gahnia aspera). The leaves are similar, but they tend to be spaced wider along the erect stem, and the flower spike emerges midway up the stem and has much larger bright red seeds.
Gahnia aspera
A further kind of sedge, that is much finer and looks more like long fine grass growing on the sides of walking tracks is Cyperus sp. There are several species and they are not easy to tell apart but the group is easy to identify from its grass-like growth form and its distinctive sharp triangular stem.
The umbrella tree (Schefflera actinophylla) is native to tropical rainforests in Queensland and the Northern Territory as well as New Guinea and Java. It is an attractive fast-growing evergreen tree that colonises disturbed areas. As a young plant, it can be hemi-epiphytic or lithophytic, growing on and up boulders and the trunks of larger trees. The large elongate leaves are palmately compound, arranged in a circular “umbrella”.
Umbrella tree leaves
Deep red flowers are borne on long terminal spikes and are copious nectar producers that attract a variety of insects, birds and small mammals. The nectar and fruit can sometimes ferment resulting in mildly intoxicated, rowdy parrots that may occasionally fall out of the tree, too drunk to fly. The leaves are a favourite food of Bennets Tree Kangaroo
Umbrella Tree flowers – photo by Russell Cumming on Flickr
The umbrella tree is a popular house and garden plant in Australia and around the world. It has also been used to create bonsai trees.
Umbrella trees are quite common in gardens around Paluma village and occur occasionally in the forest behind backyards. Naturally occurring trees can most easily be found along the range road and along the creek upstream from the Little Crystal Creek Bridge.
Schefflera actinophylla has become naturalised in many countries. In southern Queensland and parts of NSW (outside its native range) it has been declared an invasive plant invading national parks, remnant bushland, undisturbed forests and reserves.
Dwarf Umbrella Tree (Schefflera arboricola)
A related species, the dwarf umbrella tree (Schefflera arboricola) is also a popular decorative plant in Australia, with at least one specimen prominently growing on the corner of Whalley Cr and Mt Spec Road. It is a native of Taiwan and eastern Asia but is considered is a minor or potential environmental weed in Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales.
Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver
.jpg?bwg=1614920530)
