admin – Page 25 – Paluma – our village in the mist

Paluma in the Rain

You will all have seen on the television broadcasts, the widespread flooding around the Townsville – Ingham areas that unprecedented rainfall has caused. Our thoughts and sympathy go to those people in Bluewater and other areas where homes and property have been destroyed or damaged.

How has Paluma fared so far during this extreme weather event?

Paluma residents are used to receiving heavy rains during the Monsoon season but the rainfall over the past few weeks has been exceptionally heavy and unremitting with very heavy falls over the last five days of January. The total for the month was 1208 mm. Many long-term residents say that while heavy rainfall over a period of a few days is not unusual, the duration of this wet weather event is. Nothing like it has been seen for at least 30 years.

Since Wednesday morning the Range Road has been closed due to fallen trees and land slips. TMR are working at restoring the road but are hampered by the continuing wild weather. Predictions are that we will experience at least another week of wet weather, so it possible that Paluma could remain isolated for several more days. Maybe it is time to launch the Ark from Noah’s Ark Creek.

Along the Range Road (when it was still possible to travel to see the sights), the waterfalls were spectacular, the seething water plunging through clefts and grottoes and cascading out and over the road. Twin Falls gushed out like a huge fountain forcing cars through a natural car-wash. Sheets of water hung to rock faces, reflecting light like vast mirrors while rivulets of water coursed across the road. The road surface was littered with leaves and small broken branches. Every so often a very bedraggled brush turkey would make a suicidal dash across the road.

In the village, channels of water rush alongside and over the road, lawns are water-logged, trees have fallen, others hang their limbs low weighed down with the burden of water in their foliage and inconveniently, water has seeped into the lower levels of several houses having forced its way through cracks in brickwork. Birds are ravenous and flock in great numbers to wherever they can find a feed tray; Lorikeets and the smaller honey-eaters happy to share the same dining-room.

It will be time soon, if some have not already done so, to light fires to dry out the houses and our sodden shoes and raincoats.

Text and Photos by Colwyn Campbell

Written on 1^st February

Paluma Range Road Closed

A landslide and fallen trees near the top of the Range Road has closed the Paluma Range Road to all traffic. Transport and Main Roads will be working to clear the obstruction today (January 31).

LATEST UPDATE: TMR worked on the road on Thursday but were not able to finish the job. They will continue work on Friday morning, so the road will remain closed for at least part of Friday.

For further updates on the status of the road, visit the TMR website at https://qldtraffic.qld.gov.au/

Paluma Pioneers

The history section of Paluma.org has been given a significant update with the addition of a new subsection (Paluma Pioneers) highlighting the many people who have lived and worked in Paluma in the past, and whose names have been memorialised the streets, creeks, waterfalls, mountains and other geographic features.

Linda Venn, author of “Paluma, the first fifty years” has agreed to write brief biographies of these historical characters, starting with the Benham Family. Members of the Benham family are commemorated in many of our local place names, for example, Benham’s Creek, Mount Benham, Ethel Creek and Ethel Creek Falls, Benham Falls, Benham’s Track (now a road on some maps), Benham’s Lookout (now closed), Cloudy Creek and Cloudy Clearing. Other place names associated with the Benhams are Prospectors Creek (now Hermit Creek) and Hermitville. There may be others, but these will suffice to recognise the long association of this family with the Mount Spec area. You can read more about this fascinating and prolific family here.

Rainforest Tree of the Month, November 2018 – Sloanea australis

Easy to overlook amongst the many trees in the rainforest, the Sloanea australis nevertheless draws attention when its fragrant, creamy white flowers bloom in September and October.

Worldwide, there are about 120 species of Sloanea –named for British scientist and collector Hans Sloan, who lived 1660 to 1753. Four species are endemic to Australia with three of these growing in tropical rainforests in Queensland. Sloanea australis is distributed between the Windsor Tableland and Paluma. Several of these trees may be seen on Mount Spec Road near the Sensory Trail at Paluma Environmental Education Centre where they grow among the stand of forest trees bordering the school property.

The tree grows to 30 meters and may be buttressed. Bark is grey/brown, very lightly textured. The obovate, simple leaves are a glossy green with wavy margins and clearly defined veins. Flowers are dainty with 4 to 6 creamy white slightly fleshy petals, about 6 to 12 mm long. They grow, usually in a short raceme from the leaf axils. They are modest little flowers and easily lost amid all the dense green foliage.

The fruit is more easily detected, its red-coated seeds immediately attracting attention. Ripening around February/March, the fruit is a brown or orange, very bristly, three-valved capsule which splits to reveal three shiny black seeds, encased in a red aril, (or fleshy growth). Already tiny fruit can be seen; not yet much bigger than match-heads, their spiky skins are un-mistakable. The seeds are eaten by many bird species.

Sloanea australis is known by several common names: Maidens Blush, Blush Alder and Blush Carbeen. These names are derived from the colour of the tree’s heartwood which is a blushing pink.

Without flowers or fruit to guide you, it may be difficult to locate one of these trees but have a go! At least, in Spring or Summer, when you come across the flowers or fruit, you may remember to which tree they belong.

Text and photos by Colwyn Campbell

Paluma Dam Good Trail Run

On Sunday Oct 29th, the population of Paluma swelled by more than 300, as competitors and spectators participated in this year’s trail run organised by Outer Limits Adventure.

There were 3 separate course covering distances of 6, 10 and 20 km and traversing terrain that many of use would struggle to walk up! Wilfred Karnoll helped out by handing out lollies at the bottom of Blue Gum creek to provide a quick energy boost before runners started the last grueling climb up to the village.

Temperatures were high and there was little cloud cover, but all competitors completed the race and were provided with sustenance and refreshments at the finish.

Congratulations to all participants and to the winners of the various categories.

While the trail run no longer circles the Paluma Dam, the event was still Damn Good!

Famous Paluma structure goes up in flames!

Even the editors at Paluma.org can’t resist the odd attention grabbing headline (or click bait as it is now called) …….

Len Cook watches the smoke and flames emerging from the Anagama kiln

Last week saw the famous Anagama wood-fired kiln blaze into life at the Paluma Pottery on Lennox Crescent. Len Cook, our local award-winning Pottter, spent the last several months making hundreds of pots of various sizes and shapes, in preparation for the annual wood firing.

Len Cook at around 3am on the 4th day- still going strong

The process started last Monday evening (October 29) at 8pm and finished exactly 100 hours later at midnight on Friday. Prior to the start of the firing the lower part of the shelter that houses the kiln was chocked full of firewood, mostly pine and black wattle from the blocks at Hussey Road. By Friday most of the wood had been fed into the kiln, producing temperatures in excess of 2,000 degrees in the front part of the kiln. Continuous stoking of the fire was needed to maintain the temperatures that allow the wood ash that constantly flows over the pots to melt and form a wonderfully variable glaze on the pots. Len, together with Kelly Davis and Jamie Oliver worked shifts feeding the kiln, monitoring temperatures and making the odd adjustment to airflow vents and shutters.

The pots started to glow after the first day and by the end of the firing the entire inside was glowing red.

Each time new wood was added (about every 15 min, 24 hours a day) the chimney would produce billows of smoke and fire, which was particularly impressive at night.

The kiln is currently in cool-down mode and Len will not know what the results of this year’s efforts have been until later this week. But given the wonderful results from previous firings, there should be some spectacular pieces.

More pictures:

Rifle Bird Courtship at Paluma

The breeding season for the Victoria’s Rifle Bird is between September and January. Courtship behaviour and displaying by juvenile male birds is in full swing at Paluma during the peak of the breeding season in early November. The elaborate courtship rituals are something to see!

Over several days, numerous young male birds have been sighted on ‘perches’ high in the rainforest canopy, carrying out their elaborate dance displays to attract the females. At one location on a suitable tree stump I observed three birds displaying in quick succession, one after the other on the same perch. The displays were accompanied by the distinctive raucous, raspy calls which were quickly answered by other birds throughout the nearby forest. The distinctive clapping sound made by the male birds rapidly alternating their wings during displaying was also heard from the surrounding rainforest.

Cliff and Dawn Frith have spent many years studying the courtship display and mating habits of rifle birds. Much of their research was based at Paluma. They describe the courtship display as typically having three discrete components:

Calling – usually associated with the opening of the beak and exposure of the inside of the bright yellow mouth.

2. Circular wings and gape display

3. Alternate wing clap – this involves the rapid, alternating ‘clapping’ of the wings whereby the female is ’embraced’ within the male birds wings. The tempo of the wing clapping increases until copulation.

Just describing the remarkable courtship behaviour of the male rifle bird does not do it justice. The video below captures a short sequence of the typical display.

Text & Photos by Michele Bird. Video by Michele Bird & Jamie Oliver.

Bruce Highway Closure

Overnight closures of the Bruce Highway, north of Townsville 19 – 21 November 2018

Please see the attached flyer with information about the upcoming overnight closures of the Bruce Highway at Yabulu, north of Townsville between Monday 19 and Wednesday 21 November 2018.

Flyer_Bruce Highway closure-Yabulu

It is expected that the highway will be closed each night at 8pm and reopened to traffic each morning at 4am. Every effort will be made to ensure the highway will be reopened by 4am. However, should weather events or construction issues require a longer closure, then updates will be provided on the QLD Traffic website www.qldtraffic.qld.gov.au and App.

This is a significant closure of the Bruce Highway, with no alternative routes. Please review the information in the flyer and if you have any questions, contact the Customer and Stakeholder Management Team on 1800 625 648 or email engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au.

Kind regards,

Erin

Customer and Stakeholder Management Team
North Queensland Region
Program Delivery and Operations Branch | Infrastructure Management and Delivery Division | Department of Transport and Main Roads

Platypus on the Village Weir

The Village Weir is a wonderful place to sit and contemplate nature, especially during a misty morning. You can even catch up on your emails while waiting for a platypus to appear.

Following the sighting of a platypus on the Village Weir in late September there have been 4 other confirmed sightings and it would seem that this individual has taken up residence (hopefully for the long term) in the weir.

Sightings have been primarily in the early morning (6-7am) and it appears to prefer the left side bank (looking up from the weir wall).

A list of all recent sightings can be found here. If you happen to see our new aquatic resident please contact Jamie Oliver with details so he can add this to the sightings record.

The video below shows the Platypus swimming across the weir from right to left early in the morning on October 28, 2018.