This year the Pre-push Welcome dinner will be at the Community Hall on Saturday, October 10th. If you are interested/planning to attend it is essential that you book tickets online prior to the event, or at a minimum let Sam or Aline know you want to reserve a spot. The dinner, a 2 course roast banquet style dinner will be cooked and served by Magnums, promises to be a great way to celebrate the start of this iconic event for Paluma. Be sure to book early as under COVID we are restricted in how many can attend!
The Department of Transport and Main Roads would like to advise that reconstruction works on Mt Spec Road between the Little Crystal Creek Bridge and McLellands Lookout will commence onMonday 14 September 2020.
Reconstruction works on Mt Spec Road are being undertaken to ensure motorist safety and the ongoing integrity of the road. We are targeting completion of works at damaged sites prior to the 2020–21 wet season.
Works will be completed at night to minimise traffic disruption and the impact on local businesses and residents. Night works will take place between 6pm to 6amthroughout the duration of the project, except Fridays where work will be completed 7pm to 7am. Works are expected to be completed by late December 2020, weather and construction conditions permitting.
A full road closure of Mt Spec Road will be in place from Little Crystal Creek to McLellands Lookout during project working hours of 6pm to 6am Saturday to Thursday, and 7pm to 7am Friday night/Saturday morning. Road users will not be permitted onto the road during these work hours. The gates to the road at Little Crystal Creek and at Paluma Village will be closed during these hours. In an emergency situation that requires Queensland Emergency Services to travel to Paluma Village, access will be provided by the contractor.
Please find attached a list of Frequently Asked Questions containing further information about these works. TMR thanks you for your patience and understanding while these works are being completed. Should you have any further queries or would like to discuss any aspect of these works, please do not hesitate to contact TMR on the details below.
Kind Regards
Customer and Stakeholder Management (Northern) | North Queensland Region Program Delivery And Operations | Infrastructure Management & Delivery Division |
Also known as Ironwood and Rusty Rhodomyrtus Family: Myrtaceae;
Rhodomyrtus pervagata first came to my attention some years ago when Linda Venn called me over to her garden to see a strange bird feasting on the fruits of a small tree. The rather large bird had been there all day and smaller birds, evidently afraid to approach, kept up a clamour of scolding and complaining about the large bird’s presence. The intruder was identified by the late Roy Mackay as a juvenile pallid cuckoo, a bird not commonly seen in Paluma. It continued eating, oblivious of the other birds, until every fruit was gone. The small tree, or shrub, was a Rhodomyrtus pervagata.
There are several species of Rhodomyrtus: twenty occurring in parts of S E Asia, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia. In Australia, there are seven species, six of which are found in rainforests of tropical Queensland. Rhodomyrtus pervagata is endemic from Mount Misery near Cooktown to Paluma, growing at altitudes from 30 to 1250 metres in well-developed and mountain rainforest. It grows well in disturbed areas and is characteristic of rainforest regrowth.
A shrub, or small tree, it grows to about 10 metres high. New twigs are covered in fine, rusty hairs, giving them a furry appearance. The simple leaves are distinctive, being lanceolate and measuring 50 – 80 mm x 20 – 70 mm. The upper surface is dark green and sparsely glabrous, except for fine hairs along the mid-rib. The underside is pale and covered with fine rusty hairs and numerous oil dots which can be seen with a lens. The under-side has a prominent mid-rib and strongly defined lateral and intra-marginal veins.
The tiny flowers are axillary, growing in clusters of up to three. There are five cup-shaped petals about 5 mm in size surrounding a centre of yellow stamens. They are so small, they are easily missed, especially as the petals tend not to open up fully.
The tiny fruits are fleshy cream to brown berries, about 12 -14 mm long, and densely packed with up to 84 tiny seeds. The fruit, cut lengthwise, reveals the seeds stacked in rows of seven to fourteen. Many birds feed on the fruit of Rhodomyrtus.
There are many of these small trees in Paluma, tucked away in the understorey along the roadsides. Possibly, the easiest to locate are at the roadsides of the cutting between the Rainforest Inn driveway and Loop Road.
Text and Photos (unless otherwise marked) by Colwyn Campbell
Throughout the year, Paluma is blessed with colourful plants, photos of which are regularly posted on the website. Such is the focus on gorgeous blooms that the humble food gardens tend to be overlooked. They are due for some well-deserved attention, particularly as growing fruit and vegetables in Paluma is a real challenge.
The climate can be unkind at times but the wild-life presents the major obstacle to successful food gardening. Bush rats and White-tailed rats eat stone fruits, such as plums and peaches long before the fruit is ripe. Cockatoos savage citrus crops and at night, wallabies emerge from the forest and feast on any new green leaf within reach; citrus, gardenia, rose and hibiscus are favourites along with potted herbs. Bandicoots burrow deep beneath plants, birds steal the chillies but the worst predator within the village is the Brush Turkey. Two or three of these can, in only a few minutes, lay waste to an entire bed of vegetables: nothing is spared; pots are up-ended and their contents eaten and they rival rats in their plunder of pumpkin and choko vines. Out on the rural blocks, feral pigs make unwelcome forays, at times pushing through flimsy fences and devouring everything from bananas to sweet potatoes.
So, it is with awe and admiration that I see several Paluma residents refuse to be defeated and have productive gardens that would make a professional market gardener or orchardist envious. What are some of the secrets of their success? Location, (a position with enough sunlight throughout the day) and pest-proofing are vital.
On the rural blocks most gardens are securely fenced, some are also roofed with wire mesh.
In the village various strategies are employed. Some gardens are in raised beds with a bird-mesh structure above, which can be opened to give access for weeding and harvesting. Other kitchen gardens are in purpose-built boxes suspended from veranda rails – excellent for restricted spaces.
Jennie Robinson’s herb box garden contains basil, parsley, oregano And several other herbs.
Jan and Peter have given their ‘caged’ plants extra protection by planting insect repelling flowers nearby.
Barry and Chris at the Paluma Environmental Education Centre, have established hydroponic gardens with healthy crops of lettuce varieties, tomatoes, beans, radish and a range of herbs. The tubs containing the plants are set on a vertical framework, making them fairly inaccessible to turkeys. A conventional vegetable garden has also been established at the school with the plots protected by bird-mesh covered arches.
So far turkeys have not discovered the hydroponic plants but the other garden has not escaped attention; a net inadvertently left open gave a young male turkey his chance to explore.
So, with location and protection taken care of, the secret of success in producing strong, healthy food plants, apart from having green thumbs, and a passion for gardening, is ascribed to the fertiliser used. Fertilising with liquid and casts from a worm farm seems to be a winner. The popularity of worm farms is growing with several gardeners now raising these helpful little pets.
Lynda’s worm farm
While commercial products work well, traditional natural fertilisers such as goat and cow manure are highly regarded.
Hats off to all these determined gardeners. You are inspirational! This article will be followed up with regular updates of what fruit has ripened and what vegetables are being harvested.
Paluma gardens are in a continuous state of change with a regular cycle of blooming and fruiting that makes each visit up to a the village a new experience. A walk along the village road can be a process of discovery of new blooms never before seen, or the emergence en masse of old favourites, or a re-aquaintance with an uncommon plant not seen for some time.
Although we continue to publish individual posts on interesting plants that are blooming in Paluma gardens, we have not, generally, created new posts for flowers that we have highlighted in previous months or years even, if they are currently in full bloom. Over time this is leading to there being fewer new things to write about in our “What’s Blooming?” section.
It seems a shame not to share our delight in seeing old favourites come into bloom during certain months, or to share a quickly taken picture of a particularly striking plant or flower that we don’t have the time or enough supplementary information to create a dedicated post. Consequently, we have started a new series which is a simple collection of photos from Paluma gardens highlighting what is in bloom during each month, and what interesting plants we have discovered.
We also invite residents with an interest in photography to send us their best photos from their gardens or from around the village for inclusion in the monthly collection.
Below is a slide show for June 202o. You can access slideshows for previous months on the Paluma through the seasons page on our website.
Enjoy the show…..
Jamie and Michele
Paluma in July 2020
Click on the image below to start the slide show… it will start automatically after a few seconds
Its been a pretty cold winter so far in Paluma and the flowers in our gardens are showing it. The weather app on my phone indicates that temperatures have been well below 10°C with a few nights below 5°C. Jonquils and Tulips are two of the cold loving flowers that can be seen growing and occasionally flowering in Paluma, but Len Cook has made me aware that we can grow another bulb normally found in southern climes –Leucojum sp or “Snowflakes”.
Len has had a steadily growing clump of these for several years that he recently replanted them as a row along his fence and they have produced sprays of gorgeous white flowers. They are often misnamed “Snow Drops”, which are nearly identical, but Snowflakes can easily be distinguised by the small green dots near the end of each of the 6 petals. They are more tolerant of warm conditions compared to Snow Drops (Galanthus sp), but both are sufficiently cold tolerant to be seen poking out of the spring snow in full flower in temperate regions.
Snowflakes are native to central and southern Europe but have become naturalised in North America and Australia)
Photo by Len Cook
Len’s snowflakes appear to be the Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum). The other species found in southern gardens is the larger Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum).
In addition to temperate bulbs, Paluma is also able to grow stone fruit in the form of “tropical” peaches which, despite their name, require at least a short period of cold weather to flower and bear fruit. There at least 3 residences which have flowering peach trees in Paluma at present. While the beautiful pink flowers are a delightful addition to any garden I am told that birds and native rats benefit the most from any fruit that are produced. However I gather one resident has been able to harvest enough to make peach jam one year.
I have chosen Davidson’s Plum (Davidsonia pruriens) as the July Rainforest Tree of the Month because my attention was drawn to this tree by the abundant litter of large, purple fallen fruit on the ground beneath a tree near the Paluma Environmental Education Centre’s fire pit. Investigating, I saw that the tree was well laden with bunches of fruit, some ripe and ready to fall while small green fruits were also strewn along the branches. It was early in June when I saw the fruit but fruiting can occur at any time of year.
Although it is a rainforest tree, Davidson’s Plum is not endemic to Paluma. It grows to about 18 metres high and is found from sea level to altitudes of up to 1095 metres from near the Big Table-land near Cooktown to Cardwell. There are three species of this genus endemic to Australia, one occurring in Tropical North Queensland.
The name Davidsonia, named after a pioneer sugar-cane grower, J E Davidson is ironic given that so much of the lower level rainforest where this tree occurs, has been lost to cane-fields. Pruriens, means itching or stinging and applies to Davidson’s Plum because there are irritant hairs on leaves and young fruit.
The large, hairy compound leaves of this tree are distinctive with deeply serrated edges to the leaflets and little leaf-like protrusions between the leaflets. Both sides of the leaf are covered with fine hairs.
Flowering can occur at any time. Flowers are tiny, with no petals but have four or five green or pink sepals. The grow in panicles (bunches) from leaf axils or are cauliflorous (along the trunk) or ramiflorous (on the branches).
The fruit is a drupe, (fleshy), with two seeds The developing green fruit is well covered in fine hairs which can cause considerable irritation and itching. Ripe fruit is roughly oval to round, about five centimetres long, and is dark purple to almost black with a fine powdery, whitish bloom on the surface. The flesh is dark pink. Of the two seeds, usually only one is fertile. The fruit is highly acidic, too tart to eat raw, although it was eaten by Aboriginal people, but It can be made into a delicious wine, jam or jelly. Cassowaries, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Double-eyed Fig-parrots eat the fruit.
A good example of the Davidson’s Plum can be seen at the forest edge behind Paluma Environmental Education Centre, near the fire pit.
Sue Rimington passed away in May this year. She and her husband (Dr. Ron Rimington) owned the house opposite the old police station, which they built around 1984 using the same local builder (John Grail) who built Nick and Glenda Van Rynswood’s house. The Rimington family used to come up to relax on weekends occasionally and to enjoy the cooler weather. They loved nature and gardening. Dr. Rimington’s association with Paluma possibly began with his Army Reserves service in the 60’s -70’s exercising in Paluma area.
Sue was a gentle, quietly spoken lady who dearly loved flowers and gardening. Her interest in flowers got her involved in fund raising charity events and became a key person in the flower fantasies these fundraising events required. After Ron’s death in 1998, Sue moved to Brisbane.
The Rimingtons were members of the Paluma Progress Association and well known in the Community. Their daughter and husband (Robyne and David Maguire) owned a block of land at the end of Hussey Road opposite Browne’s property . Doc as we called him used to go out there and plant cardamom and they had some fruit trees.
One story I was told was that Doc one day went out on the block to pick a box fruit, stopping to go home for lunch. On returning he found the fruit out of the boxes onto ground. He was quite puzzled by this but did not have to wait long before out came the culprit – a cassowary.
Sue’s early life was spent in the suburb of Camberwell in Melbourne and then Camperdown Victoria where her father was in a furniture business. She went to primary and early secondary school in Camperdown before going to boarding school at Methodist Ladies College in Melbourne for her senior years.
Sue’s career was in nursing at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Melbourne was where she met and married her husband Ron and from here they both moved to Townsville so Ron could take up a medical position at the Townsville General Hospital. Townsville is where they based their next 50 years. They had three children, Scott, Robyne and Mignonne.
Sue had many interests too numerous to mention but a couple come to mind one being how she started a home decorating business and her logo was a large snail with the wording “Is your home getting on your back”. The other one was later in life turning to painting and developed a style which seemed to be an extension of her real flair for colour.
She spent her last 20 years in Brisbane surrounded by a large and loving family whom she adored. Her grandchildren and great grandchild have many wonderful memories to pass onto their children in the future.
I gathered some of this information from family and what I knew myself of Ron and Sue as Ron was my boss at the Commonwealth Pathology Laboratory and James and I became very close friends with them over many years.
After delays and uncertainties resulting from COVID-19 the Paluma Push for 2020 is now confirmed and scheduled for October 11.
Visit the Paluma Push website for more information and bookings.
This year the event is being coordinated by Outer Limits Adventure, and Sam Stedman is keen to tap into the dedicated volunteers from Paluma who have manned the checkpoints in previous years. So please put this important date in your calendar if you would like to help out. More information will follow in due course.
Kelly Davis was a good friend of Dorothy’s and mine. His cheerful, friendly, generous nature was infectious.
We had many wonderful holidays and fun times together; trekking, skiing, fishing, golfing, and playing snooker, all of that Kelly excelled at, leaving me in his wake despite my baulking and razzing.
Kelly’s extensive knowledge of fauna and flora enlightened and enthused our interest in the natural wonderland around Paluma.
Strong physically and in character, Kelly approached all difficulties pragmatically, applying his many skills and practical knowledge to problem solving, and generously helping others with advice and assistance when required. Building many verandas in Paluma, including ours, Kelly started “veranda envy” in Paluma.
At Paluma Dorothy and I will sit at our “Kelly made” beautiful red stringy bark table on our “Kelly made” veranda and sadly, but fondly reflect the wonderful, inspiring impact Kelly has had on our lives.
