This coming Friday, the Perc Tucker Gallery will be opening a retrospective exhibition of 4 decades of works from our local award-winning ceramic artist, Len Cook.
The exhibition will open this Friday, May 12 and run until August 2023. On Saturday, May 13, Len will give a talk at the Gallery about his work
Len Cook is one of Australia’s foremost woodfired potters. The exhibition FIRE AND RAIN draws together nearly 80 artworks created over 40 years Of ceramic practice with loans from public and private collections, as well as key works from the artist’s own collection.
The exhibition highlights the artists lifelong passion for wood-fired kilns and pots that are glazed by natural ash deposits over extended firing in traditional Japanese anagama (cave) kilns. Len Cook’s practice encompasses domestic ware, ceramic sculpture inspired by the coral forms Of the Great Barrier Reef, and his anagama- fired work.
Join artist Len Cook and curator Ross Searle as they discuss the works on display in Cook’s exhibition FIRE AND RAIN. Floor Talk Saturday 13 May 10.30am
Over the recent Easter weekend, Juanita and I went for an evening walk around Lennox Crescent. We discovered one of our local residents trying to cross the road in an utterly legless state. However, an excess of Easter cheer was not a factor in its slow progress. This particular resident was born legless, and when not trying to cross smooth packed surfaces like roads, its apodal state is a big advantage for its chosen lifestyle.
Our struggling neighbour was, in fact, one of two species of legless lizards that can be found in the rainforests around Paluma. While snakes have adapted well to rapid progress on open ground, legless lizards are mostly burrowing animals and their form is ideally suited to digging and pushing their way through soil and leaf litter, and hiding under logs and rocks. Legless lizards may sometimes be mistaken for snakes, but careful inspection shows that compared to snakes, they have: earholes (or covered depressions); long tails that are a significant proportion of their overall length; and no forked tongue.
I took several pictures of this beautifully coloured lizard once back at home and hoped to get further close-ups and naturalistic shots the next morning but it managed to escape its temporary home early the next morning, so I am left with these hand-held images. They were enough for me to be pretty confident in identifying it as the limbless snake-tooth skink (Coeranoscincus frontalis).
Photo by Juanita Poletto
This species is fairly common (but infrequently encountered) in the wet tropics. It is thought to be nocturnal and is commonly found in rotten logs or in the soil under logs and rocks. As suggested by its common name, members of the genus have relatively large recurved snake-like teeth and in a related species (C. reticulatis) stomach contents suggest it eats earthworms, beetle larvae and other insects. The sharp recurved teeth may be an adaptation to capturing and holding the large, muscular writhing earthworms that are commonly found in our rainforests and local gardens.
Photo by Jamie Oliver
Leglessness has independently evolved in at least 7 different families of lizards (and one clade of six closely related families). Most of our commonly found legless lizards in Queensland belong to the family Pygopodidae (related to geckos), however, C. frontalis is actually a member of the skink family.
A recent publication in the Australasian Journal of Herpetology has suggested that C. frontalis is actually 3 separate species that have distinct geographic distributions. The individuals that are found between Paluma and Mt Elliot have been recognized as a new species: Coeranoscincus pailsei. In case you were under the misapprehension that taxonomists are humourless nerds with no social life, check out the note from this publication on the derivation of this new species name:
The new species C. pailsei sp. nov. is named in honour of Roy Pails of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia in recognition of his many contributions to herpetology spanning many decades. Quite appropriately, I note his love of alcohol and his regular habit of drinking himself “legless” with Peter Whybrow (see above) and others, including at my wedding in year 1999, which is appropriate and relevant when naming a legless skink in his honour.
Over the last several months, from December last year, I have found the remains of a striking fruit around the village, both on roadsides and along tracks. And more recently I have found some vines with ripe fruit still hanging prominently beside the road opposite the turnoff to McClennan’s Lookout.
Aptly named the Harlequin Fruit, Melodinus australis is a moderately common vine found in a variety of rainforests from central NSW and Eastern Queensland ranging from sea level to 1200m. It is also known as the Bellbird Vine. The genus name Melodinus is derived from the latin words “melon” (= apple) and “dinein” (= twisted) in reference to its twisted viney growth form and the roughly apple-shaped fruit it produces.
This vine, opposite the newly cleared signage area at the turnoff to McClelland’s lookout, is still bearing fruit.
The vine has elongate pointed leaves with a distinct central vein. The flowers are cream to yellow and can be strongly perfumed. The distinctive fruit are initially green and turn orange-red progressively from the distal end, but they always remain green near the area of attachment to the vine.
The genus has 23 species ranging from Indo-Malaya through Greater Australia and the western Pacific Island. They are all climbing plants that belong to belongs to the family Apocynaceae or Dogbanes. This common name refers to the fact that some plants in the family have been known to poison dogs. Harlequin Fruit, however, appears not to be particularly toxic.
The fruit are most often seen on the ground after cockatoos or other birds have fed on them. Even unripe green fruit is taken, although in this case the birds appear strip the outer skin in order to get to the inner flesh.
Judging by the remains of fruit which often litter the forest floor, Cockatoos appear to love this fruit. It is also eaten by cassowaries.
Aboriginals in the Kuranda range are reported to have eaten the fruit. Other sources on the web recommend only eating the coloured portion of the fruit and avoiding any part that exudes white sticky sap.
The harlequin fruit can be propagated from cuttings and seeds, and it will flower and fruit prolifically in large pots.
This year’s Annual General Meeting was well attended with 25 people in attendance. Don Battersby and Lynda Radbone manned the BBQ to provide a lunch beforehand which may have helped to bring in a range of members from around the village.
The AGM minutes will be posted on the Member’s area shortly, together with the President’s Report, Financial Statement and History Project Report.
This year there were advance nominations for two new members of the Committee, who were elected unopposed (Anneshka Brown as Vice-President, and Juanita Poletto as Secretary).
Sarah Swann decided not to run for office this year, and I would like to thank her on behalf of the PDCA for her efforts on several PDCA initiatives and inputs into discussions over the last few years.
The remaining Committee Members agreed to stay on for another year and were elected unopposed. After a call from the floor for other nominations to fill available positions, I am delighted that Leonie Crennan and Linda Whitely agreed to join the committee.
It is great that we start this year with four new faces on the Committee and with the position of Secretary filled after more than two years.
The final composition of the PDCA Committee is listed below.
President
Jamie Oliver
Vice-President
Anneshka Brown
Secretary
Juanita Poletto
Treasurer
Wilfred Karnoll
Committee Member (SES)
Charlie Allen
Committee Member (RFS)
Ross Hyne
Committee Member
Lyn Hyland
Committee Member
Jill Meads
Committee Member
Leonie Crennan
Committee Member
Linda Whitely
If anyone is interested in reading a summary of events and achievements for the year, you can download the President’s Report here.
Did you know that Koalas can be found in the open forests west of Paluma and much of the sclerophyll forests in the eastern Queensland coastal area of north Queensland? If you would like to know more about koalas or share any sightings you have made in the region, The Australian Wildlife Conservancy is hosting a community workshop leading up to some targeted Koala monitoring later this year.
Felicity L’Hotellier, Senior Field Ecologist for the AWC is inviting Paluma residents to attend the workshop on Wednesday, April 19th. The workshop will be hosted on site at Mount Zero-Taravale’s bush camp. The day will kick off at 9am, and wrap up by 3:30pm, with informal discussions throughout the day including a round-table with those in attendance.
Attendees are invited to camp on site (would need to supply their own tents/sleeping gear), with AWC to provide basic catering from the evening of the 18th through until the morning of the 20th. For anyone interested, an evening spotlight drive and a visit to our new feral predator-free exclosure fence is also planned.
This invitation is restricted to Paluma residents and you are asked to register for the workshop before April 10th. To register or obtain further information contact Felicity on 0408084 617 or 4770 8025.
Don’t forget to come along for a free lunch prior to our Annual General Meeting this Saturday, April 1 at 12:00pm. We need a quorum for these meetings so please come along to support the work that you PDCA officers do, and to ensure that we can elect officers for the next year. More details here
We will be sending out press gangs around the village if it looks like we will be short on numbers. If you are unable to come but would like to assign a proxy vote to ensure we have a quorum please email Jamie Oliver or any other PDCA Committee member to let us know.
For many of us, our village in the mist is a haven offering respite from the bustle of city life and the opportunity for a restorative walk through the forest, immersed in the vibrant sights and sounds of nature. Our local forests, creeks and wildlife have also acted as a muse for artists of many types, including painters, potters, photographers, glass-smiths, sculptors and musicians.
The Melbourne ambient music composer known as Badskin is one of the latter group. She has recently released her second album, “Bush Bash”. Both of her albums (the first is “Where was I ”) feature sounds from the Paluma rainforest magically melded with various instruments and synthesised sound to create an entrancing and at times dissonant aural experience. Within the complex and abstract soundscapes a careful listener will be able to identify whipbirds, frogs, chowchillas and other familiar local species, all blended with guitars, keys, and synths.
Bush Bash
This type of music is not for everyone but if you feel like having a listen, her work is available on Bandcamp, Spotify , and Apple Music.
In case you don’t already know, I proudly confess that I have a conflict of interest in recommending this artist. Badskin is the artistic name chosen by our daughter Carla Oliver.
As the wet season rain continues to soak the forest around Paluma, new and interesting mushrooms just keep appearing! Rosie Gillespie recently found this striking white and warty mushroom on the range road and its distinctive ornamentation certainly makes it worth sharing. This particular mushroom proved relatively easy to identify. It is Amanita pyramidifera – or the Pyramid Builder Lepidella. It is found in eastern Australia in moist sites associated with eucalyptus forests or rainforest.
If you see any more interesting mushrooms that you would like to share or identify please feel free to send them to me.
Members (and prospective members) are advised that the Annual General Meeting of the Paluma & District Community Association Inc. will be held on:
Saturday,April 1, 2023, at 12pm for a BBQ lunch followed by the AGM at 1:15pm in the Community Hall
Nominations are open for all Executive Committee positions. Nominations should be forwarded to any member of the Executive Committee or by email to PalumaPDCA@gmail.com. Please use the nomination forms, which can be downloaded here.
Positions are:
President,
1 or 2 Vice-Presidents
Secretary
Treasurer
General Committee members (numbers flexible)
Members are reminded that Annual Subscriptions are now due and should be paid prior to the commencement of the AGM. Membership is $45.00 Please use the subscription form here to submit your dues. New members are more than welcome and should use the same form.
Please note that you must be a PDCA member to nominate someone to the Committee or vote for any Committee member.
The AGM will be followed immediately by a normal General Meeting with the new Committee.
A couple of weeks ago, Juanita and I decided to go out for a quick night walk around Lennox Cr. The rain put a bit of a dampener on our plans, so we just walked around the house shining our UV torches. We weren’t expecting to see much wildlife but the visual display just from shining torches on our house walls and doors was still amazing. Here’s a sample that looks like it could be on display in a museum of abstract art …
The black squiggly lines on both images are the feeding trails of our Paluma semi-slug which love eating the algae and lichen off our wall.
or a display of images from the Hubble or Webb telescope.
Spider webs add an extra dimension to these images.
After rounding the corner to the other side of the house, we encountered a house gecko, which would normally not be much to get excited about. But the combination of this lizard’s nearly transparent skin, and the fact that bones fluoresce under UV meant that we were treated to an eerie but fascinating x-ray view.
Never a dull moment in Paluma at night if you have a UV torch!
