Author: Admin4

Winter on the Mountain

This article (with minor edits) was published as “Paluma in the Clouds” in the Rollingstone Rag June edition.

The iridescent midnight blue of a mature male satin bowerbird.
Photo by J.Oliver

The Satin bowerbirds, a common resident in the village at this time of year, have been numerous and active.  The bower in our front garden has been freshened up by a male satin bower bird and is once again decorated in fresh blue pieces to attract the many local females.  There is much competition and amorous calling ensuring the bower birds of both sexes work up a large appetite.  The glorious shiny black males and stripy legged females come into our bird feeder keen and hungry.  I’ve counted ten on some mornings, jostling for space to snatch a tidbit.

A newly renovated bower with all the expected blue accoutrements. Photo by J. Poletto.

There have been two new welcome upgrades to our community.  Firstly, we’re grateful to the Townsville City Council for providing a doggie poo bag dispenser next to their bins near the community hall.  Locals and visitors alike will be most appreciative of the facility.  Also, there has been a recent upgrade to our telecommunications by Telstra and we now have 5G on the mountain. 

The doggy poo dispenser is conveniently located next to the council refuse bins near the hall.

Talking about wagging tails… WaG…aka The Wattle and Gum Bush Band will be providing a fun afternoon of bush dancing and music in the Paluma community hall on Saturday June 22nd from 12pm – 4pm.  The PDCA bar and BBQ will be open from 12pm with the bush dance starting at 1pm. A gold coin donation for entry to the dance is requested.  It will be great fun for friends and family and a brilliant way to warm up on a chilly day. Many locals have enjoyed this event and highly recommend it.

Wattle n Gum in full throttle last year at the hall. Photo by A. Brown.


Our upcoming June Market on Sunday 23rd of June is one of our most popular of the year.  As usual, the sausage sizzle will be running and stalls with baked goods and preserves (all homemade), crafts, art, fresh produce and many other items will be open to punters from 9am to 1pm.    There is also the possibility we may be treated to some folk music from members of the infamous Wattle and Gum bush band. Fingers crossed they won’t be worn out from the dance the day before. It promises to be a market with fabulous atmosphere and goodies, but you may need to don your beanie as it could be a little chilly.  Also, any locals available to help on the day, please contact Wilfred Karnoll. Your support for our community events is much appreciated and essential to its success.

Don in the ‘driver’s seat’ of the PDCA BBQ during a previous market. Photo by J. Poletto

From June, the Paluma History Display will be changing its opening times to the public from a Wednesday to every Saturday from 10am to 12pm at the Paluma Community Centre when there are no other events requiring the hall. Entry is free and tea/coffee will be available. 

Text by J. Poletto

Paluma Winter Sunday Market – a call-out to our village bakers

The Paluma Community Winter Sunday Market is fast approaching on Sunday June 23rd.  This is a call-out for Paluma’s Kitchen Rockstars to make, shake and bake home made goodies to sell for our community’s (PDCA) fund raising.

If you are interested in doing some baking and donating your goods for sale at the Winter Sunday Market then please read on…..

Here’s what to do:-

  1. Please divide your baked goods into small batches for sale. We suggest batches of 2, 4 or 6 individual pieces as this has worked well at previous markets.
  2. Please add a sticker or other suitable label outlining the contents of your baked goods. You will need to add this label to EVERY individual batch of goods. This is required for health & safety reasons.
  3. Please plate the goods (in batches) and secure with glad wrap or suitable packaging. (We have previously used paper plates and glad wrap and this works well).
  4. Please add a price sticker to your goods, with what you think is a fair and reasonable price for your baked delights. We can provide price stickers if needed.
  5. Please deliver your goods to the Community Hall on Sunday morning 23rd June at 8.30 AM (for a 9 am market start).
  6. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!😊

If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact Wilfred Karnoll by email: Wilfred.suzanne@bigpond.com or phone 0447822626

Previous cake stalls have been a roaring success. All contributions are very much appreciated.

Paluma History Project Update

From the beginning of June the history display day will change to a Saturday from 10am – 12pm. This is to take advantage of the increased visitor numbers in the village of a weekend.


Also, this gives the opportunity for those community members who are not usually in the village during the week to be able to participate in the History project. This is a way you (and a mate) can contribute to our mountain top community in a way that isn’t physically demanding.


If you’re interested, please come along to the hall on a Wednesday from 11am – 1pm for the rest of May and whoever is manning the display will be able to show you what is involved. We will have a roster there you can register your name or please contact any PDCA exec committee member to register your interest. Any time you have available would be most appreciated.

Part of Paluma’s history… who remembers this day?

Paluma History Display

First open day for 2024

April 10 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

If you’re a resident up for the day or one of our (lucky) lovely permanent residents in Paluma village, come and take a look at what happens during our History Project display day. Every Wednesday from March till November we open up the Community Hall and set out a variety of displays and resources that document the rich history of the region.

There are fact sheets and a dvd about the history of Paluma for viewing. You may learn something about where you live and even have some fabulous ideas on how to improve our display. We love feedback but we also would love some help.

We are needing interested volunteers to help with keeping the display open. Come along during April and May to see how it all works as there will be a range of people there who are experienced in manning our display. They will happily show you the ropes if you think you’d like to give it a go. Check with the person ‘on duty’ to see which dates during the year you may be free to support.

At the very least, come along and have a cup of coffee or tea  and a chat with our local history enthusiasts.

Easter Market Success

Record breaking crowds attended our Paluma Community Easter Market on Sunday.  Despite how the weather appeared as late as Friday night, the sun and Paluma blue skies put on a fabulous show and drew people from near and far to enjoy what our village market and community had to offer.  

The rain and clouds on the range Thursday afternoon did not bode well for Sunday.

There were a variety of stalls full of fresh local produce and preserves, plants, textile goods, Paluma souvenirs and Knick knacks. Loretta Brennan and her husband from Mutarnee had a table full of fresh goodies that were very popular.  Also, the lovely Kath who with Anne Briers, had an array of fascinating plants and produce as well as sweets and preserves that had people commenting.

Kath with her wares all displayed and ready for sale.
Loretta with her fresh produce and preserves stall.
‘Buddha’s fingers’ citrus – one of the fascinating fruits on Anne’s stall.

Bobbi’s beautiful mini moss gardens and painted saws were once again a big hit with some customers taking photos of her lovely work. The colourful textile stall, “Stitches…” (apologies for not remembering the full name) had some gorgeous items which were popular.  The stall holders themselves were very pleased with the market as they doubled their takings compared to the last market.

The PDCA had its own stalls with fresh local produce, souvenirs, baked goods and preserves as well as an Easter hamper raffle.  All of which were popular and sold well.  It can be confirmed that this market made over two thousand dollars for the PDCA as a result of the tremendous efforts of our community. 

The PDCA sincerely thanks all of those amazing PKRs! (Paluma Kitchen Rockstars!) who helped make this Easter Market such a success. And to all the ‘quiet achievers’ who organised, lifted, swept, washed, cleaned, cooked, made the tea and coffee, served the public, were accountable for the money… a heartfelt “thank you”.

Les ready for the hoards at the sausage sizzle.

Our next market will be on June 23rd, and if you would like to be part of it either volunteering or hosting your own stall, please contact Wilfred Karnoll or any other PDCA executive member.

The PDCA bake and preserves turned a record-breaking profit.

Easter Market Preparations

And some talk of cake…


Our Paluma Community Easter Market is just over a week away and will be held at the community hall on Sunday March 31st from 9am to 1pm.
This is a reminder that the hall will be open this Saturday, the 23rd from 10 – 11am for anyone wishing to register their availability to help out with a range of tasks such a community event entails.

Some of the jobs on the day are listed below if you would like to volunteer a half hour of your time to support a successful community market. Experienced volunteers will be there to explain the task if required.

Hall set up: from 8 – 9am

PDCA Stall Holders: on a roster from 9am – 1pm. Baked goods and preserves stall, produce and plants stall.

Sausage Sizzle set up (8:30am) and run: on roster from 9am – 1pm

Pack up and Clean up bbq, pagoda and hall: From 1 – 2pm.

This is also a reminder for the ‘Paluma Kitchen Rockstars’ baking for the PDCA baked goods stall. You can collect your ‘Paluma Produce’ stickers if you wish to use them, this Saturday from the hall between 10 and 11am. Please refer to the post: “Call-out to Paluma Bakers for the Easter Markets” for details on plating and labelling your baked goodies.

A Festive St Paddy’s Night

The St Paddy’s social on Saturday 16th was a cheerful gathering of 20 or so locals. Michele and Lynda had the hall decked out in the green and orange whilst lilting Irish melodies and jigs drifted amongst us. Many a cheeky leprechaun (some in full traditional outfits) happily enjoyed a glass or two of their favourite tipple before being called for dinner. The generous Irish-themed feast provided by those who attended was truly sumptuous and delicious.

Before the seriously delectable dessert table was officially opened for business, Michele bravely and competently stepped up into the role of quizmaster extraordinaire on all things Irish. Rules were explained, questionnaires distributed and suddenly there was a quiet lull (and a few moans and groans), whilst the leprechauns with their full bellies and glasses, wracked their brains for answers to questions spanning the fields of geography, literature, language, film, popular music and sheep… Irish sheep.

After a suitable period of time, and a checking of answers, the winner, Linda Venn, was discovered and awarded her prize of a free drink from the bar and an Irish-themed stubby cooler. Peter Cook was the luckiest leprechaun of the evening as he sat on the chair with a hidden reward of “pots of gold” scratchies. We all wish you luck, Peter! The evening went very smoothly with no small thanks to Lynda Radbone’s efficiency in the kitchen and behind the bar and Michele’s organisation.

The melodic brogue of our very own Irishman, Les Hyland was unfortunately missing from this evening – as was his Anamchara, (thank you google) the lovely Lynn. However, Michelle, Lynda and all those who attended did their best to honour the Irish camaraderie and sense of cheeky fun that Les and Lynn encouraged when they first began these St Paddy’s festivities. Now there’s a quiz question for you: When was the first St Paddy’s night at the Paluma Community Hall?


Text and photos: J. Poletto