A reminder that the Paluma History Display will re-open from this Tuesday 9th May at the Community Hall. The History Display will be open from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm every Tuesday, subject to the availability of volunteers to run the display. Drop in to the Community Hall to learn all about the history of Paluma, as well as things to see and do whilst visiting the village and surrounds. You can even enjoy a cuppa at the same time.
A reminder to Paluma residents that the monthly Village Working Bee will take place this coming Saturday 6th May. The weather is beautiful so it’s a great time to get out in the fresh air to help with all those maintenance jobs around our village.
Please meet at the Community Hall at 2 pm and from there tasks will be assigned to team members. Refreshments will be provided after the work is done. If you have some garden tools (shovel, wheelbarrow, pruners, secateurs, etc) bring them along with you.
If you have any questions, Wilfred is the man to see.
I have previously posted (bragged) about the haven my garden provides for brown tree snakes of all sizes (Boiga irregularis). In October 2022 I posted a photograph of a rather cute baby brown tree snake amongst the foliage in my bromeliad patch. Today I encountered another baby resting on the broad leaves of one of my anthuriums amongst the pot plants. I couldn’t resist sharing this photograph of this very handsome specimen. Check out those huge eyes….!
Text & Photo by Michele Bird
Plantings of the native vine Aristolochia tagala (aka Aristolochia acuminata) have now wrapped a sizable section of the railings at the Paluma Village Hall deck in a thick mass of large green leaves.
Somewhat hidden amongst the foliage and emerging flowers and fruit, the larvae of the Cairns Birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera euphorion) are happily munching their way towards the time they will leave the dense vines behind and move to a more open position before transforming into their chrysalis form. By the time the caterpillars are ready to pupate they have grown to about the size of a human adult’s thumb.
They need to move out of the dense foliage so they have plenty of space to unfold their damp and soft wings when they emerge in their final form as Australia’s largest endemic butterfly.
The Birdwings and some other Swallowtail species rely exclusively on the native vines Aristolochia tagala (aka Aristolochia acuminata) and Pararistolochia deltantha as the food sources for their caterpillars.
Using chemical receptors on her forelegs the female Birdwing butterfly is able to tell by “tasting” various leaves with chemical receptors on her forelegs that she has found an Aristolochia vine. At the end of her abdomen are other sense organs that help her then locate tender young leaves suitable as caterpillar food.
Aristolochia vines are poisonous, but the caterpillars of Birdwings (and other Swallowtail species) are able to use the plant poison in our native species for their own protection and so store the toxins in prominent fleshy orange-red spines on their backs.
When threatened by hungry birds (or curious humans at the village hall) the Birdwings and other members of the Swallowtail butterfly family turn toxins to their defence using an inbuilt defence mechanism anatomically referred to as the Osmeterium
The Osmeterium is an organ above the head of the caterpillar in the first body segment. If the caterpillar feels threatened, two bright red or orange horns pop out, as well as a very smelly, bitter fluid utilising the stored Aristolochia toxin.
All our Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars — the big butterflies like Cairns Birdwings, Orchards and Ulysses — have this defence mechanism.
Because of the shape of the flowers, the common name for various species of Aristolochia and Pararistolochiais Dutchman’s Pipe.
But while the Swallowtails thrive on the Australian species of these vines, a foreign species (Aristolochia elegans) is deadly for them.
The deadly form of Dutchman’s pipe imported from South America for ornamental plantings sends out the same chemical signals to the female swallowtails as our native species. They are fooled into laying their eggs on it. But the emerging caterpillars cannot cope with the stronger toxins of Aristolochia elegans and are eventually poisoned and killed.
Aristolochia elegans plants are spreading from gardens into the natural environment and are endangering the future of the beautiful Birdwings and the other Swallowtails.
Do plant native Aristolochia and help the swallowtails fill the summer skies with colour and movement …but check labels carefully to make sure you don’t accidentally purchase and plant the deadly foreign invaders.
Photos by Jan Cooke and text largely plagiarised from Google sources by Peter Cooke.
Serving the Community for 40 years – Happy Birthday Paluma RFB!
Last Saturday the fire gods were shining down on the Paluma Community Centre and our beloved fire truck ‘Paluma 51’ was adorned with yellow and red balloons to give thanks to past members of the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade.
A modest but jubilant crowd of 30 people gathered to raise their glasses and help celebrate the 40th Anniversary, including a couple of visiting families. Paluma 51 as always was popular with the children. Don kindly manned the BBQ to cook an array of BBQ meats to perfection which was accompanied by gourmet salads of the exceptional Paluma standard.
Following lunch, 1st Officer Ross Hyne thanked those who had made the Brigade what it is today, still here after 40 years and to others for helping celebrate this auspicious occasion. Lynn Hyland provided some early historical narrative on the very beginnings of the Brigade which humbly started in April 1983 with a small loan from the Paluma Progress Association to purchase a trailer for housing firefighting equipment.
Following the speeches, the cutting of the cake was undertaken by some of the longest serving members of the Brigade, founding member and former 1st Officer Len Cook and Lynn and Les Hyland who have been active members for 36 years.
May the Brigade be here for another 40 years!
Interested in joining the Brigade or wondering how you can get involved? New members are always welcome. For more information, please contact Sonya on (0474) 324 153.
Text by Sonya Bryce, Secretary/Treasurer, Paluma Rural Fire Brigade. Photos by Sonya Bryce and Michele Bird.
Paluma residents are advised that there was an attempted break-in at the Rainforest Inn early this week, sometime between Sunday night and Tuesday morning. Screens were removed and/or cut from windows on the laundry and toilet. Fortunately, the would-be thieves did not gain entry.
This is a timely reminder to residents to lock up and stay vigilant for suspicious people and/or activity around our village. We can all become complacent in assuming the village is safe from criminal activity, but it appears not to be the case.
Sincere thanks to those treasured friends and neighbours such as Don and Lynda who mobilised today to check on properties around the village.
This notice has also been posted to the Paluma Community Alert on What’s App. If you are not signed up to receive community alerts, please contact Sonya, Lynda or Michele (the administrators of What’s App Paluma) and they can invite you to join the group. The Alerts are used for important community messages and ‘need to know’ information such as Range Road information (trees down and road issues), Bruce Highway closures, safety issues and other urgent community messages and information.
The following important contact information has been compiled for Paluma residents and visitors, courtesy of Charlie Allen from the SES.
Please note that if the links in this list do not work directly, simply copy the link into your internet/web browser.
Whenever you see Sam and Aline from Outer Limits Adventure around the village of Paluma, the chances are that their canine companion Harley is not too far away. Harley loves nothing better than to accompany his humans on a walk, run or cycle. In fact, most times Harley is leading the way with a big grin on his freckly face. Harley has been pretty busy just lately with lots happening at the Outer Limits Centre with training programs, renovations to install an ablutions block and the preparation work is in full swing for the upcoming Paluma Push in July.
Sam says that one of Harley’s favourite activities is to join him in the all-terrain vehicle for track surveillance and maintenance works. Sam just has to think about taking out the all-terrain vehicle and Harley is by his side, ready to roll on paw patrol. Strapped in securely in his canine harness, Harley looks extremely pleased with himself. Sam and Harley stopped briefly for a chat and photograph last weekend, but Harley was keen to keep moving. Harley is clearly living the (canine) dream and every day is an adventure for a busy Outer Limits action dog.
Text & Photos by Michele Bird
The monthly Working Bee at Paluma was held on Easter Saturday (8 April). A small group of volunteers turned up to undertake some much-needed tasks around the village. Colin and Richard carried out work along the Rainforest Walking Track in installing a new bench seat. Charlie, Anneshka, Wilfred and Michele took on the unenviable task of continuing the clean-up along the road verge at the Loop Road.
The clean-up involved trimming back the overgrown vegetation on the road side and in the table drain including dead wood, overhanging low branches, encroaching sword grass and a variety of introduced weeds including dense patches of Singapore daisy. We also tackled the last of the lantana along the (raised wall) road verge at the top of Loop Road. It was hard but satisfying work in tidying up this area, removing some noxious invasive weeds and (hopefully) improving the stormwater flow to the culvert at the bottom of Loop Road. We were rewarded with a cool drink at the end of the session…..and some of us took home some leeches and ticks for our efforts.
The next Working Bee will be held on Saturday 6th May so save the date and take up the challenge!
Text by Michele Bird. Photos by Charlie and Michele.