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Push in the Bush Done and Dusted

Photo by Jamie Oliver

The dust ( or rather mud) has well and truly settled for those who recently participated in the Mike Carney Toyota Paluma Push on the weekend of July 15th and 16th. Muscles have recovered and the joy of crossing the finish line is a fond memory along with many formed around the warmth of the bonfire at the Hidden Valley Cricket Oval.

Photo by Len Cook

Paluma village was inundated with rubber, spokes and lycra but mostly smiles and laughter as people prepared for the start of their race. The beauty of the rainforest trails and bush land makes for a truly unique cross country mountain bike race which even had some of our local residents registered as participants including Rob, Sandi and Jamie. All of whom finished their designated distances hale and hearty!

The RFS and SES volunteers plus a few ‘local’ volunteers assisted with registration and monitoring various checkpoints along the routes and were able to enjoy viewing and encouraging the participants going hell for leather along the trails.

Seeing the youngsters set on doing their best in their very own race is possibly my fondest memory of Paluma Push 2023.

Paluma Push is such a great event for our village and a credit to Outer Limits Adventure for again bringing life to our sleepy little misty village on the mountain.

Text and photos (except where indicated) by Juanita Poletto

Game On!! Paluma Games Night August 5th

Our Annual Palum Games night, organised by Peter and Dorothy Klump will be held in just a few weeks, on Saturday, August 5th at the Community Hall.

The evening will start with a sausage sizzle dinner ($3.00) at 6:00 pm with the bar also open for the purchase of drinks. By 7:oo pm, the teams of two will have been announced and the various games will commence. These will include darts, indoor bowls, ping pong, and soccer pinball to name a few.

Previous years have proved a great success with lots of friendly participation mixed with bouts of enthusiastic competition. There are probably a few residents looking to topple the previous winners in some categories so the spirits will be high. Hope to see you there!

Christmas in July

18 revellers turned up to celebrate Christmas in July. From young to elderly, locals to visitors.

Including a surprise visit from Michael Offerman who many years ago owned one  of the 5 acre blocks on Hussey Rd, but sold it after Yasi.

Lyn and Micheal enjoyed reminiscing early days on the 5 acre blocks.

The table decorations helped to keep the younger generation entertained!

They also enjoyed decorating their mothers as Christmas trees!

Vale Ross Eberle

Ross Wells Eberle passed away after a long illness on Friday, June 9th with his family by his side. He was a loving husband, Father, Father-in-Law and Pop as well as a great mate to those who knew him here on the mountain.

Ross and Denise purchased their property on Hussey Road about 20 years ago. They both became well known in the community and Ross was an active member of the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade. Ross worked at the Townsville General Hospital as an orderly and was very active in motor sports. He drove rally cars and enjoyed the thrill of trail bike riding.

A keen fisherman, he loved travelling and camping. He has left his loving wife, Denise, with many fond memories of their adventures together.

Ross’s life was celebrated at Woongarra Crematorium Chapel on June 19th. Our thoughts and hearts go out to Denise, Ross’s family and friends.

Len Cook and J. Poletto

June so far.

The last few weeks have seen Paluma without power for 8 hours on Thursday and 6 hours the following Wednesday. With pole works ongoing for at least another two Wednesdays.


The arrival of 58mm of rain in Paluma last week softened the verges enough so that the work trucks left deep tyre marks, which they quickly filled.
Ross was caught energetically watering the “fill” to settle it.

About 30 friends helped Les Hyland celebrate his 92nd birthday. What an achievement!
Les entertained us by recounting his journey to Australia, meeting Lyn, and becoming a Paluma resident.
There were many interesting dishes to share and more food than could be eaten, although we tried our best, remembering to leave room for the birthday cake.

This last weekend was a big one for Paluma.
A select group enjoyed the annual Wattle and Gum Bush Dance and BBQ. Don and Colin cooked sausages, onion and pineapple while Jill and Anneshka served them. Once again, the coleslaw and pineapple were a hit. The dancing was energetic and greatly enjoyed by those who joined in.

The June market was held the next day with live music outside in the Gazebo. Although a similarly quiet day, Don, Ross and Les on the BBQ stall had a good day.

Trialled on the community stall were two different savouries, six types of marmalade, dried Orange and Mandarin dipped in dark Chocolate and the usual array of wonderful cakes, slices and muffins. Although numbers were down, Charlie and Kristy sold all but two cakes and a few quiches. The marmalade sold well, with the Kumquat Marmalade selling out first, followed by the Orange and Whiskey Marmalade.

PDCA Community Meeting with Townsville Councillor Margie Ryder

On Sunday, August 20th at 10am the PDCA is hosting a community meeting with our Townsville City Council representative, Margie Ryder.  This will provide an opportunity for Margie to report on what the Council has been doing and to listen to any concerns that Paluma residents may have relating to council facilities and initiatives.  Items that we will be inviting Margie to comment on include:

  1. Plans for signage at the village entrance, and upgrade of other signs around the village
  2. Dog Poo bag dispensers and other issues on animal control (Cats, noisy dogs)
  3. Community security in the light of multiple recent events in and around the village
  4. Road Maintenance
  5. Vegetation control (weeds)

The meeting is open to all Paluma residents.  Please mark this date and come along to have your say.

Reminder:  Bush Dance and Paluma Markets this weekend. (June 24-25)

The annual Wattle n Gum Bush Dance and BBQ will be held at the Paluma Community Hall  this Saturday June 24th.  This is one of our most popular events of the year and there is always an eager group of dancers and bush music enthusiasts to encourage the band.  The BBQ will start a 12noon with the band commencing at 1pm. The bar will open, of course.    More details here.

The Paluma Markets will commence the next day (Sunday) and will be open from 9am to 1pm