The Townsville City Council has delivered NATRAShield mould cleaner as promised. It appears to be a plant based product without the nasty chemicals present in earlier cleaners. This Saturday Peter Cooke and Lynda Radbone will be at the SES from 9am – 12pm, and this Sunday (9th) I’ll be at the Emergency Services depot between 9am & 12am to hand it out to anyone who is interested. Bring a 2L bottle. After that contact Peter Cook for any extra.
For Blackfriars contact Rhett or Kristy Harrison. For Hidden Valley see Tracy Armstrong.
Pigeons are among the most broadly distributed and widely recognised bird groups. All pigeons belong to the family Columbidae, which has 42 genera and 316 species. Although the number of species of pigeon that can be found around Paluma is not particularly large (about 8 rainforest species in and around the village) we host some of the most striking and colourful species to be found in Australia. The white-headed pigeon (Columba leucomela) belongs to the former group, having a striking black and white plumage with just a dash of colour around the eyes and bill.
In Paluma it can be seen flying overhead in small groups, and foraging in the canopy of Bollygum (Neolitsea) and other local fruiting trees. It is found from Cooktown to Eden in NSW predominantly in rainforests and gallery forests along creeks and gullies. While not uncommon, it tends to feed quietly in the mid to upper canopy so it is not easily spotted along the village tracks.
Although it is not threatened if was previously a preferred target for hunters, which depressed populations along much of its range.
The White-headed Pigeon is the only native member of genus Columba in Australia. The only other member in Australia is the ubiquitous and frequently maligned Rock Dove or Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) which occurs worldwide in areas of human habitation.
Pigeons are monogamous with both parents helping to raise their young. There are almost exclusively seed eaters (granivores) or fruit eaters (frugivores). When feeding their young, many other vegetarian bird species switch to energy and protein rich insects to promote rapid nestling growth. Pigeons, however, feed their young on a highly nutritious “crop milk”, which is a secretion from the lining of the crop (a muscular pouch near the throat of many birds). This useful trait is analogous to lactation in mammals.
Crop milk (often called Pigeon milk) is produced only by pigeons, although flamingoes and penguins also feed their young from secretions from different parts of the gut.
The extinct Dodo and Solitaire (Genus Raphus) are also formally included in the pigeon family (Columbidae).
Australia Post published a series of 4 pigeon stamps in 2021. Three of these are to be found in Paluma, including the White-headed pigeon.
It wasn’t just the rain that came down heavily earlier this month, several local records were also knocked off their pedestals. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Peter Cooke, who braved the downpour several times during some nights in order to empty the rapidly filling rain gauge before it overflowed, we have a very good record of how much actually came down during the worst of the rains. Here’s the raw data for the month of February up til the 19th.
Here’s how many records we set …
On February 2nd we toppled the record for highest daily rainfall since records began in 1969, only to beat it again the next day with a total of 745mm.
By February 4th we exceeded the highest rainfall ever recorded in February
By February 7th we exceeded the highest recorded rainfall for any month in Paluma
While I haven’t checked if this is a new record, during the first 12 days of February we got more rain than we get during an average year in Paluma.
The heaviest period of rain lasted 4 days (Feb 1-4). Our total for this period 2004.7 mm) exceeded those in Cardwell and Ingham by a good margin.
If we are thinking that this event broke any national records then we would probably be wrong. During the rain from ex-cyclone Jasper in December 2023, Cape Tribulation recorded a maximum daily rainfall of 861.2mm and it did not receive the heaviest falls – this happened around Helensvale/Mungumby south of Cooktown, but there are no official BOM records for this location and time. Unofficial records suggest that 12-hour falls of more than 1m occurred and that 24-hour falls probably reached or exceeded 1.5m. These falls, had they been officially recorded may well have challenged global records for short-term rain events. Still, it is safe to say that we have burnished Paluma’s reputation as one of the wettest places in Australia. But don’t forget that compared to the top of Bellenden Ker, with a highest monthly and annual rain of 5.37 m and 12.46m respectively, we are barely even wet! And this is dwarfed by Mawsynram in India whose average is 11.87 m and highest annual rainfall, in 1985, was 26 meters !!
As mentioned in the last “Paluma in the Rain” update, we had a visit from the acting Mayor (Councillor Ann-Maree Greaney) and Zac Daws, Local Disaster Coordinator last Sunday. In preparation for the meeting, Peter Cooke wrote up a list of issues for discussion which included:
lack of news on the state of the range road and the schedule for repairs
lack of adequate backup power for the Telstra mobile phone tower
need for a formal landing area near the village for helicopters
need for rubbish collection as soon as possible
need for road maintenance to Ewan and Hervey’s Range road
request to increase bandwidth of the TCC wifi link at the Community Hall
The mayor noted that many of these items were outside their immediate responsibility but undertook to pass our concerns on to the relevant authority, and to respond in writing to those issues it was in a position to act on.
The following response was sent to Charlie Allen and Ross Hyne on Monday.
As promised by the Department of Transport and Main Roads last week, here is the first update on the status of the Range Road up to Paluma. These will appear on Tuesdays and Fridays until all work has been completed. If you would like to receive these reports directly by email please send a request to: engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au
Update for residents and the community of Paluma, Hidden Valley and surrounds
The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) wishes to provide you with an important update regarding the current status of Mount Spec Road, which has been severely impacted by the recent weather event in early February.
Due to extensive landslips and debris, Mount Spec Road remains closed to all traffic. Our work crews are working diligently to assess the damage and implement the necessary steps to restore accessibility.
Assessment of Mount Spec Road remains our priority over the coming weeks.
Image of Mount Spec Road is current and was captured as part of recent road inspections. Source: TMR
Mount Spec Road was closed following the severe weather event and remains inaccessible to traffic and walkers due to extensive landslips and debris.
Assessment of Mount Spec Road conditions remains our priority over the coming weeks.
On 7 February 2025, TMR crews carried out an inspection of Mount Spec Road, however, were only able to assess three to four kilometres of the road.
As of 14 February 2025, TMR have successfully cut a single-lane path approximately 17 kilometres on MountSpec Road towards Paluma.
TMR have recommenced on the ground assessments of Mount Spec Road and will work towards reopening the road as soon as possible, weather and conditions permitting.
Image of Mount Spec Road is current and was captured as part of recent road inspections. Source: TMR Image of Mount Spec Road is current and was captured as part of recent road inspections. Source: TMR
Community Updates
TMR’s Northern District, Customer and Stakeholder Management (CSM) team will provide two updates each week to the community of Paluma:
Tuesdays: An overview of planned works for the week
Fridays: A progress update on completed and ongoingworks.
These updates will continue until the road is fully reopened. In some cases, updates may indicate that there is no new information; however, this ensures ongoing communication and reassures you that the CSM team is available to answer any questions. Safety is TMR’s highest priority.
