Residents and visitors of Paluma Village are advised that there will be a short service to acknowledge ANZAC Day on Monday 25th April at 6 AM.
Please congregate at the Flag Pole at the Paluma Community Hall for a short ceremony including raising of the flag and a minute of silence.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
LEST WE FORGET
 Notice to residents and motoristsMt Spec Road geotechnical investigations Monday 11 April to Saturday 23 April 2022 Changed traffic conditions, minor delays  The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) advises that contractors will be undertaking geotechnical investigation works at multiple sites along Mt Spec Road during April 2022, weather permitting. Works hours and activities 7am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday. Works will not take place during the Easter long weekend (15-18 April). Works each day will include site and traffic management setup, unloading and loading of drilling rig, drilling of boreholes to test soil and rock conditions. What to expect during these works Traffic controllers on site, signage and speed restrictions in place. Stop-Go traffic controllers and traffic signals will be used intermittently. Traffic reduced to single lane (one direction at a time). Minor delays of 5-10 minutes – please plan your journey and allow additional travel time. Important information for heavy vehicle operators Access for heavy vehicles (more than 4.5 tonnes) including buses and light trucks may be impacted during these works. Please contact TMR by phone on 1800 625 648 or by email at engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au if you are planning to travel on Mt Spec Road with a heavy vehicle during these works. If you require further information about these works, please contact the Northern District Customer and Stakeholder Management team by email at engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au or by phone on 1800 625 648. For the latest traffic and travel information, visit www.qldtraffic.qld.gov.au. |
Members (and prospective members) are advised that the Annual General Meeting of the Paluma & District Community Association Inc. will be held on:
Saturday, April 23, 2022, at 12pm for a BBQ lunch followed by the AGM at 1pm 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@gmailcom. Please use the nomination forms, which can be downloaded here.
Positions are:
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.
AGM AGENDA
Normal General Meeting Agenda
Normal General Meeting Agenda
Over the last month or so, one of the consistently flowering plants in my garden, as well as other gardens in the village has been bromeliads.
Broms belong to the family Bromeliacea which includes “air plants” in the genus Tillandsia. They come in an amazing range of colours (on both the flowers and leaves) and flower shapes. They can grow anywhere from full sun to deep shade and in wet and dry habitats.
In Paluma they are great plants for “mature” gardens with a full shady canopy that restricts the number of brightly flowering plants that can grow in the gloom. Currently one of my favourite broms is blooming throughout the village. Bilbergia pyramidalis, like most bromeliads, comes from South America. Its common names (flaming torch and foolproof plant) are certainly apt. It has a stunning large red and purple flower and it tends (at least in my garden to bloom during only a short few days in March when the effect in mass plantings is quite spectacular.
This year the blooming period seems to be less synchronous and more prolonged, perhaps due to the lack of a “proper” wet season.
This species grows prolifically in semi-shaded to fully shaded areas and it is dead-easy (fool proof) to grow and propagate. I have created a living boundary “fence” along one side of my garden by heaping up my endless supply of branch timings and then just tossing B. pyramidalis onto the top of the pile. Three to six months later it formed a living cover and a spectacle of colour once a year thereafter.
A living and flowering border fence
Another stunning relative of the bromeliad that has just finished flowering is the Pink quill (Tillandsia cyanea).
Tillandsias are also called air plants since they can grow epiphytically on tree trunks or rocks without any soil. T. cyanea is different in that it prefers to grow in a small pot of well drained soil. It produces 2-4 “pups” each year so it doesn’t take long to get a row of these delightful plants lined up on a ledge in your garden (see the header for this post).
Some of the other broms that have been flowering, or showing off their colours are also shown below, together with any names I have been able to attribute to them (this is still a work in progress). If you are interested in long-lived flowers then Guzmania conifer and Achmea fasciata keep their blooms for up to 6 months or more!
Text and photos by Jamie Oliver
Great weather for butterflies at Paluma right now with Cairns Birdwings and Ulysses Blues in abundance.
This Ulysses Blue (Papilio Ulysses) was very happy at Jan Cooke’s pink pentax and yellow dahlia flowers this week.
Text& Photos by Peter Cooke
Attention: Paluma Residents, Visitors & Users of Mount Spec Road
QPWS are conducting controlled burning on Mt Spec Road this week.
QPWS wish to advise that they will be conducting a prescribed burn on Mt Spec Road on Wednesday March 30, 2022 (weather permitting). Approximate hours of operation are from 1500 to 1800. Please be aware that smoke may impact Mt Spec Road. Traffic control will be in place for the duration.
Good Afternoon Mt Spec Stakeholders,
The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) is planning a program of geotechnical investigation works on Mt Spec Road throughout April 2022. These investigations will assist TMR to plan and prioritise future works along Mt Spec Road, including high risk slopes and drainage improvements.
We are providing Mt Spec stakeholders with early notification of the proposed works and traffic impacts, and seeking feedback to assist with the planning and scheduling of the works. If you have any questions, concerns or feedback about these upcoming works, please get in touch as soon as possible to enable us to feed this information back to the project team and contractor.
Details of the proposed works are as follows:
Light vehicles
o Light vehicles will be permitted to travel on Mt Spec Road at all times during the works.
o Delays of up to 30 minutes may be experienced at the start and end of the day (around 6.00-6.30am in the morning and from 5.30-6pm in the afternoon) while the drilling rig is unloaded and loaded.
o Delays of up to 5 minutes may be experienced during the remaining works hours.
Heavy vehicles including buses and trucks
o Due to the size of the drilling rig and width of the road, access will be restricted for heavy vehicles, including buses and trucks, during the Geotech works.
o Buses and trucks will only be permitted to travel on Mt Spec Road when prior arrangements have been made with TMR. (We have already been in contact with some stakeholders in regards to bus movements)
o Prior arrangements will ensure that crews can schedule works and move equipment to accommodate buses and trucks.
o Delays of several hours may be experienced if buses and trucks travel on the range without prior arrangement as the drilling rig will need to be moved off the range before vehicles can pass.
We welcome feedback from all Mt Spec stakeholders about these planned works. If you believe you will be impacted by these works, please get in touch so we can discuss further and provide feedback to the project team to assist with planning of the works. If possible, it would be appreciated if you could make minor changes to your travel on Mt Spec Road to factor in the planned works.
Contact details:
Email – engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au Phone – 1800 625 648
Thank you for continued patience and understanding during works on Mt Spec Road.
Kind regards
Kelly Stolz
Customer and Stakeholder Management
Northern District | Department of Transport and Main Roads
Floor 6 | Townsville Government Office Building | 445 Flinders Street | Townsville Qld 4810
PO Box 1089 | Townsville Qld 4810
P: 1800 625 648 | F: (07) 4421 8711
engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au
www.tmr.qld.gov.au
Whilst gardening at her Smith Crescent property last weekend, Jodie came across this beautiful Ocellated Velvet Gecko (or OVG for short!). Scientific name Oedura monilis.
These relatively large geckos are found in north eastern Australia from near Townsville, south to the New South Wales border. They are common in forested areas, sheltering by day in crevices of rock outcrops, in tree hollows or beneath loose bark.
My research suggests that Jodie’s specimen is a sub-adult due to the bright yellow dorsal markings. In adult geckoes these markings are said to be variable, but they tend to be darker brown to grey in colour. Individuals usually dwell on a home tree from which they forage widely in search of food. References indicate that these geckoes prefer dry woodland and dry sclerophyll forests rather than high altitude rainforest.
Has anyone else spotted these stunning geckoes in and around the Paluma village?
References: Stephen Swanson – Field Guide to Australian Reptiles and Stephen Wilson & David Knowles – Australia’s Reptiles: A Photographic Reference to the Terrestrial Reptiles of Australia.
Photos by Jodie Pace & Text by Michele Bird
The Paluma community came together last Saturday evening (20 March 2022) to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. An enthusiastic crowd of about 30 people joined in the celebrations at the Community Hall, many adorned in shades of green.
As usual, there was a feast on offer with many Irish inspired dishes including colcannon, Irish stew, corned beef, Guinness pies and an array of other gourmet dishes. Just when you thought you could not possibly eat anymore, Tony arrived with BBQ chicken and the best roast potatoes I’ve eaten for a long time. What good Celt can resist a spud, so I found room for two more! Dessert then followed with apple crumble, lime cheesecake and Jennie’s Guinness chocolate cake. It was melt in the mouth.
Leprechaun Leslie entertained the crowd with some (clean) Irish jokes. Peter Cooke impressed with his vast knowledge of Irish history and culture taking out the St. Paddy’s night quiz. Jack was banned from using Google this year, so for once he didn’t win the competition. Even with some rampant cheating, Michele could not beat Peter to take out the prize of a free drink at the bar. Several patrons were lucky enough to find a ‘Shamrock Scratchy’ under their seat, but no one will be giving up their day job any time soon as there were no big winners on the night. The luck of the Irish…..?
It was great to see so many attendees at this Social and a very good time was had by all. Several of our newest residents to Paluma attended and we had the opportunity to welcome them to the village and introduce them to new friends and neighbours. It’s all about community!
Here’s some photos of the happy (green) crowd.
Text & Photos by Michele Bird
This is a story about a painting of a python.
Long-time resident of Paluma Colwyn Campbell is a renowned artist whose life’s passion has been to paint and capture on canvas the wonders of nature and the natural environment. Her rainforest paintings inspired by the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and other places across northern Australia have been exhibited several times in Darwin and throughout North Queensland.
In 1995 whilst living in Darwin, Colwyn spent just over a year creating a rainforest-inspired painting of a large python or carpet snake. Colwyn says that the painting was basically inspired by her love for the rainforests of Australia and the creatures of the forest. Her chosen theme for her artwork in 1995 was to paint snakes! The result of Colwyn’s long year of painting is an enormous and impressive piece of artwork, measuring nearly 2 metres in height and more than 2.5 metres in width.
Colwyn exhibited her painting at an art show in Darwin in 1996. A close friend of Colwyn’s purchased the painting and he has enjoyed it in his home in Darwin for the past 25 years. In recent months, Colwyn’s friend has moved house and in down-sizing to an apartment he no longer has the room to hang this rather sizeable artwork. The painting was offered back to Colwyn and was subsequently rolled up and shipped to Townsville.
The rolled canvas made its way to Geoff Jensen at Top Frames in Townsville and it has been expertly stretched and mounted on a frame. The immense size of the framed artwork meant that it was a challenge to transport it to Paluma. None of us could fit it safely in our vehicles and Geoff recently made a special trip up the range in his large van to deliver the work to Colwyn.
In a remarkably kind gesture, Colwyn recently gifted the artwork to Wilfred who shares her love of the rainforest and the natural environment. Wilfred and Suzanne plan to hang the painting at the Cavilcade Guesthouse for locals and visitors to admire and enjoy for years to come. Indeed, there are probably few homes in Paluma that would have a wall big enough to accommodate this stunning but particularly large painting!
It seems rather fitting that this splendid painting of a python will hang in Paluma to be enjoyed by many. Pythons are of course common in our village and the surrounding wet tropics rainforest. We see them on a regular basis, especially in the warmer months of the year. A sighting always generates great news, excitement and wonder amongst the local community. These amazing creatures are also of immense cultural significance to Aboriginal people and the original inhabitants of the wet tropics rainforest region.
The Paluma village lies within the homelands of the Nywaigi People. The Nywaigi People along with their neighbours to the south, the Gurambilbarra Wulgurukaba People from Ross River to Rollingstone and the neighbours to the east, the Manbarra People from the Palm Island Group and offshore islands, share a common creation story. The central creation story and myth cycle is focused on Gabul – the carpet snake, whose travels between the Herbert River and the Ross River created the coastline, the eastern coastal ranges and the offshore islands in Halifax Bay and Cleveland Bay. From the Traditional Owners point of view, Gabul created this landscape and Gabul looks after this country.
It’s great to know that Colwyn’s painting inspired so many years ago in Darwin will now hang in Paluma. It has travelled a long way to be here. Thanks to Colwyn’s generosity, we will have the opportunity to admire this artwork into the future and we have our own rather unique representation of ‘Gabul’ to remind us of the immeasurable natural and cultural values of this place. As Colwyn transitions to living on the coast in the coming months, we also have a rather special reminder of our talented friend, a mentor for many and a stalwart of this little community.
Text & Photos by Michele Bird with the kind permission of Colwyn Campbell & Wilfred Karnoll.
