On Monday (September 27th) after months of preparatory work at the potter’s wheel, and a couple of days of hauling wood from out at Hussy Road, Len Cook’s famous wood-fired Anagama kiln has awoken after a year’s slumber and is erupting flames and smoke as it progressively consumes several cubic metres of wood. Len has stacked the kiln with an impressive array of original pots that will slowly be turned into stunning works of ash-glazed art by late Friday.
It will take several more days of cooling down before Len is able to open the kiln to discover how the pots have been transformed. Despite the years of experience that Len has with this process, it’s never certain how the pots will respond to the sometimes whimsical moods of the Anagama. I am sure that there will be some fantastic results, with most pots destined for art galleries, or the shelves of serious ceramic collectors.
While the Townsville City Council does not have any official notification on their website I have received verbal advice from a council officer that major works to prepare the major potholes and ditches at specific spots on the dam road will commence and October 5th and be completed by November 4th – rain permitting.
Although it is disappointing that earlier advanced written notice of the closure directly from the Council to residents has not occurred, it is very good news that the chronic erosion of the road due to drain and culvert blockages will finally be fixed more permanently than just throwing some fill onto the road. Many thanks to Wilfred Karnoll whose persisentence during repeated phone calls and delayed meetings finally resulted in the recognition of the problem and a promise (soon to be fulfilled if it doesn’t rain) to fix it.
The Queen’s Birthday weekend is the last Paluma Market for the year. It will be held on Sunday 3rd October from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm.
There will be a selection of stalls and the usual sausage sizzle. So, come up the mountain for the day and enjoy the cool ambience of Paluma. The kids can enjoy the playground while the adults scan the stalls in the hall for a bargain, enjoy a cuppa or a sausage or two.
One of Paluma’s youngest residents has finished off the school year with some impressive awards.
Jack Appleton attends Ingham State High School and is finishing Year 12 in 2021. Recently Jack received two awards:- A Merit for Studies and the Subject Award for Certificate II in Automotive Studies.
Anyone who knows Jack, can attest to the fact that he has a remarkable ability to fix anything on wheels or with an engine! He is well known for gathering up all the unwanted bikes, scooters, motorbikes and even lawn mowers from around the village and Ingham township, to recycle the parts into contraptions that go – usually at full throttle and sometimes with a bit of noise!
His parents (Neil and Jennie) are most proud of his efforts at school this year. Mum Jennie might have to stop complaining now about all the ‘bits’ and ‘parts’ taking up space on the verandahs. I reckon it won’t be long before Paluma has its own mechanic on hand!
Congratulations Jack from all your friends and extended family at Paluma. Well done mate, we are proud of you!
Last Saturday night (11/09) Paluma slipped back a few decades to celebrate the 1970’s. There were flowers everywhere and the dance music reverberated from the Community Hall as a group of about 18 villagers dined, sang, danced and laughed the night away until the wee hours.
The music might have been loud, but it wasn’t as loud as the outfits of some of the attendees. The colours of the rainbow were on show and the Community Hall was a sea of purple, pink, orange, yellow and some seriously psychedelic styles. Some of the really cool people wore their sunglasses all night and others donned flowers in their hair. Speaking of hair, it was everywhere. Danno rocked a ‘Fro’ and Neil and Jennie let their hair down….literally. Very groovy!
The new meeting room at the Hall was re-purposed and transformed into a disco, complete with dance floor, spinning mirror ball and music box. There certainly were some interesting dance moves from the patrons, but none were lacking in enthusiasm. Rumours abounded that Ross NEVER dances, but on the contrary…..just like Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, once you start him up, he never stops!
Barman Les worked a marathon five hours serving beverages from 6.30 pm to nearly midnight. The Bar did a roaring trade. The last of the dancers left the Hall in the wee hours to boogie their way home along Mount Spec Road.
Special thanks to Lynda, Jan and Peter for decorating the Hall in the Flower Power theme. Lynda went the extra mile for the community and deserves our utmost appreciation. Les and Lynn were steadfast as always in making sure everyone was welcome and had a great time. I reckon Barman Les might have needed a sleep-in on Sunday morning after working so hard!
The quality of the singing and dancing might have been questionable at times (yes Michele!), but the only prerequisite for the night was to have fun and enjoy the community spirit and the company of good friends and neighbours. That was achieved in spades!
Text by Michele Bird. Photos by Peter Cooke, Michele Bird & Jennie Robinson.
Just a point of clarification on my last post (of 1 September) referring to the Paluma rain gauge overflowing with a recording of 25.4 mm. Judging from some of the feedback I received, I think I may have created some confusion?!
The Paluma rain gauge consists of two main receptacles for collecting rainfall. The inner-most receptacle can collect just over 20 mm of rainfall. This container has a detailed ruler for measuring the amount of rain collected. The recent excitement amongst some of us was because this internal receptacle reached capacity for the first time since the new rain gauge became operational in early August 2021.
The inner container sits in a much larger water-tight steel container. This secondary container can collect several hundred millimetres of rainfall. The new rain gauge has the capacity to collect large amounts of rain and it will be able to capture every drop of those wet season deluges that Paluma is so famous for. Indeed, if the large outer steel receptacle ever looks like overflowing, then we will all need to head for the Ark!
I have previously mentioned the great work done by Wilfred to stabilise and protect the rain gauge on the Village Green. Just last week, Barry created a rather ingenious water tight plastic container (from large polypipe) to store the BOM rainfall data sheet. Great innovation and an ongoing collective community effort in recording Paluma’s rainfall record.
And the good news. A total of 1.2 mm of rain was recorded last Saturday and 4.2 mm recorded on Sunday (4 and 5 September 2021).
Wilfred’s paving and fencing work to protect our rain gauge.
Barry’s water tight container for the rainfall recording sheet.
You are invited to attend a public meeting on Saturday the 18th September at 10 am at the Paluma Community Hall. The meeting is being held to discuss the proposal to ‘not raise the fire levy’ for the 2021-2022 Financial Year.
Regards
Ross Hyne, 1st Officer Paluma Rural Fire Brigade
If there are any queries in the lead up to the meeting, please contact:-
Sonya Bryce, Secretary/Treasurer Paluma Rural Fire Brigade
Barry Smith, our dedicated weekday rainfall recorder at Paluma has reported some very exciting news on this the first day of spring.
Today was the first day the new rain gauge at the Village Green overflowed!
Barry reports that the glass beaker in the rain gauge holds 20 mm of rain before it then overflows into the larger stainless steel chamber. So, the rainfall reading for the past 24 hours at Paluma Village is 25.4 mm.
The BOM is predicting higher than average rainfall this spring, so here’s hoping for some more overflows in the coming weeks and months!
Thanks to Barry for his diligence in recording our rainfall and reporting this welcome news for us gardeners.
Whilst on the topic of the Paluma rain gauge, I believe special thanks are due to Wilfred for the new fencing and the very flash paving now installed around the rain gauge. This will ensure the gauge is stable and protected from mowing and maintenance works at the Village Green and other interference.
Great job Wilfred and much appreciated. I must add that the fence height is just perfect – I am glad you took into account that some of us are vertically challenged!
Article by Michele Bird with information provided by Barry Smith
Spring has almost sprung and Saturday Night Fever is coming to the village on 11th September at 6.30 pm at the Community Hall.
Whether you’re a mother or whether you’re a brother, get down and boogie with your friends and neighbours as we go back in time to the 1970’s.
Come as you are, or come in your favourite 70’s themed costume. Grow your moustache, find your flares or flaunt your flower-power. Be a disco diva or a Dylan devotee – everyone is welcome.
The Bar will be open for drinks and please bring a dish to share – hot or cold, sweet or savoury.
The love, peace and joy will flow from the Community Hall with a free drink for the best dressed male and female.
Although it is neither common nor prominent among the trees along the H-track, the yellowheart (Fagraea fagraeacea) is both unmistakeble and unforgettable once it starts dropping its ripe fruit.
The yellowheart grows as a shrub to small tree (5-20m) and is endemic to higher altitude (300-1250m) rainforests in NE Queensland. As a tree it has flakey to fibrous bark with a yellowish inner bark when exposed by a blaze.
The leaves are elliptical to ovate and 5-10cm long. The flowers are cream coloured and can be highly perfumed.
F. Fagraeacea leaves (photo by Russel Cumming on Flickr) and flowers (photo by John Elliot on Flickr)
The genus Fagraea includes about 60 species in the Family Gentianaceae. Although there are no readily accessible (i.e. Googleable) details on any human use for this species, the yellowheart was once considered to be a part of a single, variable species (F. gracilipes) which occurs in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji. F. gracilipes is known to produce durable, workable wood that has been used for canoes, posts and housing. The latex sap from this and several other members of the genus is used as an adhesive.
There is a solitary small tree on the H-track about 100m before the main creek crossing (walking from Lennox Cr) that, for several years, has dropped its brilliant lipstick pink fruit onto the track around August to October. It is just beginning to develop its fruit now, so be on the lookout next time you are on the Track.
Despite its striking assets (brilliantly coloured fruit and perfumed flowers and a manageable size) yellowheart is not commonly cultivated. I have twice gathered the fruit and planted them into pots to germinate so that I could add this lovely small tree to my garden but have had no success so far.
Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver
