Posts – Page 55 – Paluma – our village in the mist

TMR Range Road Update: NIGHT WORKS AND ROAD CLOSURES IN FEBRUARY

TMR Range Road Update: Planned Works in 2021

Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you all had a very happy Christmas and an opportunity to relax and unwind over the Christmas / New Year break.

It was very exciting to sign off 2020 with the successful and timely completion of our Natural Disaster Program of works on Mt Spec Road. The overall scope of the project was set with an ambitious schedule, and with your patience and assistance the Department of Transport and Main Roads and the project contractor were able to complete these important works prior to the commencement of the 2020/2021 wet season.

With the 2021 year underway, I am now touching base to provide further information about remediation works to take place on Mt Spec Road this year.

Following investigations that took place in mid-2020, three areas on Mt Spec Road have been identified that will require further slope remediation outside of the disaster and recovery funded works. These areas are located at Culvert 57, Culvert 169 near Mountain Creek and Culvert 197. From Monday 8 February 2021, TMR will undertake some minor geotechnical works to assist with the design of slope remediation to these areas. I will shortly be sending a follow-up email with further details about these minor works.

After the completion of these geotechnical works and design of the slope remediation project, TMR will begin consulting with the community to develop a plan to complete these remediation works. We understand that any works that take place on Mt Spec Road have impacts on the community and we want to provide everyone with ample opportunity to provide feedback on how we propose to undertake this project.

I will be in touch following the completion of these initial minor works on Mt Spec Road to engage with you further about the remediation project. Please do not hesitate to contact me on the details below should you require any further information.

Kind regards

Meghan

Customer and Stakeholder Management (Northern) | North Queensland Region
Program Delivery And Operations | Infrastructure Management & Delivery Division |

Cyclone Season Preparation for 2021

Memories of the 2019 February inundation and the subsequent isolation of Paluma and communities to the west will be with us for years. These memories should prompt all of us living in the area to consider carefully how we prepare for this wet season.

The best way to start this years’ preparation is to visit the Queensland Government website www.getready.qld.gov.au. The site addresses preparation for a range of disasters that could affect Queensland. Cyclone, storm damage & fires are the most relevant to our area. It also lists a number of disaster related apps. Another useful website is www.disaster.townsville.qld.gov.au

Cyclones & extreme rainfall events

The get ready website suggests being prepared for 3 days of self-sufficiency. This may be adequate for the lowlands, but could easily prove inadequate for Paluma to Hidden Valley communities. If a high category cyclone crosses the coast anywhere near Townsville, Paluma to Hidden Valley problems are likely to be well down government priority lists, if they are not life threatening.

Plan for the worst – what if.

All access roads to the area closed for seven (?) plus days
Prolonged loss of the electricity grid supply.
Eventual loss of landline, mobile phone & internet communication due to loss of power to the Telstra site.
Damage to Townsville Water infrastructure resulting in unreliable water supply.
Structural damage to your private residences forcing evacuation to temporary accommodation.

If you work through the three steps of the Have a Plan section of the get ready website you should be covered for most things. However they don’t mention backup generators & standby gas cooking equipment or the associated fuel & gas.

For anyone without internet access the following checklist covers some of the things to consider.

Clearing around you residence to remove anything with the potential of becoming an airborne projectile.

Insurance – Check currency & adequacy.

Basic supplies

Enough food for the whole household including pets. If you have no generator backup for your refrigerator then stick mainly to non-perishable food. (dried or tinned)
Adequate supplies of prescription medication plus cold & flu tablets, pain killers etc.
Toiletries.
Adequate clothing for everyone for the duration.
Extra bed linen & towels.
Sturdy gloves.
Wet weather gear.
Allow 3 litres of bottled water per person per day. Alternatively a small rainwater tank with water purification tablets from chemist/camping stores. Without power electrical appliances will not be able to boil water for safety.
Important documents & a backup hard drive.
Up to date first aid kit.
Adequate generator fuel & gas for backup cooking equipment. Those on solar off grid systems should consider how much fuel they may need if the solar array is damaged.
Spare batteries for torches/radios.
Sturdy waterproof containers for food, clothes, medication, phones etc.

Communications

The Telstra site has a backup generator but when the fuel runs out Telstra will be unable to refuel if access roads to Paluma are closed. There are also likely to be batteries in the Telstra building. So the phones & internet may continue to work for some time after a power failure & then shut down. Suggest it wise to make any important phone calls or emails as soon as possible after the event.

Hopefully the Townsville City Council & Telstra will be able to come to some agreement where TCC staff resident in Paluma can refuel the Telstra genset if necessary.

For landline phones a non 240v phone is best.
Have an alternate way of charging mobile phones & tablets without mains power.
Will your mobile phone work at the Star Valley or McClelland’s’ lookouts.
Battery radio.

Equipment

Generator –tested/serviced.
Backup gas cooking equipment (BBQ) if you only have an electric stove.
Alternative lighting.

Evacuating your house due structural damage.

Extra things that should be considered for an evacuation kit include bedding (sleeping bags, inflatable mattresses & pillows), reading material & games, cash.

Rental properties. If you have any form of rental property in the area, consider the need to advise potential tenants of the risk of isolation after extreme weather events.

If you are not going to be in the Paluma area.

Ensure anyone occupying your house is aware of the above suggestions.
Clean out your fridge & freezer
Consider supplying a neighbour with a key & your contact details so they can access your property to check for damage & report to you.

Charlie Allen
Mt Spec SES

Rainforest Inn is Closed until 30 January 2021

Paluma residents, visitors and holiday-makers please note that the Rainforest Inn at Paluma will be closed over the period 30 December 2020 to 30 January 2021.

This means that with the exception of the vending machine (for snacks) at the Paluma Education and Environmental Centre (PEEC) there are no places or facilities to buy food, drinks or other supplies whilst visiting the village. Please bring your supplies with you to avoid disappointment (and being hungry!).

Paluma hosts a nightly light-show in the forest

Although New Year’s eve in Paluma (like many other places in Australia) lacked a fireworks light-show, there is currently an nightly light-show to be seen along the rainforest tracks thanks to the bioluminescent fungi that are currently emerging with the rains. This display may not last too long, but with the rains predicted to persist for another week at least, you stand a good chance of seeing some of these remarkable little mushrooms if you wander down the H-track or the Rainforest track after dark.

In previous years I have occasionally gone out on wet nights during the summer and, after waiting in the dark for my eyes to adjust, could see faint ghostly glows scattered along the forest floor. But when turning my torch back on there was nothing to see. Even when I located the source of the glow, it was just a wet leaf or branch. I have always assumed that this was luminous fungal mycelia (the almost invisible network of threads that represent the bulk of the organism), but until last year I had never seen any actual mushrooms glowing in the dark. I only saw a couple back then so this year the family and friends went out on two nights to see if we could see them again. On the first night we went around the H-Track and on New Year’s eve Juanita and I went down the Rainforest Track. On both occasions we saw 5-10 clumps of tiny brightly glowing mushrooms on small twigs and along dead sections of lawyer vine.

Mycena clorophos; photo by Juanita Poletto

These were many times brighter than the glow from the mycelia seen on other occasions. Unfortunately I did not have by big camera with me to attempt to photograph the bioluminescence (it requires exposures of over a minute to get a good image) and we only got pictures of the mushrooms illuminated by our torches. But there are many pictures of this species on the web, such as the one below, that provide an idea of what can be seen.

While there are several species of mushroom that bioluminesce, these ones appear to be Mycena chlorophos, a widespread species found in sub-tropical Asia, Indonesia, Japan and Brazil. The caps can be much larger than the 3-8mm diameter ones seen so far in Paluma.

Reseach on a different species of bioluminescent mushroom suggest that this trait has evolved to enhance the dispersal of spores by insects attracted to the glow.

Text by Jamie Oliver, Photo by Juanita Poletto

Monty’s return for Christmas Dinner

Last Christmas a amethystine python dubbed “Monty” with a very large lump was seen on the rainforest track. Well his assumed penchant for Christmas turkey seems to be confirmed with a recent sighting of a very similar python with a very similar turkey-sized lump opposite the High Ropes course.

Carla Oliver and friends were heading down the mountain on the afternoon of New Year’s eve when they saw Monty crossing the road.

It would be great if this were indeed the same python as last year, especially since these large slow moving reptiles (especially after a big meal) can be very vulnerable to being run over when crossing the road. Let’s hope this becomes an annual sighting!

Photo/Video by Carla Oliver; Text by Jamie Oliver

A Look at the Boobook……

A couple of weeks ago, we were gifted with the rare treat of boobook owls. Boobooks are Australia’s smallest and most widespread owls, and, as with most owls, are seldom seen. In the Hawk Owl family (genus Ninox), these fledglings appear to be the more commonly distributed subspecies, Ninox boobook ssp boobook, rather than the rainforest subspecies of lurida, which is interesting as it means both subspecies must overlap in range here at Paluma.

We had heard both boobook and lesser sooty owls the previous evening, and saw at least one of the adult parent birds very early, from the bedroom window. The photos were taken from the lounge room window. These fledglings were being guarded by an adult bird, who quickly flew into the forest when spotted, but the fledglings stayed put for most of the morning, giving us a glorious opportunity to watch them watching us!

Owls are apex predators in many environments, and are at risk of consuming or accumulating toxins used to control pest species such as insects and rodents. While in Paluma, commercial spraying of pesticide is not a threat to these birds, the indiscriminate use of rodent poison certainly is. We ask all residents to consider live trapping for control of rodents over use of toxic baits. This provides not only the opportunity to identify the trapped animal, and release in a suitable location if one of our valuable endemic species, but also prevents the inevitable leeching of these toxins into our environment. After all, wouldn’t it be nice to have more owls around so that they can control the rodents instead!

Article & Photos by Sarah Swan

Rainforest Tree of the Month, December 2020 – Black Pine

It seems appropriate that during this month of Christmas we feature an evergreen conifer as our tree of the month. The Black Pine (Prumnopitys amara). This species is widely distributed in north-east Queensland as well as New Guinea and Indonesia. It can grow to 60m and has a frequently dark to blackish trunk with scattered cracks. Mature leaves are long and narrow with a distinct groove along the mid-vein on the upper surface. The species name “amara” is from the latin word for bitter and refers to the fact that the leaves, if chewed, are initially sweet tasting but then turn bitter.

None of these features are easy to distinguish in the field, but luckily the fruit are very easily recognised scattered on the ground along walking tracks. They are bright red and globular (20-25mm wide) with a shallow flesh around a hard gloubular seed. Fruit can be found on the forest floor from December to February. They are eaten by Cassowaries, and several species of rainforest rat.

Prumnopitys amara fruit collected behand Paluma Dam, February 2016

Black Pine nuts are one of about four species of rainforest seeds regularly that were used (and relied on) on by rainforest aborigines as a source of carbohydrates. While some of the seeds required lengthy preparation to leach out toxins and bitter chemicals, Black Pine seeds, could simply be collected and cooked for thiry minutes in a grond oven and then cracked open to reveal the tasty kernels which were then pulverised between two stones.

The timber from the Black Pine is used in New Guinea and Indonesia for general building purposes as well as funiture including butter churns.

Other conifers around Paluma

Conifers belong to a group of seed-bearing plants (including Cycads and Ginkos) in which the seed is not enclosed in and ovary (Gymnosperms – meaning naked seed). The seeds of conifers (Pines and relatives) are borne within cones. Australia has several conifers that are endemic (found only in Australia) and one which is considered to be a “living fossil” (Wollemi Pine).

The Black Pine is one of only a few naturally occurring rainforest conifers in the Paluma region. Two others that can be potentially (but not commonly) seen are “Plum Pines” or Podocarps (Podocarpus grayae and Podocarpus elatus). Both are called Brown Pine and both are endemic to Australia. While not strictly a rainforest pine the Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghami) can also be seen naturally on the slopes down to the coast along the range road, and there are several large specimens that have been planted out around the village. It is not restricted to rainforests, and is common around the rocky coast of Magnetic Island.

There are other species of native pine that don’t naturally occur in Paluma but that have been planted out around the village. These include a small Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwilli) around the first corner of Smith Crescent and a Kauri pine (probably ~~Agathis microstachya~~*) behind the Paluma Environmental Education Centre. Two small potted native “Christmas trees” adjacent to the the Community hall include one conifer naturally found only in the mountains west of Mossman (Mt Spurgeon pine, Prumnopitys ladei) and a variety of casuarina (not a conifer) called the Daintree Pine (Gymnostroma australianum).

Text and photos (unless indicated) by Jamie Oliver

*Note: the Kauri pine behind PEEC is, on closer inspection, most likely to be Agathis robusta. It is distinguised by its smooth bark with thin flakes. – Jamie