Category: Community Noticeboard

Sue Rimington passed away in May this year. She and her husband (Dr. Ron Rimington) owned the  house opposite the old police station, which they built around 1984 using the same local builder (John Grail)  who built Nick and Glenda Van Rynswood’s house. The Rimington family used to come up to relax on weekends occasionally and to enjoy the cooler weather. They loved nature and gardening.  Dr. Rimington’s association with Paluma possibly began with his Army Reserves service in the 60’s -70’s exercising in Paluma area.

Sue was a gentle, quietly spoken lady who dearly loved flowers and gardening.  Her interest in flowers got her involved in fund raising charity events and became a key person in the flower fantasies these fundraising events required. After Ron’s death in 1998, Sue moved to Brisbane.

The Rimingtons were members of the Paluma Progress Association and well known in the Community.  Their daughter and husband (Robyne and David Maguire) owned a block of land at the end of Hussey Road opposite Browne’s property .  Doc as we called him used to go out there and plant cardamom and they had some fruit trees.

One story I was told was that Doc one day went out on the block to pick a box fruit, stopping to go home for lunch. On returning he found the fruit out of the boxes onto ground.  He was quite puzzled by this but did not have to wait long before out came the culprit – a cassowary.

Sue’s early life was spent in the suburb of Camberwell in Melbourne and then Camperdown Victoria where her father was in a furniture business.  She went to primary and early secondary school in Camperdown before going to boarding school at Methodist Ladies College in Melbourne for her senior years.

Sue’s career was in nursing at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.  Melbourne was where she met and married her husband Ron and from here they both moved to Townsville so Ron could take up a medical position at the Townsville General Hospital.  Townsville is where they based their next 50 years.  They had three children, Scott, Robyne and Mignonne.

Sue had many interests  too numerous to mention but a couple come to mind one being how she  started a home decorating business and her logo was a large snail with the wording “Is your home getting on your back”.   The other one was later in life turning to painting and developed a style which seemed to be an extension of her real flair for colour.

She  spent her last 20 years in Brisbane surrounded by a large and loving family whom she adored.  Her  grandchildren and great grandchild have many wonderful memories to pass onto their children in the future.

I gathered some of this information from family and what I knew myself of Ron and Sue as Ron was my boss at the Commonwealth Pathology Laboratory and James and I became very close friends with them over many years. 

Always remembered,

Trish and James Jackson

Kelly Davis was a good friend of Dorothy’s  and mine. His cheerful, friendly, generous nature was infectious.  

We had many wonderful holidays and fun times together; trekking, skiing, fishing, golfing, and playing  snooker, all of that Kelly excelled at, leaving me in his wake  despite my baulking and razzing.                                

Kelly’s extensive knowledge of fauna and flora enlightened and enthused our interest in the natural wonderland around Paluma.

Strong physically and in character, Kelly approached all difficulties pragmatically, applying his many skills and practical knowledge to problem solving, and generously helping others with advice and assistance when required.  Building many verandas in Paluma, including ours, Kelly started “veranda envy” in Paluma.

At Paluma Dorothy and I will sit at our “Kelly made” beautiful red stringy bark table on our “Kelly made” veranda and sadly, but fondly reflect the wonderful, inspiring impact Kelly has had on our lives.                      

                                   Dorothy and Peter Klumpp

Kelvin John “Kelly” Davis                           6 May 1945 to 5 June 2020

It is with sorrow that we report the passing of long time Paluma resident, Kelly Davis.  He died on 5^th June after battling an aggressive illness.

Kelly was an active member of the Paluma community, generous with his help and expertise in many areas, from repairing a broken rocking chair to building a veranda, clearing fallen trees and debris from properties after cyclone damage, to helping dig a garden bed.  He was tireless in his assistance to Len at the annual Anagama kiln firing: cutting and stacking timber for the fire and helping to monitor the kiln temperature for the four or five days of the operation.  In everything he did, Kelly was attentive and thorough.  There are very few gardens that do not have bulbs donated from Kelly’s garden and many of us benefitted from the produce from his very successful fruit and vegetable plots.

Before coming to Paluma Kelly had lived in Mount Isa where he was employed by Mt Isa Mines and worked as a powder monkey, deep underground.  He and his family moved to Forest Beach where Kelly worked on line maintenance for Victoria Sugar Mill in Ingham. 

Kelly came to Paluma in 1987, where with his then wife Carol, he owned and operated the very popular Ivy Cottage tea room.  The business was sold in 1989 to Ann and Andy Bishop.  Kelly worked in a variety of roles for Townsville City Council and then for National Parks until his retirement.

Retirement did not slow him down however: he just spent more time helping people with various projects, and indulging in his passions for gardening, traveling, wood-turning, (many will have seen his beautiful wooden bowls), and fossicking.  Kelly also had an interest in quality wines and over the years built quite a collection, stored in the cellar he built beneath his house.

Kelly was a keen traveller, always interested in other countries and other cultures and learning about their history.  As well as travelling extensively within Australia, his many travels included voyages to Antarctica and the Arctic Circle, Europe, USA, the Scandinavian countries and most recently France, in late 2019.

The Paluma community will greatly miss Kelly.  Our condolences go to Kelly’s family and to Elizabeth and Marilyn in the loss of a person so dear to them all.

Colwyn Campbell

It is with great sorrow that we report the passing of Kelly Davis, a long-time Paluma resident and active member of the community. Kelly passed away last Friday night. Kelly’s long association with Paluma, and the various roles and friendships he established here warrant a more detailed tribute. My most recent memories of Kelly come from recent Anagama firings at Len Cook’s kiln where he spend nightly vigils stoking the furnace and monitoring firing temperatures. But there is much more to tell about this man, so please email me (j.k.oliver@outlook.com) if you have any other information or anecdotes so that his contributions can be fully acknowledged in a separate post.