When: Sunday 29 August 2021
Where: Paluma Community Hall
Time: 9am – 3pm (Starting with radios, field tablet then brigade meeting)
Lunch: Provided (Please advise of any dietary requirements)
What to bring: Yourselves and your questions /ideas.
Please call Ross or Sonya if you have any further questions/queries.
Mobile: 0427 447 415.
It is with much regret that Colwyn Campbell is postponing the Watercolours and Wine Workshop planned for Saturday 21 August.
Colwyn advises that she is currently incapacitated with a severe case of sciatica. She extends her sincere and heartfelt apologies to those who were planning to attend the workshop and to bring friends along.
Colwyn is planning to reschedule the workshop and will advise on a new date for this event when possible.
Saturday night (14 August) was International Night at Paluma. There was only a small crowd of some 13 people in attendance, but you wouldn’t have known that from the noise coming from the Community Hall. The gathering was loud, enthusiastic and spirited to say the least.
The evening began with Lynn’s various entrée dishes which were consumed in a flash. As always, there was plenty to eat and drink for everyone with a delicious curry, chicken dishes, fried rice, dumplings and other meals. There was only one dessert on the night, so you had to be quick. This was a sumptuous ‘Scottish pavlova’ made by yours truly. Whilst there was much debate on the night regarding the origins of the humble pavlova (from New Zealand or Australia), my rationale is that if someone of Scottish descent makes a pavlova, then it quite rightly can be called a Scottish pavlova?
The small crowd at the Hall were delighted when Paluma’s newest residents Leonie and Mark joined the event. They accidentally discovered International Night when they stopped by to see what all the noise and activity was at the Hall. They were soon invited in for a meal and a welcome drink. Mark and Leonie are the new owners of the ‘Paluma Dreaming’ property on the Loop Road and they are currently renovating the property. It was great to welcome these new residents to the village, Paluma style (and we hope we didn’t frighten them away!).
There was a great deal of fun and laughter on the night. Lennox (who didn’t really want to hang around with us ‘oldies’) made several quick ram-raids on the buffet during the course of the night. He eventually made off with a dish of Mark and Wendy’s chicken wings, but he wasn’t quick enough to get any of the pavlova. There were some strange goings on in the kitchen at one point and what happened behind closed doors between Barman Leslie and Jodie remains a mystery. What happens in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen…….?
Here’s some more photos of a fun time with friends and neighbours at Paluma International Night.
Text & Photos by Michele Bird
On Saturday 7 August 2021 the crew of the HMAS Paluma (4) exercised their right of passage of the township of Paluma by a ceremonial march through the centre of the village. It was organised by Townsville City Council and to everyone’s pleasure it was a perfect winter Paluma day with clear skies, warm sunshine and just a tad of winter coolness.
The main thoroughfare through the village, Mt Spec Road, was closed between PEEC and Smith Crescent from 10.45 am to 11.45 am. The crew were marshalled outside PEEC where they were inspected by Councillor Margie Ryder who attend the ceremony on behalf of Mayor Jenny Hill (who sent her apologies as she was in lock-down due to Covid restrictions).
The party then marched along Mt Spec Road until accosted by Rollingstone Police OIC Tony Jacob. The official framed document which granted them the freedom of entry – conferred on the vessel on 14 October 1990 – was produced and the parade was able to continue the march to its dispersal point on Smith Crescent. Two drummers brought up the rear of the parade – doing a splendid job of keeping the beat, especially since the remainder of the band could not attend the ceremony due to Covid restrictions.
The Rainforest Inn catered light refreshments for the Navy crew and distinguished guests, while the local Paluma residents and some visitors enjoyed a free sausage sizzle provided by the PDCA. Thanks to Jamie and Colin for manning the BBQ and keeping everyone fed. The sausage sizzle proved very popular and supplies ran out before too long.
Inside the Community Hall Margie Ryder made a speech before presenting the Captain of the HMAS Paluma a scroll confirming the “Final Right of Entry”. A copy of this was presented to the PDCA as a momento of the occasion and this was gratefully accepted by Les Hyland, on behalf of the Paluma community, the PDCA and the Paluma History Project. Les assured the gathering that this would be embodied in one of the Paluma History Albums for the four ships named “Paluma”.
There was a great turn out of local Paluma residents to support this event and it’s not every day that we see a Navy crew marching down Mt Spec Road in our little village in the mist.
Text by Les Hyland and Photographs by Denise Soars & Les Hyland
If you were thinking that it was about time to wind down from all the recent social events and outings at Paluma, well think again Paluma residents…..!
You are reminded that next Saturday night, 14 August is International Night in the village. This annual social is to be celebrated at the Community Hall, commencing at 6.30 pm.
Come as you are, or come dressed to reflect your heritage, nationality, your favourite country, place or culture. Everyone is welcome and it will be a celebration of multiculturalism – Paluma style.
Please bring a plate to share – hot or cold, sweet or savoury. International dishes to reflect the theme of the night are encouraged. The PDCA Bar will be open for beverages on the night.
Don’t miss this fun event. See you there amigos!
Last Saturday (July 31st) there was a great turnout of locals to the gardening working bee at the Community Hall. Graham Pope brought his mini-tractor along and quickly ensured that the huge pile of mulch near the kiosk was distributed among the Trees of Memory and along the freshly weeded garden beds around the Community Hall. With over a dozen pairs of hands, the mulching was quickly finished and we then got to work digging trenches for a new irrigation system for the garden beds. Using a hose and a piece of conduit to create a channel under one of the concrete paths resulted in a few muddy hands and trousers but we soon got the piping laid and the earth and turf replaced into the trenches. While all this was going on some of the group carried out a bit of vegetation trimming along the road.
As soon as the work was complete it was time for the Paluma Push Thankyou Drinks and BBQ hosted by Paluma RFS. This was a great success, although it’s hard to fail when the drinks and food are free!
Before everyone got down to eating we were very fortunate to have Felicity and Josh from the Mt Zero -Taravale Sanctuary gave a very informative talk on the great work being done by the Wildlife Nature Conservancy just down the road from Paluma. The new $1.5 million project to build a predator-free safe-haven for the endangered northern bettong was a highlight of the talk. Judging by the number of questions flying during and after the talk it was clear that their work generated a lot of interest and possibly some new volunteers to help out.
After the meal, Sam Stedman from Outerlimits gave a brief talk on the outstanding success of this year’s Paluma Push and highlighting near-record number of participants, the quality of the challenging tracks, and the funds raised for our local SES and Rural Fire Services. He presented substantial cheques (both in size and dollars) to the two RFS branches and the SES, and expressed his gratitude to all the volunteers who helped to make this year’s push such a success.
On Saturday, August 7th, Paluma will host a “Freedom of Entry Parade” to celebrate the decommissioning of the HMAS Paluma (IV), a Navy hydrographic survey vessel that is (indirectly) the source from which our village got its name.
| The original Paluma in ca 1890 | Paluma IV ca 2010 |
When the vessel was originally commissioned in 1989 it was granted “freedom of the city” of Thuringowa at Paluma. This included an official ceremony in which armed navy officers marched into Paluma, where challenged by Police and, on producing an official scroll that authorised their entry, were formally granted permission to continue marching through the village. Following other formalities and speeches, refreshments were served and there was a cricket match between the Navy and villagers that was handily won by the village!
Some three decades later the HMAS is now to be decommissioned and the Navy has suggested that one final march through city would be a fitting part of its final days in service. It promises to be quite a spectacle!
The ceremony and parade will be similar to the one in 1989 and all residents are invited to attend as spectators. The event will start at 11am. Food and refreshment will be provided afterwards at the Community Hall.
The original vessel that Paluma was named after was a gunboat built in 1884 in response to a perceived threat to the colony of Queensland from the Russians. Upon its arrival in 1885 its defence capabilities were considered redundant and it was converted into a hydrographic survey vessel. During its early surveys, it named the northern extension of Hervey Range as the Paluma Range. Our village was subsequently named after the mountain range it is embedded in. There have been four vessels bearing the name Paluma. The most recent is the HMAS Paluma (IV)
For a more detailed and highly readable account of the history of all the Paluma vessels, Linda Venn’s book on “Paluma, the first 80 years” has a section dedicated to this topic. You can read this section here.
The Paluma Rural Fire Brigade would like to thank all volunteers who helped during the Paluma Push by hosting a BBQ and drinks at the Community Hall on Saturday July 31, at 4pm.
This year’s Push was a great success due, in no small part, to the wonderful effort of the many volunteers who help to man checkpoints and attend to various logistical tasks leading up to the event. We hope you will be able to come along for a drink and a feed as a token of our appreciation.
There is a huge pile of garden mulch at the Community Centre which we would like to move onto garden beds and other more useful areas. Also, a bit of weeding and planting in the garden bed wouldn’t go astray. So if you would like to help out, we are planning a working bee the Saturday after next, from 2pm to 4pm.
If you would like to help out in beautifying our Village Green and Community Hall surrounds please come along.
This will be followed by a BBQ hosted by the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade to thank all volunteers who helped out during the Paluma Push.
The twentieth anniversary of the “Paluma Push” was different for all the right reasons. Sam Stedman and Aline of “Outer Limits” are to be heartily congratulated for masterminding the operation, but one must also say that it would not have been possible but for all the various helpers who were involved both before, on, and after the day of the race.
The principal difference was the holding of the race on a Saturday [July 17th] instead of a Sunday, as in all previous years. This permitted the Saturday evening to host a huge party at Hidden Valley Cricket Oval right at the race finish.
It was also a most beautiful sunny winter day, although there were a lot of water issues, many of them on the Paluma Dam Road which is in a deplorable condition. It was repaired in November but with material that did not stand up to the Paluma wet season and was studded with deep water filled potholes and gullies through a great deal of its length.
In the Community Hall a collection of 15 of the 20 “Paluma Push” tee shirts over the years was mounted and so much admired that it was moved to Hidden Valley for Saturday night.
The race start was on Smith Crescent in Paluma and there were five categories this year. The new one was the 100km “Crazy Course” with an extra 20km “Mt Fox Loop” at the last part of the race. There was the normal 70km and a 53km course divided between e-bikes and mountain bikes. The popular 42km Recreation Course was well supported. There were almost 650 competitors and although there were mechanical problems there were only two injuries one of which was sustained riding back on the road from Hidden Valley to Paluma after the race!
There were three electronic mats in use recording the competitors passage at Checkpoints 1, 4 and 6 reducing the number of volunteer manual number takers and improving accuracy. For the detailed results and times go to the Outer Limits website and look for: palumapushresults.
The Hidden Valley Cricket Oval was in use for camping on Friday night, but on Saturday it was transformed into a party ground with the bar run by the PDCA, three food outlets and the band “Shots Fired” providing music for dancing and created a good ambience for the really huge number of competitors, volunteers and others who seemed to all be having a great time especially those sitting around the very large bonfire that was kept blazing.
This is but a brief overview of this remarkable event but it hopefully conveys what an outstanding event the 20th “Paluma Push” was.
Text & Photos by Les Hyland