The incessant Paluma rain stopped on Saturday evening (20/02/21) just in time for the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations at the Community Hall. Twenty-something very enthusiast residents gathered under red lanterns at the Hall to mark the occasion.
While it’s well known that Paluma has some great cooks, they really excelled on Saturday night. The Chinese-inspired banquet was good enough to rival any restaurant – even without the fried rice! Funnily enough, everyone assumed that everyone else would cook rice, when in fact no-one did (with the exception of Colwyn’s coconut milk and peach dessert). One thing was certain, everybody had more than enough to eat and plenty to share.
Lynn hosted her newly invented game called “The Chinese Tree of Good Fortune” whereby some residents got to try their luck with a Lunar New Year Scratchie. Unfortunately no major winnings were ‘scratched’ on the night. Chinese horoscopes were read in this the Year of the Ox. Fortune cookies were shared, with some residents still contemplating the profound messages contained in their cookie. My own fortune cookie read……”Judge not the horse by its saddle”. Mmmmmmm…..I’m still thinking on that one! A planned game of ‘Chinese Whispers’ was abandoned because the lively noise reverberating from the Hall meant that anybody ‘whispering’ would have gone unheard.
The Bar did a lively trade as always with some profits in the kitty for the PDCA. Thanks to all those who attended and for embracing the theme of the night.
Our next Social will be held on Saturday 20 March for St. Patrick’s Night celebrations. Time to put the Chinese clobber away and start thinking Irish GREEN!
Dear Members of the PDCA, Paluma Residents, Friends & Neighbours,
Please note that your PDCA has a newly formed sub-committee known as the ‘Social Committee’ (or perhaps more aptly termed the ‘Any Excuse for a Get-Together Sub-Committee’!!).
Your new Social Committee Members are:- Lynn Hyland, Les Hyland, Colwyn Campbell, Lynda Radbone and Michele Bird.
The inaugural meeting of this new sub-committee was held just recently and we have set about in planning an array of Social Events over the coming year. We hope there will be plenty of opportunities in 2021 for you to get out of the house, dust off your best outfit, catch up with friends and neighbours and also dress up and be a bit silly on the odd occasion, should you feel inclined…..!
We do encourage all Paluma residents and PDCA Members to contact us with your thoughts, ideas and feedback on upcoming and future Social Events. We are sure many of you have some great ideas for future Social Events and we would love to hear from you.
A working list of the planned Social Events for 2021 is outlined below and regular posts will be added to the website to remind you of upcoming events. Please join us to support your PDCA, to share some great food, good company, good humour and the odd beverage. All are very welcome.
The exciting events to come are:-
Saturday 20 February Chinese New Year Social (Evening)
Saturday 20 March St. Patricks Day Social (Evening)
Sunday 4 April PDCA Paluma Markets
Saturday 24 April PDCA Annual General Meeting with BBQ (Lunch)
Saturday 15 May Petanque (Bocce) and Nibbles on the Green (Afternoon)
Saturday 12 June Les Hyland’s 90th Birthday Party (Evening)
Saturday 26 June Bush Dance – Wattle n Gum
Sunday 27 June Paluma PDCA Markets
Saturday 17 July Paluma Push Bike Race (Outer Limits Event)
Saturday 7 August International Night Social (Evening)
Saturday 11 September Back to the 70’s Social (Evening)
Sunday 3 October PDCA Paluma Markets
Saturday 9 October ‘Paluma-Fest’ Social – BBQ, Beer and Bonfire Night
Sunday 24 October Community Hall 20th Anniversary (Morning Tea)
Sunday 31 October Paluma Trail Run (Outer Limits Event)
Saturday 6 November Return of the Monsters & Mayhem on the Mountain
Saturday 11 December Tropical BBQ Social (Evening)
The year 2021 is flying by and it’s time for the first Paluma Social Event of the year. Chinese New Year will be acknowledged and celebrated in true Paluma-style and you are invited to attend. 2021 is the Year of the Ox.
When: Saturday 20 February 2021 at 6.30 PM
Where: Paluma Community Hall
What to Bring: The usual. A Chinese-inspired or other delectable savoury or sweet dish to share with your friends and neighbours.
Dress: Yes please, whatever you like to wear, but clothing is preferred. If you have a Chinese outfit, please don’t hesitate to come along in costume.
Barman Les will be open to serve all kinds of beverages at bargain prices.
All are welcome and encouraged to attend. We look forward to seeing you there.
The PDCA ended the year on a high note on Saturday night (12/12/20) with the final social event of the year, the Paluma Tropical BBQ.
The Community Hall was lit up like a Christmas tree (literally!) and the tropical shirts were as loud as the lively chatter emanating from the hall. The residents of Paluma came armed with a feast of sumptuous dishes and Don fired up the BBQ with his usual finesse. Barman Les reported a lively trade and he made sure that everyone remained hydrated with their favourite beverages on the night.
Colin and Jill were the outright winners of the ‘Best Dressed’ tropical costume, arriving as if they had just stepped off the cruise boat (hopefully not the Ruby Princess!) adorned in sarong, board shirts, frangipani leis and tropical cocktails in hand.
Despite a challenging 2020, the community spirit is alive and well at Paluma as these few photographs clearly show. Merry Christmas Paluma-style!
– Publications considered to be classified (only non-restricted items may be placed kerbside)
– Tyres
– Other items that may present a safety risk
– General household waste
– Liquids including paints and oils
How much waste can I place out for collection?
Up to two cubic metres can be placed on your kerb for collection (approximately eight garbage bins in size). The maximum length of any item is two metres.
If you have any questions, call Customer Service on 13 48 10 or email enquiries@townsville.qld.gov.au. For more information, visit townsville.qld.gov.au.
The inaugural Monsters and Mayhem on the Mountain Social was held on Saturday night (7/11/20) and the event certainly lived up to its name. The Paluma Community Hall was transformed into a Hall of Horror as mummies, zombies, witches and other freaks and extremely creepy people came out of the woodwork to join the pandemonium.
Medusa made an appearance. So did the Grim Reaper, Herman Munster and a duo of Hannibal Lecters. A Pastor arrived, but was way too late to save the ‘souls of the damned’ at Paluma! A couple of Aliens joined the fray, so perhaps those UFO’s did land at Paluma after all?
The best/worst costume was won by ‘Kreepy Klumppy’ (Peter). The runner-up was Peter ‘The Mummy’ Cooke.
Jodie was the winner of the “Whose Sitting on a Big Black Spider Competition”. She was somewhat alarmed to find a large (plastic) arachnid fastened to the underside of her chair. Ironically, Jodie has a morbid fear of spiders (oops!). Her initial alarm and a few palpitations were consoled with her winning prize of a free drink from the bar.
The gathering of weirdos and whackos dined very well on a feast of dishes (none containing human flesh – that we know of!!). The bar did a lively trade with lots of thirsty patrons. Barman Les (Hannibal No. 1) reported good takings for the PDCA.
Sincere thanks to all those who attended the night in support of the PDCA and for embracing the theme of the night with gusto. Community spirit, good humour and good fun were the order of the evening. Special thanks to the band of volunteers who decorated the Hall of Horror on Saturday afternoon and then cleaned up on Sunday. What a great team!
Let the photographs of the night tell the rest of this (freaky) story……!!!!
The 19th edition of the Paluma Push was a great success. We had 420 mountain bike riders saddle up for the challenge to ride from Paluma Village to Hidden Valley across 3 distances: 42km, 53km and 70km.
This also included 30 E-bike riders for the 53km course. The E-bike category has doubled in size compared to last year. We are still in the early days when it comes to E-bikes, but it is a rapidly growing option for people to get out and about riding the trails.
This was the first year Outer Limits hosted the Paluma Push after taking the event over from the Rockwheelers. Townsville’s Mountain Bike Club and Outer Limits collaborated and came to an agreement which intends to keep the Push alive, continue the tradition of the event and have it professionally run and organised. We have goals to grow the event and make it, not the biggest, but the best (and most efficiently run) mountain bike race in NQ.
The Rockwheelers have received $4000 from the event, which will go toward the mountain biking community in Townsville and aid the trail maintenance on our local trails.
This year Outer Limits introduced the “Pre Push Dinner”, which was held at the Community Hall in Paluma (The event HQ and start of the race). We had 60 people attend and we hope to grow this dinner for 2021, which will be the 20th anniversary of the event.
All photos above by Juanita Poletto
We also added a perpetual trophy “The Hayden Tiley and Peter McLean Trophy”. This is to celebrate the history of the event as the years go by. This year the winners of the 70km competition course were Michael England in the Mens and Anita Narula in the Womens.
This year we learnt a lot about the event, and we have taken many notes for next year. Thank you to the team from Hidden Valley Cabins, Charlie Allen, Len Cook and Jamie Oliver for your assistance in the lead up and during the event and sharing your knowledge with us.
Thank you to Peter Mclean for all the guidance for the event and I hope we can continue the tradition you started 19 years ago.
Thank you to all the RFS and SES volunteers that helped make the event possible. The event has donated over $5000 for their services.
As part of a big thank you to all the volunteers, the Paluma Fire service put on a BBQ with funds from Outer limits for the checkpoint workers and other volunteers along the track and at headquarters. A great eveing was had by all!
Len Cook (RFS) and Jamie Oliver
Les and Lynn Hyland
A motley crew indeed – the community volunteers for the Paluma Push
Wendy, Judy, Graham and Mark
Photos by Michele Bird
Thank you to the Furber family to allow us to clear the trails and continue to ride the trails that lead through Hidden Valley Station.
Thank you to the event naming sponsors, Mike Carney Toyota, who has been sponsoring the event for many years. Outer Limits will continue the partnership to help bring professional events into our community. They also sponsored the new “Home of the Paluma Push”- sign, which is installed in Paluma Village.
Thank you to Ausfield Services who assisted us to clear the entire Push course. I am sure those who rode the course would agree that they did a mighty fine job.
Thank you also to Top Brand Cycles, GNM, Markwell Demolition for your support of the event.
2021 will see the 20th year of the Paluma Push. We have big plans to celebrate this special occasion, one of the ways might see the addition of a 100km course!
Sam Stedman and the team from Outer Limits are calling for Volunteers from the Paluma Community to assist with the organisation of this year’s Paluma Dam Good Trail Run. This event will take place on Sunday 1 November 2020.
If you can assist and you are keen to be a volunteer, please contact Sam on mobile: 0421 484 211 or send an email to info@outerlimitsadventure.com.au
