This coming Friday, the Perc Tucker Gallery will be opening a retrospective exhibition of 4 decades of works from our local award-winning ceramic artist, Len Cook.
The exhibition will open this Friday, May 12 and run until August 2023. On Saturday, May 13, Len will give a talk at the Gallery about his work
Len Cook is one of Australia’s foremost woodfired potters. The exhibition FIRE AND RAIN draws together nearly 80 artworks created over 40 years Of ceramic practice with loans from public and private collections, as well as key works from the artist’s own collection.
The exhibition highlights the artists lifelong passion for wood-fired kilns and pots that are glazed by natural ash deposits over extended firing in traditional Japanese anagama (cave) kilns. Len Cook’s practice encompasses domestic ware, ceramic sculpture inspired by the coral forms Of the Great Barrier Reef, and his anagama- fired work.
Join artist Len Cook and curator Ross Searle as they discuss the works on display in Cook’s exhibition FIRE AND RAIN. Floor Talk Saturday 13 May 10.30am
Serving the Community for 40 years – Happy Birthday Paluma RFB!
Last Saturday the fire gods were shining down on the Paluma Community Centre and our beloved fire truck ‘Paluma 51’ was adorned with yellow and red balloons to give thanks to past members of the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade.
A modest but jubilant crowd of 30 people gathered to raise their glasses and help celebrate the 40th Anniversary, including a couple of visiting families. Paluma 51 as always was popular with the children. Don kindly manned the BBQ to cook an array of BBQ meats to perfection which was accompanied by gourmet salads of the exceptional Paluma standard.
Following lunch, 1st Officer Ross Hyne thanked those who had made the Brigade what it is today, still here after 40 years and to others for helping celebrate this auspicious occasion. Lynn Hyland provided some early historical narrative on the very beginnings of the Brigade which humbly started in April 1983 with a small loan from the Paluma Progress Association to purchase a trailer for housing firefighting equipment.
Following the speeches, the cutting of the cake was undertaken by some of the longest serving members of the Brigade, founding member and former 1st Officer Len Cook and Lynn and Les Hyland who have been active members for 36 years.
May the Brigade be here for another 40 years!
Interested in joining the Brigade or wondering how you can get involved? New members are always welcome. For more information, please contact Sonya on (0474) 324 153.
Text by Sonya Bryce, Secretary/Treasurer, Paluma Rural Fire Brigade.Photos by Sonya Bryce and Michele Bird.
The monthly Working Bee at Paluma was held on Easter Saturday (8 April). A small group of volunteers turned up to undertake some much-needed tasks around the village. Colin and Richard carried out work along the Rainforest Walking Track in installing a new bench seat. Charlie, Anneshka, Wilfred and Michele took on the unenviable task of continuing the clean-up along the road verge at the Loop Road.
The clean-up involved trimming back the overgrown vegetation on the road side and in the table drain including dead wood, overhanging low branches, encroaching sword grass and a variety of introduced weeds including dense patches of Singapore daisy. We also tackled the last of the lantana along the (raised wall) road verge at the top of Loop Road. It was hard but satisfying work in tidying up this area, removing some noxious invasive weeds and (hopefully) improving the stormwater flow to the culvert at the bottom of Loop Road. We were rewarded with a cool drink at the end of the session…..and some of us took home some leeches and ticks for our efforts.
The next Working Bee will be held on Saturday 6th May so save the date and take up the challenge!
Text by Michele Bird. Photos by Charlie and Michele.
It was a big Easter at Paluma with lots of visitors to the village, both day visitors and campers who stayed on for a few days. The local accommodation was fully booked and reports are that the camp ground at the Paluma Dam was at capacity. There were certainly a lot of people out and about enjoying the beautiful Autumn weather and all that Paluma has to offer.
The Sunday Easter Market was a roaring success. There were queues several times throughout the morning at the Sausage Sizzle and all stall holders reported excellent trade. The fundraising efforts for the PDCA on the day were outstanding.
The Sausage Sizzle alone raised over $630.00 and thanks go to Don, Leslie, Anneshka and Jill for keeping everyone fed. Lynda made the delicious coleslaw for the BBQ. Jill was a roving volunteer who popped up everywhere and between herself and Colin the coffee/tea stall raised $80.00. Stella’s contribution of freshly baked scones with jam and cream were a delicious addition to the coffee/tea stall, giving people the opportunity to enjoy a Paluma-style version of ‘Devonshire tea’.
The Paluma Bakers Stall made a record profit of some $454.00. Once again the Kitchen Goddesses of the village excelled themselves with their efforts. Eleven ladies baked to their hearts content to produce a huge variety of cakes, slices, biscuits and other sweet treats. Anneshka and Bronwyn deserve special mention as they both went above and beyond. Anneshka donated a huge variety of goods including freshly baked hot-cross buns. Bronwyn’s gluten free options and very glamorous baked treats sold like’ hot-cakes’ and were all snapped up early in the day. Thanks to the following ladies for their outstanding and very generous contributions for the cake stall – Stella, Ros, Bronwyn, Jill, Anneshka, Julia, Jan, Lynn, Michele, Bobbie and Jennie. Charlie ran the cake stall, assisted by Michele.
Other funds were raised on the day from an Easter raffle run by Wilfred. The raffle raised over $140.00 and the Easter egg and chocolate-filled food hamper was won by ‘Jessie’, a visitor to the village staying at one of the cottages on Mt Spec Road. Con the Fruiterer (aka Wilfred) raised $165.00 from the sale of produce (pineapples and bananas, etc). Les and Lynn report that the Paluma History (books and card sales) raised $240.00. Peter and Jan ran the book stall for fund-raising for the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade.
The overall success of the Paluma Easter Market and the impressive fundraising for the community is possible due to the generous contribution of time from the many volunteers in planning, setting up and cleaning up on the day. Lynn worked tirelessly and was still at the Community Hall at 3 pm on Sunday. To all of the volunteers from the community, well done and a big thank you!
And a similar big thank you to all those residents and their visiting friends and families who stopped in at the market to buy a sausage sizzle, some baked goods for morning/afternoon tea and to shop at the numerous stalls. Your support is greatly appreciated. Well done Paluma!
A reminder that there is a Free Workout on offer this Saturday afternoon 8th April – otherwise known as a Paluma Working Bee. Many hands make light work and there are always plenty of jobs to do around the village to keep things maintained and looking beautiful.
If you have a couple of hours to spare this Saturday afternoon, please meet at the Community Hall at 2 pm. Everyone is welcome.
It will be a great opportunity to work-off those extra Easter calories from chocolates and hot-cross buns and working outside in the fresh Paluma mountain air is always good for the mind and body.
A free beverage is on offer after the work is completed.
Did you know that Koalas can be found in the open forests west of Paluma and much of the sclerophyll forests in the eastern Queensland coastal area of north Queensland? If you would like to know more about koalas or share any sightings you have made in the region, The Australian Wildlife Conservancy is hosting a community workshop leading up to some targeted Koala monitoring later this year.
Felicity L’Hotellier, Senior Field Ecologist for the AWC is inviting Paluma residents to attend the workshop on Wednesday, April 19th. The workshop will be hosted on site at Mount Zero-Taravale’s bush camp. The day will kick off at 9am, and wrap up by 3:30pm, with informal discussions throughout the day including a round-table with those in attendance.
Attendees are invited to camp on site (would need to supply their own tents/sleeping gear), with AWC to provide basic catering from the evening of the 18th through until the morning of the 20th. For anyone interested, an evening spotlight drive and a visit to our new feral predator-free exclosure fence is also planned.
This invitation is restricted to Paluma residents and you are asked to register for the workshop before April 10th. To register or obtain further information contact Felicity on 0408084 617 or 4770 8025.
April is shaping up as a busy month in the village of Paluma. Here’s a reminder about some dates to put in the diary.
Firstly, Wilfred would like to advise everyone that the next Working Bee has been rescheduled to Saturday 8th April (Easter Saturday) at 2 pm. The change of date is to avoid double-bookings with other community events. Meet as usual outside the Community Hall and then teams of volunteers will be deployed for various jobs and projects such as continuing work on the Rainforest Walking Track steps, pruning and tree removal at the Hall and maintenance jobs at the Hall, etc.
The PDCA AGM will be held on Saturday 1st April. The event commences with a FREE BBQ for residents at 12 noon, followed by the meeting at 1 pm. Come along to have your say and/or to nominate for a position on the PDCA Executive Committee. Everyone is welcome.
The Paluma Easter Market will be held on Sunday 9th April from 9 am to 1 pm. We have already put the call-out for cooks and bakers to donate goods for sale, but as always other volunteers are needed for the bbq sausage sizzle, tea/coffee stall and other jobs on the day. If you can spare a few hours to volunteer at the Market please advise one of your friendly PDCA committee members.
