In a world where Corona, crisis and catastrophe have become the most common words we hear every day, here is a lighter look at life and the great loo paper shortage of March 2020 – from a uniquely Paluma perspective!
Contributed by Paluma’s self-titled ‘Pathetic Poet’.
Since George and Kathryn moved into their cottage on Lennox Crescent at Paluma about six months ago they have been busy sprucing up the rainforest garden on their large block of land. One of their aims has been to reduce the cover of invasive ferns across their block and especially amongst the understory of the rainforest. Concerted weeding efforts over many weeks is achieving great success.
George and Kathryn knew their block of land contained a series of stepped stone retaining walls, largely hidden by the dense growth of ferns. Their weeding efforts have revealed some quite remarkable ‘stone-pitched’ walls, emerging from the ferny undergrowth and the rainforest, almost like some ancient archaeological ruins.
Because the block is rather steep and sloping in places, it would appear the stone walls have been built to control water run-off and erosion – something many of us deal with at Paluma during the wet season and heavy downpours. There is no actual mortar within the walls, but each stone has been carefully selected and placed to fit neatly next to the neighbouring stone. In places, there are some large boulders which appear to be in situ (natural) and smaller imported stones have been packed around these to form the wall. There is no doubt that a lot of time, effort and some quite remarkable ingenuity has gone into building these retaining walls.
Keen to know the history of these stone walls and especially who built them, I went in search of some long-time Paluma residents for some information. We are still trying to unravel the full story, but what we know so far is this:-
It seems the walls were probably built back in the time when Gwen Lennox owned this block. She once owned George and Kathryn’s block, as well as the adjacent blocks. A long-time Paluma resident told me that most of the rocks came from Ollera Creek and they were transported up the range in the boot of a small sedan. The Lennox family spent a lot of time at Paluma and they also owned a plant nursery in Townsville. We are still not sure when the stone walls were built, but it has been suggested that they might have been constructed in the 1950’s.
There is no doubt that these stone walls have been very effective over the years in controlling erosion on this sloping block of land. The walls are in a great state of preservation and are still doing the job!. Certainly, the dense cover of ferny foliage has assisted in keeping the walls intact over time.
George and Kathryn do not intend to completely clear all of the ferns, but their weeding over the past few months has certainly revealed what can only be described as some Great Walls on Lennox Crescent!
If you can contribute any further information on the story of these walls and if you know who built them and when, we would love to hear from you!
Text & Photos by Michele Bird
A small but very enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Community Hall on Saturday evening (2 November 2019) for the latest event on the Paluma social calendar with an International theme.
Continents and countries the world over were represented as many of the attendees donned their finest (and not so-finest) international costumes to celebrate multiculturalism, Paluma-style. There were Mexicans, an Egyptian, two Fijians (fresh off the cruise boat), North Americans and European nations all represented. There were a few Aussies, a Scotsman and even a Drop Bear (of uncertain nationality and with a strange rear appendage) made an appearance on the night.
A wide selection of dishes from around the world meant that there was plenty of good food to enjoy. Some patrons told their best and very worst jokes on the night. The group was pleasantly surprised by the return that very afternoon of the Cooke’s (Peter & Jan) who have just made their annual migration south (from NT) for the summer. Great company of friends and neighbours ensured a good time and many laughs were had by all.
The stars weren’t the only thing shining at Paluma last Saturday night, with the inaugural Glamour & Glitz Social at the Community Hall. The night was filled with glitter, sequins and precious jewels, all on display. Some stunning outfits were worn by the ladies, the frocks to rival any H(B)ollywood red carpet event. The razzle dazzle and glitz was so great that some patrons had to wear their sunglasses all night! Even the menu had sparkle with a dazzling chocolate and silver masterpiece (cake) made by Jennie, in (belated) celebration of Lynn’s birthday.
While only a small crowd attended this event, it was quite possibly the most successful social this year for fun and frivolity. There was much laughter and camaraderie and anyone passing the Hall on Saturday night might have thought that 100 people were in attendance. The music was sensational with a soundtrack of classic dance tunes. Some patrons took a whirl around the dance floor before tucking into the menu of savouries, casseroles and other delights.
If you didn’t attend the Glamour and Glitz Social then you missed the opportunity for a night of fun and frivolity – but most importantly, you missed the chance to meet and mingle with your Paluma friends and neighbours and to support your own community association. Social events are fun, but they are also vital to raising much needed funds for the PDCA, so that all those very important matters like road repair and maintenance and the preservation of all those things we most love about Paluma can remain on the working agenda.
See you at the next Social planned for 2 November. The weekend is short, but friendship and strength of community goes on and on……!
It was a big weekend at Paluma on 29th and 30th June. The annual Bush Dance with the Wattle n Gum Band was held at the Community Hall on Saturday night with many locals and visitors dancing the night away.
On Sunday morning the weather was superb with clear blue skies and a cool breeze. A bumper crowd attended the Paluma Market and there were plenty of stalls to browse. The wares on sale included handmade gemstone jewellery, leadlight glass ornaments, original paintings, knitted and crocheted clothes, shawls, scarves, beanies and blankets, a variety of bric-a-brac, DVD’s, books, cards, plants and delicious homemade cakes, biscuits and condiments. There were bargains galore!!
Members of the Wattle n Gum Bush Band put on an impromptu performance at the playground, while members and volunteers of the PDCA sizzled sausages at the rotunda. A great morning was had by all with many people lingering to relax and enjoy the music, the sausage sizzle and the cool mountain air.
An early morning walk to Mc Clellands’s Lookout at Paluma is always a treat, but especially so at this time of the year. With the humidity and cloudy skies of summer and the wet season now gone, the early mornings are crisp and clear, without a cloud in the sky.
For the first time this year, the temperature dipped to single digits on Sunday morning (12 May) with a cool 9 degrees in the village. Gone is the heat-haze of summer, so that the view from the Lookout is particularly special. So clear is the view of the coast and offshore islands that you can clearly see their outline and you can even identify each individual island – especially with the assistance of the interpretive signage from the Lookout’s best vantage point.
There is no better place at Paluma village to sit and contemplate the view, whilst thawing out and soaking up the warmth of the sun’s early morning rays. On Sunday morning the visit to the Lookout was enhanced by the sound of dingoes calling from somewhere downslope, deep within the rainforest. With the cool clear air, the eerie sound of their calls seemed to carry for miles.
A cup of lemon myrtle tea and a slice of mandarin and almond cake at the Rainforest Inn topped off a rather delightful early morning stroll.
Just another day in the paradise we know as Paluma.
There has understandably been a lot of talk about rain and rainfall records over the last few months. While the daily falls that Len Cook recorded in February (see previous post and also additional info at Higgins Storm Chasing) are impressive and probably unprecedented (over 2.5 metres in 11 days!), it begs the question of how many records were broken in Paluma this wet-season and just how wet Paluma is compared to other areas in the north (and elsewhere).
For those who are unfamiliar with the quote alluded to in the title of this post, the famous author Mark Twain once remarked that there are 3 types of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and statistics. This post may serve to underscore his point that you can prove just about anything you like if you carefully choose your statistics.
We now have 50 yrs of rainfall records for the Ivy Cottage BoM station (1969-2018) but due to some months with missing data, there are gaps in the records of annual totals. Fortunately, the late Roy Mackay kept his own records and I have been able to use his graph to fill in the missing annual totals (1992,1996-99). Lets start with how this year’s wet season in Paluma compares to the long-term record. Well, we have had the wettest February on record with 1986.7mm. In addition this wet-season from November ’18 to April ’19, even though we have no official data for April, has already been the the wettest on record with 4,636.9mm for November to March. Whether or not the 11 day accumulated total of 2571 is also a record breaker would require a deeper analysis of daily totals over the last 50 years – not something I, or anyone else detectable from a google search has been prepared to do. Nevertheless this year was a record breaking wet season in more than one way. We have already had enough rainfall from Jan-March to exceed 90% of the annual records, so there is also a reasonable chance that 2019 will be the wettest on record.
While we are discussing the long-term record for Paluma on its own, it is worth asking whether or not there have been any obvious trends or patterns in our rainfall. The graph below indicates that there has been no appreciable increase or decrease in mean rainfall over the last 50 years, but there does appear to be regular cycles of wet and dry periods with rainfall peaks separated by 7-9 years.
Charlie Allen recently forwarded me a graph from a now closed BoM station at Mt Spec (somewhere near the summit). The records go from 1933 to 1967 with no overlap between it and the Ivy Cottage station. Interestingly, the records indicate much higher rainfalls at Mt Spec. The median annual rainfall for the 32 years of complete data was 3324mm, which is almost a meter more than Ivy Cottage (2355mm). Also there were 8 years at Mt Spec with annual falls greater than 4m (25% of all years) and of these 3 exceeded 5m. At Paluma, we have only had 4 years exceeding 4m annual rainfall (12.5%) and none that exceeded 5m. The Mt Spec record also shows a clear decline in rainfall during the recording period. These data from Mt Spec raise the question of whether rainfall at Paluma was also higher in the 30’s to 50’s with a subsequent decline. We may never know.
Do any of these new records mean that Paluma has toppled our two wettest towns in Australia (Babinda and Tully) off their pedestals? The short answer is no. After scratching around amongst the totals, I did find that our new record for February is higher than the highest February rainfall in Tully but not for Babinda. However I can report that our highest daily rainfall ever recorded in Paluma (634mm in January 1972) is higher than any daily totals for Tully or Babinda! Also it is possible that our recent 11 day cumulative total exceeds anything recorded there (it’s too much work to check on this!). But before we crack open a bottle of bubbly, bear in mind that having had one exceptional wet day, or series of days doesn’t really make us generally wetter than towns with much higher averages (see comparison table below). And besides, it turns out that other places in Australia have had much wetter single days – Crohamhurst in SE Qld recorded 907mm on a single day in 1893, and if we look globally, La Reunion holds the world record for daily rainfall with a staggering 1.825 metres in 24 hours.
If all of my efforts to find some way in which Paluma can be considered uniquely “wet” seem a bit over-the- top, spare a thought for Babinda and Tully.
In terms of the key statistics I have seen, Babinda easily exceeds Tully in terms of average annual rainfall (4.287 vs 4.092 metres per year) and the same goes for median rainfall, making it an easy pick for the wettest town in Australia. In recognition of this humble achievement Babinda has placed a small golden gumboot in the window of its post office . Not to be outdone, Tully (in the spirit of overcompensation) has argued that it has the record for the wettest year ever (7.898m in 1950) and has erected a massive 7.9m high golden gumboot in a local green space.
Ironically neither the town of Babinda or Tully come close to being the wettest “place” in Australia. That title goes to the nearby unpopulated summit of Mt Bellenden Ker, which boasts a massive annual average of 8.12 metres and a record year of 12.46 meters in 1973. Makes Paluma seem positively arid in comparison!
| Place | Ann. Av (mm) | Ann. Median (mm) | Highest Ann. Total (mm) |
| Paluma | 2,585 | 2,355 | 4,691 |
| Tully | 4,092 | 3,914 | 7,898 |
| Babinda | 4,287 | 4,092 | 7,040 |
| Bellenden Ker | 8,121 | 7,675 | 12,461 |
St Patrick’s Day Celebrations at Paluma
Paluma traditionally celebrates ‘La Feile Padraig’ [The feast of Patrick] on the Saturday nearest to the actual day, 17th March. This year we were one day ahead on Saturday 16th. Due to the afternoon tea in celebration of the late Roy Mackay the starting time was delayed to 19.00hrs, but in the event it was near 19.30 hrs before we were eating. There was a great selection of dishes with an Irish flavour including, potato bake, chicken casserole, devilled eggs and many others. Desserts included a wonderful green creamy delight, Guinness brownies, bread and butter pudding and pavlova.
With over 30 people attending, it is needless to say the bar did a brisk and lively trade but, surprisingly, there was some Guinness left over. There was a lucky shamrock under a chair and it is amazing how difficult it proved in finding just which chair!
Many attendees wore their best green gear and several leprechauns appeared out of the Paluma mist, so that the community hall was a sea of Irish green.
Lynn took on the role of Quiz Master for the evening – she said that Les’ questions were too hard – challenging geographic, musical and Irish general topics. There were several participants who scored 13 out of 17 which is an extremely good show of knowledge. The tie-breaker question saw the winner – Wendy Kaus – collect her bottle of wine. Les threw in a few Irish jokes and the buzz of conversation lasted late into the evening.
The highly efficient washing up crew’s work was greatly appreciated. It was a most enjoyable night.
Assistant Editors Note: Many thanks to Les and Lynn Hyland for their hard work in decorating the hall, stocking the bar and making the event a great success!
Text by Les Hyland and Photos by Michele Bird
One of Paluma’s most popular and well-loved residents, Don Battersby will celebrate his 69th birthday this week. To mark the occasion, Colwyn Campbell hosted a birthday party for Don on Saturday night (19th January) at her residence. The house and verandas were bursting at the seams with the event well-attended by many of Don’s long-time friends and his Paluma family. As usual, there was food aplenty with an array of Indian-inspired dishes and other cuisine, as well as a tropical passionfruit birthday cake. There was good food, great company, many laughs and the usual warm community spirit that exists uniquely in our village of Paluma.
Happy Birthday Don from all your friends and family at Paluma!
Last Saturday night (8 December) the annual Tropical Xmas BBQ was held at the Community Hall to close out the Paluma Social calendar for 2018. Up to 20 residents attended the event, with a few people coming and going over the course of the evening.
A sumptuous feast consisting of BBQ meats and an array of salads and sweets was enjoyed by all. The ‘BBQ-er’ for the evening was Ross Hyne, closely supervised by ‘Mr. BBQ’ himself, Don Battersby. As usual, the Bar and Beverages were expertly dispensed by Les Hyland.
The ‘dish of the night’ was awarded to Jennie Robinson for her very special and unique recipe for ‘sweet but salty’ berry dessert cake! The encouragement award goes to Jim for his very special ‘do-it-yourself cucumber and egg salad’.
It was great to see many people embracing the ‘Tropical’ theme with their colourful shirts and other attire. We were lucky enough to have two of Santa’s Elves attend as well (Ross & Sonya).
As with all Paluma Social Events, many of us ate too much food, drank a little too much wine and laughed a lot! A happy and fun-filled Paluma time was enjoyed by all. Merry Xmas!
