Notice of Annual General Meeting

Members (and prospective members) are advised that the Annual General Meeting of the Paluma & District Community Association Inc. will be held on:

Saturday, April 23, 2022, at 12pm for a BBQ lunch followed by the AGM at 1pm in the Community Hall

Nominations are open for all Executive Committee positions. Nominations should be forwarded to any member of the Executive Committee or by email to PalumaPDCA@gmailcom. Please use the nomination forms, which can be downloaded here.

Positions are:

  • President, 
  • 1 or 2 Vice-Presidents
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • General Committee members (numbers flexible)  

Members are reminded that Annual Subscriptions are now due and should be paid prior to the commencement of the AGM.   Membership is $45.00 Please use the subscription form here to submit your dues. New members are more than welcome and should use the same form.

Please note that you must be a PDCA member to nominate someone to the Committee or vote for any Committee member.

The AGM will be followed immediately by a normal General Meeting with the new Committee.

AGM AGENDA

  1. Opening – circulation of attendance sheet
  2. Apologies
  3. Minutes of previous AGM April 24th, 2021
  4. President’s Report
  5. Treasurer’s report
  6. Election of Officers for 2021-2022
  7. Election of Auditor for 2021-2022
  8. Close of Annual General Meeting

Normal General Meeting Agenda

Normal General Meeting Agenda

  1. Open General Meeting
  2. Proposed Events/Fund-raising for the coming year
  3. Any other business
  4. Close of General Meeting

Outcomes of the PDCA Annual General Meeting

The PDCA AGM was held last month (March 13) in conjunction with a well attended BBQ lunch. This year we decided to change the date away from Easter and to offer residents a free BBQ lunch prior to the meeting. We received some positive feedback on this initiative and were delighted to easily exceed the number of attendees required for a quorum (although this may also have been due to Wilfred’s door to door encouragement earlier in the morning).

The official minutes of the meeting will be completed soon, but if you are interested in reading the President’s Annual report, or the History Project report, they are both available in our Documents section on the website.

All current PDCA Executive Committee Members were elected for another year.

Many thanks to all those who attended and contributed to the meeting.

PDCA Executive Committee Members for 2020-21
NamePositionemailph
Jamie OliverPresidentJ.K.Oliver@outlook.com0408 710030
Anneshka Brown1st Vice Presidentanneshka@protonmail.com0472 768 227
Juanita PolettoSecretaryjpoletto@gmail.com0410 202 968
Wilfred KarnollTreasurerwilfred.suzanne@bigpond.com0447 822 626
Jill MeadsCommittee Memberjillmeads55@gmail.com
Charlie AllenCommittee Member (SES)c-t-a@activ8.net.au
Ross HyneCommittee Member (RFS)ross.hyne@ergon.com

Reminder – Annual General Meeting This Saturday, March 21.

Don’t Forget – this Saturday we have our PDCA Annual General Meeting with election of Committee Members. There is a free lunch at at 12 pm, followed by our meeting at 1pm.

Please note that annual subscriptions are now due ($45). If you forgot to pay your dues last year don’t fret, we will graciously accept back-payments as well as current subscriptions dues!

Please use the nomination form to nominate someone to the Committee.



Members (and prospective members) are advised that the Annual General Meeting of the Paluma & District Community Association Inc. will be held on:

Saturday March 21, 2020 at 12pm for a BBQ lunch followed by the AGM at 1pm in the Community Hall

Nominations are open for all Executive Committee positions. Nominations should be forwarded to the Secretary to arrive no later than Friday, March 6th 2020. Please use the nomination forms, which can be downloaded here.

Positions are:

  • President, 
  • 1 or 2 Vice-Presidents
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • General Committee members (numbers flexible)  

Members are reminded that Annual Subscriptions are now due and should be paid prior to the commencement of the AGM.   Membership is available in two classes, these being  Ordinary & Family. All classes attract the same subscription fee of $45.00 Please use the subscription form here to submit your dues. New members are more than welcome and should use the same form.

Please note that you must be a PDCA member to nominate someone to the Committee or vote for any Committee member.

The AGM will be followed immediately by a normal General Meeting with with the new Committee.

AGM AGENDA

  1. Opening – circulation of attendance sheet
  2. Apologies
  3. Minutes of previous AGM April 20th, 2019
  4. President’s Report
  5. Treasurer’s report
  6. Election of Officers for 2020-2021
  7. Election of Auditor for 2020-2021
  8. Close of Annual General Meeting

Normal General Meeting Agenda

Normal General Meeting Agenda

  1. Open General Meeting
  2. Proposed Events/Fund-raising for the coming year
  3. Any other business
  4. Close of General Meeting

PDCA – Notice of Annual General Meeting & Call for nominations

Members (and prospective members) are advised that the Annual General Meeting of the Paluma & District Community Association Inc. will be held on:

Saturday March 21, 2020 at 12pm for a BBQ lunch followed by the AGM at 1pm in the Community Hall

Nominations are open for all Executive Committee positions. Nominations should be forwarded to the Secretary to arrive no later than Friday, March 6th 2020. Please use the nomination forms, which can be downloaded here.

Positions are:

  • President, 
  • 1 or 2 Vice-Presidents
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • General Committee members (numbers flexible)  

Members are reminded that Annual Subscriptions are now due and should be paid prior to the commencement of the AGM.   Membership is available in two classes, these being  Ordinary & Family. All classes attract the same subscription fee of $40.00 Please use the subscription form here to submit your dues. New members are more than welcome and should use the same form.

Please note that you must be a PDCA member to nominate someone to the Committee or vote for any Committee member.

The AGM will be followed immediately by a normal General Meeting with with the new Committee.

AGM AGENDA

  1. Opening – circulation of attendance sheet
  2. Apologies
  3. Minutes of previous AGM April 20th, 2019
  4. President’s Report
  5. Treasurer’s report
  6. Election of Officers for 2020-2021
  7. Election of Auditor for 2020-2021
  8. Close of Annual General Meeting

Normal General Meeting Agenda

Normal General Meeting Agenda

  1. Open General Meeting
  2. Proposed Events/Fund-raising for the coming year
  3. Any other business
  4. Close of General Meeting

PDCA Matters

Changes to the PDCA Executive Committee.

Recently Michele Bird resigned from the position of PDCA Secretary due to work commitments. Michele did a fantastic job in this role and put many hours into ensuring our meetings were recorded accurately and promptly. She was also an effective and thoughtful voice in many of our discussions on important issues affecting Paluma. Many thanks Michele!

Michele has also been a prominent and prolific contributor (and co-editor) to our new website. I am delighted that she has indicated that she will continue in this role.

Fortunately, we have been able to find a highly capable new Secretary in Anne Bruyeres. Ann has a long association with Paluma and I am sure she will be a great addition to the Executive Committee. Welcome Anne!

The updated list of PDCA Executive members can be found here

Jamie Oliver

A record of accomplishments

Our numbers for paid up membership this year are a bit down compared to previous years, and we hope that this is more a matter of forgetfulness than a lack of support for the PDCA and its efforts on behalf of the Paluma community. However the Executive Committee also felt it would be worth documenting the various efforts and achievements of the PDCA in recent years. It turned out to be a fairly impressive list and we would like to share that with all of you, and also let you know what our priorities are for the next 12 months or so. Hopefully this list will help reassure paid members that their dues are a worthwhile investment into ensuring we maintain Paluma and a fantastic place to live or to retreat to on weekends and holidays. We also hope that those of you who have forgotten to join this year will be motivated to do so – you will be receiving email reminders shortly! Or you can click here to download a renewal form.

If you have any thoughts or ideas on how the PDCA can better contribute to the Community, or what our priorities should be, please don’t hesitate to contact any of the executive by email, or phone. Or you can add a comment to this post and start an open conversation.

PDCA Achievements/Activities over the last several years

Lobbying local and state government to achieve more favourable policies or better facilities around Paluma

  • Strongly opposed proposal to re-open Paluma Dam for motorized boats
  • Extended campaign to improve quality of drinking water in Paluma
  • Joint meeting with TCC and Transport & Main Roads to discuss need for more coordinated clearing of roadside vegetation, effective management of road closures
  • Holding various community meeting to discuss important issues and to communicate to local government
  • Key outcomes include:
    • Council decided not to pursue the opening of the dam for motorboats
    • Sealing of initial part of Hussey Road
    • More timely maintenance of Paluma Dam road potholes and erosion ditches
    • Paluma Water issues and new water treatment plant -– resulted in commissioning of a new $300,000 water treatment facility in 2018
    • Agreement with TMR to include significant upgrades to the Range Road in the next budget for major road works
    • Installation of rubbish bins at Crystal Ck. Picnic Ground and additional bins in the Village Green – TCC liaison.
    • Repair of Loop Rd. retaining wall by TCC
    • TCC funded free Wi Fi facility at hall/Village Green
    • Liaison with TCC re design and equipment choice for new playground and moving the footprint out of the PDCA lease area.
    • TCC installation of a new technology sewerage system at public toilets in Village Green- PDCA campaigning to overcome leakage issues.
    • Re-siting of the public playground to ensure it was not on PDCA leased land, thus avoiding a liability issue
    • TCC resurfacing of bitumen road from village to Dam turn-off

Successful applications for funding for new facilities

  • New Telstra mobile phone tower – 2018
  • Contributions for funding of the new Community Hall extension obtained from Qld Gaming Commission ((Through the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade)
  • Grant for the establishment of the Paluma History Display
  • Grant for Replacement of hall chairs and gallery fittings.

Activities that improve village facilities or enhance community coherence amongst residents or provide important target activities for visitors

  • Contribution of $23,000 from PDCA fund raising activities towards cost of hall extension from past PDCA
  • Various social evenings/meals throughout the year
  • Quarterly publication of “Turkey Talk”
  • Paluma Garden Competition
  • Regular Sunday markets and BBQ
  • Paluma History Display most Tuesdays
  • Making the hall available for external hire by relevant groups
  • Assisting with successful signature events such as the annual Paluma Push and Dam Good Run
  • Establishment of the “Trees in Memory” grove on the village green, together with memorial stone
  • Signage for the Andreé Griffin Track and official launch
  • Bruce Plant Memorial function at the Community Hall and the Plant Memorial stone installation and Service. Assisted by a RAAF grant and donations
  • Art Exhibitions promoting local and district artists
  • Liaison with National Parks re refurbishment of Crystal Ck. Picnic area and McClelland Lookout facilities and maintenance of existing walking tracks
  • Promoting Paluma through regular posts on Paluma.org and providing additional resources through our members only pages
  • Organizing working bees to help maintain the Community Hall and surrounding grounds
  • Installation of the PDCA Honour Board in the Community Hall

Future Plans

With continued support from PDCA memberships and community volunteers, the PDCA hopes to achieve even more in the next 1-2 years. Current projects in various stages of conceptual development include:

  • Enhancement of roadside verges with plantings of appropriate species that showcase Paluma’s unique climate
  • Creation of new garden beds and hedges around the Community Hall
  • Development of enhanced signage and interpretation along local walking tracks
  • Construction of a walking loop and viewing platforms along around the village weir to highlight the various flora and fauna (including platypus, water dragons, rainbow fish and key flowering plants)
  • Development of a new annual or biennial event(s) that incorporates elements of previous events such as the Paluma Rainforest Festival, Ephemera in the Mist and Paluma Art Exhibition etc.

PDCA President’s report for 2018-19

Ever wondered what exactly the PDCA does during the year? I did before I joined the Executive Committee, but found that reading through past President’s reports was a very useful primer on how the PDCA works to improve facilities and services in the village. Several past reports can be found on our website, and I am posting my contribution to this here.

Please contact me (or add a comment) if you have any questions about what has been reported, or if you have any suggestions for what we need to concentrate on this year.

Jamie Oliver

PDCA President’s Report – 2018-19

Over the last year several important milestones have been achieved in Paluma. For each of these the insights, planning and management needed to achieve these outcomes has been the result of the efforts of many people over the course of more than just one year, including all members of the PDCA executive. I think that all Paluma residents should feel very proud of what a small community such as ours can achieve across a range of issues if we work together with a common vision.

Key outcomes for the year that I would particularly like to highlight include:

  1. Completion of the new Community Hall Extension. All members of the PDCA executive contributed significantly to this outcome but it is the early work of previous executive members such as John Tubman and Michael Drew that was important in designing the hall, finding funds, developing plans, and managing the building contract. Without Michael’s effort we would never have had sufficient funds to start this extension, and without his efforts in chasing up a builder who could do the work within our budget it would never have been completed.  In appreciation of the efforts of John Tubman, on this and a myriad of other contributions to the PDCA, we named the extension the John Tubman Room. All members of the Executive, especially Wilfred and Lynn, also played a crucial role in identifying areas requiring attention during the constructions, thus ensuring a Room that will serve our purposes for many years to come.
  2. Completion of the new Water Treatment Plant.  This had been a prolonged and controversial project that might never have happened without the persistence and determination of most Paluma residents to hold the council to its obligations in providing clean potable water. The quality of our water now exceeds that of Townsville and many of its suburbs.
  3. Opening of the High Ropes Course.  It was fantastic to see the opening of the first new commercial facility at Paluma in many years. The PDCA cannot claim any responsibility for this but we have been enthusiastically supportive of the efforts and vision of Sam Stedman and Wilfred Karnoll who partnered in developing the facility.  It appears to be a success with regular use by schools and other private groups
  4. Repair of the Hussy Rd turnoff and paving of the beginning of Hussey Rd.  This has been an ongoing issue for many years but thanks to the efforts of Michael Drew and other residents of the “Republic of Hussey Road” it has now been completed.
  5. Installation and commissioning of the new Telstra Mobile phone tower.  This has had a major impact on our community, providing high quality digital and voice communication throughout the village and out to Hussey Road. The ground work for this project was laid by several previous PDCA executive members.
  6. Construction of a new Website – Paluma.org.    We now have a highly functional website that provides information on the attractions and history of Paluma.  It also allows regular contributions from our prolific nature and social bloggers (Colwyn Campbell and Michele Bird) as well as other residents. A review of website usage indicates that we get about 350 visits per month. Most of this traffic is directed at the various posts, but we have also had more than 1000 downloads of documents from the Maps and History sections of our library.  Currently the website has of 54 pages of information (separate from regular posts) and more than 200 photographs that can be displayed in slideshows or used for illustrative purposes.

In addition to these major milestones, the PDCA has also continued to carry or promote our annual program of social, cultural and sporting activities. These include:

  • Paluma Push – our role was to provide assistance at check points and hold a end of event BBQ for all volunteers
  • Paluma Races –provided a venue for the start, assistance with promotion, logistics and checkpoints
  • Our regular Social Nights organized by Lynn and Les Hyland with help from many others
  • Garden Competition
  • Bush Dance with Wattle and Gum
  • Sunday Markets

Lynn continued to do a fantastic job managing hall bookings this past year. We have attracted a number of interesting groups up to Paluma (Blankets of Love, Buddhist Retreat, Plant Identification course) and this not only helps to enhance our visibility as a great place to hold workshops or retreats, but also continues to make an important financial contribution to the Association.

In addition to the construction of the new Hall extension, the Paluma Community Centre Management Committee (SES, PDCA, PRFS) has reviewed the need for major maintenance of the rest of the building and has arranged for the existing roof to be re-screwed, gutter brackets replaced and new skylights installed.  Further maintenance and improvement works such as a covered walkway between the back SES door and the back stairs to the new Hall extension, and the installation of a concrete slab under the hall for a generator, is being planned for this year.

The PDCA spent some time looking at safety issues this year. We held meetings with Transport and Main Roads to discuss the need for upgrades of the range road at several spots and have been informed that efforts will be made to include this work in the next bid for road funding in 2019-20. The PDCA has had several discussions with relevant authorities about speeding in the village and we will continue to lobby for appropriate signage and other realistic measures to make are village roads safer. We have also reviewed arrangements for the location of the Royal Flying Doctor Service kits. It will remain at the Ivy Cottage with Ian Marshall acting as the key contact person.  We have also investigated options for access to a defibrillator. Currently there is a defib (currently being serviced) in the Paluma Fire Brigade vehicle, and Michael Drew has arranged for a second unit (in service) to be made available over the Easter weekend in the Hall. To cater for other injuries, Juanita Poletto has organized the placement of a St John’s Ambulance first aid kit (with additional kits for burns and snake bites) in the hall, together with appropriate signage. 

Building on the capabilities of our new website, we have undertaken a major revision of the format for Turkey Talk. Given that our web posts now cover over 90% of traditional Turkey Talk content, the newsletter is now circulated as a quarterly digest of new information posted to the Website.

Although the PDCA has accomplished quite a bit during the year, we still have a list of issues and jobs that we started to address but have not reached full completion or resolution. Some of our priorities for next year include:

  • Finalize discussion with TMR on road closure policies during and after road slips, vegetation clearance schedules, and on funding for a major works program to address safety hotspots on the road
  • Construction of a platform and interpretive signage for the Star Valley Lookout
  • Development of new garden beds along the main roads of the village
  • Construction of a walkway with Platypus viewing platforms

Jamie Oliver
PDCA President

PDCA Executive Committee for 2019-20

At the recent PDCA Annual General Meeting the following people were elected:

PresidentJamie Oliver
1st Vice PresidentSarah Swan
TreasurerWilfred Karnoll
SecretaryMichele Bird
Committee MemberLynn Hyland

We welcome Sarah as a new member to the Committee (and to Paluma) and look forward to her contributions and perspectives on how we can ensure Paluma lives up to, and enhances, its reputation as a key destination for locals and interstate/overseas visitors, and as a small patch of paradise for those of us who are residents.

The position of 2nd Vice President is currently vacant (it is an optional position) but we are keen to fill it if there is someone who is interested in getting involved with the PDCA. Please contact Michele or anyone above it you would like further information.

Colwyn Campbell and Juanita Poletto decided not to seek re-election this year in order to concentrate on other work. The meeting thanked both outgoing members for their contributions on the Committee. Colwyn in particular has been on the committee as Vice President or Treasurer. Her calm and considered voice on key matters during Exec meetings will be missed. Colwyn will continue to play a key role in the History Project as well as maintaining her important contributions to the Web site and Turkey Talk (as editor). Juanita was also thanked for her work in securing new first aid kits for the hall and in conducting a review of the Royal Flying Doctor medical kit arrangements (which remains at Ivy Cottage under the stewardship of Ian Marshall).

The full minutes of the AGM and General Meeting will be published shortly in the members section of the website.

PDCA – Notice of Annual General Meeting

Members (and prospective members) are advised that the Annual General Meeting of the Paluma & District Community Association Inc. will be held on:

Saturday April 20th, 2019 at 5pm in the Community Hall

Nominations are open for all Executive Committee positions. Nominations should be forwarded to the Secretary to arrive no later than Wednesday 10th April 2019. Please use the nomination forms, which can be downloaded here.

Positions are:

  • President, 
  • 1 or 2 Vice-Presidents
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • General Committee members (numbers flexible)  

Members are reminded that Annual Subscriptions are now due and should be paid prior to the commencement of the AGM.   Membership is available in two classes, these being  Ordinary & Family. All classes attract the same subscription fee of $40.00 Please use the subscription form here to submit your dues. New members are more than welcome and should use the same form.

Please note that you must be a PDCA member to nominate someone to the Committee or vote for any Committee member.

The AGM will be followed immediately by a normal General Meeting with with the new Committee.

AGM AGENDA

  1. Opening – circulation of attendance sheet
  2. Apologies
  3. Minutes of previous AGM March 31, 2018
  4. President’s Report
  5. Treasurer’s report
  6. Election of Officers for 2019-2020
  7. Election of Auditor for 2019-2020
  8. Close of Annual General Meeting

Normal General Meeting Agenda

Normal General Meeting Agenda

  1. Open General Meeting
  2. Proposed Events/Fund-raising for the coming year
  3. Any other business
  4. Close of General Meeting