If you’re a resident up for the day or one of our (lucky) lovely permanent residents in Paluma village, come and take a look at what happens during our History Project display day. Every Wednesday from March till November we open up the Community Hall and set out a variety of displays and resources that document the rich history of the region.
There are fact sheets and a dvd about the history of Paluma for viewing. You may learn something about where you live and even have some fabulous ideas on how to improve our display. We love feedback but we also would love some help.
We are needing interested volunteers to help with keeping the display open. Come along during April and May to see how it all works as there will be a range of people there who are experienced in manning our display. They will happily show you the ropes if you think you’d like to give it a go. Check with the person ‘on duty’ to see which dates during the year you may be free to support.
At the very least, come along and have a cup of coffee or tea and a chat with our local history enthusiasts.
Record breaking crowds attended our Paluma Community Easter Market on Sunday. Despite how the weather appeared as late as Friday night, the sun and Paluma blue skies put on a fabulous show and drew people from near and far to enjoy what our village market and community had to offer.
The rain and clouds on the range Thursday afternoon did not bode well for Sunday.
There were a variety of stalls full of fresh local produce and preserves, plants, textile goods, Paluma souvenirs and Knick knacks. Loretta Brennan and her husband from Mutarnee had a table full of fresh goodies that were very popular. Also, the lovely Kath who with Anne Briers, had an array of fascinating plants and produce as well as sweets and preserves that had people commenting.
Kath with her wares all displayed and ready for sale.
Loretta with her fresh produce and preserves stall.
‘Buddha’s fingers’ citrus – one of the fascinating fruits on Anne’s stall.
Bobbi’s beautiful mini moss gardens and painted saws were once again a big hit with some customers taking photos of her lovely work. The colourful textile stall, “Stitches…” (apologies for not remembering the full name) had some gorgeous items which were popular. The stall holders themselves were very pleased with the market as they doubled their takings compared to the last market.
The PDCA had its own stalls with fresh local produce, souvenirs, baked goods and preserves as well as an Easter hamper raffle. All of which were popular and sold well. It can be confirmed that this market made over two thousand dollars for the PDCA as a result of the tremendous efforts of our community.
The PDCA sincerely thanks all of those amazing PKRs! (Paluma Kitchen Rockstars!) who helped make this Easter Market such a success. And to all the ‘quiet achievers’ who organised, lifted, swept, washed, cleaned, cooked, made the tea and coffee, served the public, were accountable for the money… a heartfelt “thank you”.
Les ready for the hoards at the sausage sizzle.
Our next market will be on June 23rd, and if you would like to be part of it either volunteering or hosting your own stall, please contact Wilfred Karnoll or any other PDCA executive member.
The PDCA bake and preserves turned a record-breaking profit.
The St Paddy’s social on Saturday 16th was a cheerful gathering of 20 or so locals. Michele and Lynda had the hall decked out in the green and orange whilst lilting Irish melodies and jigs drifted amongst us. Many a cheeky leprechaun (some in full traditional outfits) happily enjoyed a glass or two of their favourite tipple before being called for dinner. The generous Irish-themed feast provided by those who attended was truly sumptuous and delicious.
Before the seriously delectable dessert table was officially opened for business, Michele bravely and competently stepped up into the role of quizmaster extraordinaire on all things Irish. Rules were explained, questionnaires distributed and suddenly there was a quiet lull (and a few moans and groans), whilst the leprechauns with their full bellies and glasses, wracked their brains for answers to questions spanning the fields of geography, literature, language, film, popular music and sheep… Irish sheep.
After a suitable period of time, and a checking of answers, the winner, Linda Venn, was discovered and awarded her prize of a free drink from the bar and an Irish-themed stubby cooler. Peter Cook was the luckiest leprechaun of the evening as he sat on the chair with a hidden reward of “pots of gold” scratchies. We all wish you luck, Peter! The evening went very smoothly with no small thanks to Lynda Radbone’s efficiency in the kitchen and behind the bar and Michele’s organisation.
The melodic brogue of our very own Irishman, Les Hyland was unfortunately missing from this evening – as was his Anamchara, (thank you google) the lovely Lynn. However, Michelle, Lynda and all those who attended did their best to honour the Irish camaraderie and sense of cheeky fun that Les and Lynn encouraged when they first began these St Paddy’s festivities. Now there’s a quiz question for you: When was the first St Paddy’s night at the Paluma Community Hall?
The Paluma Community Easter Market is fast approaching on Sunday March 31st. This is a call-out for Paluma’s Kitchen Rockstars to make, shake and bake home made goodies to sell for our community’s (PDCA) fund raising.
If you are interested in doing some baking and donating your goods for sale at the Easter Market then please read on…..
Here’s what to do:-
Please divide your baked goods into small batches for sale. We suggest batches of 2, 4 or 6 individual pieces as this has worked well at previous markets.
Please add a sticker or other suitable label outlining the contents of your baked goods. You will need to add this label to EVERY individual batch of goods. This is required for health & safety reasons. “Paluma Produce” stickers will be available for this purpose if you wish to use them. Pick up from Anneshka Brown at your and her convenience or from the hall on Saturday 23rd between 10 and 11am. See image at end of this post.
Please plate the goods (in batches) and secure with glad wrap or suitable packaging. (We have previously used paper plates and glad wrap and this works well).
Please add a price sticker to your goods, with what you think is a fair and reasonable price for your baked delights. We can provide price stickers as well.
Please deliver your goods to the Community Hall on Sunday morning 31st March at 8.30 AM (for a 9 am market start).
Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!😊
If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact Juanita Poletto by email: jpoletto@gmail.com or phone 0410202968. Some of our other lovely PDCA executive members Anneshka Brown, Jill Meads, Wilfred Karnoll and Jamie Oliver (he just might bust out his famous chocolate brownie recipe) should also be able to answer any questions you may have.
Previous cake stalls have been a roaring success, so please contribute if you can for the upcoming Easter Market. All donations are much appreciated
Image of the “Paluma Produce” sticker you can label your goods with if you wish. Designed by Anneshka
Around ten Paluma residents showed up last Saturday armed with shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows and enthusiasm to shift the large pile of mulch provdied by the Townsville City Council (facilitated by our local Councilor Margie Ryder). Despite the daunting size of the mulch pile it was all shifted onto the garden beds around the Community Hall, and under the “Trees in Memory” grove in just over an hour. Unfortunately we were all to focussed on our work to take any picures.
It is amazing how much work has been accomplished this year during our working bees and how positive the response for volunteers has been. This initiative, and its results are something we should all be proud of. Many thanks to Wilfred, who has been the driving force behind the working bees.
With no other activities planned, we convened on the village green with beers in hand and discussed an idea establish and disc golf. Ian and Julia Anderson brought out some discs and a possible short course was sketched out that they hope to take to Council in the near future.
The PDCA would like to thank everybody for their combined efforts to make Paluma’s final market day of the year and the NRL grand final viewing in the hall such a great success this past Sunday.
The PDCA Bake and Preserves table. Photo by Anneshka Brown
Locals and tourists alike were a strong and steady flow starting quite early in the day. The bbq didn’t shut down till quite a bit after 12pm and did great business with many coming back for seconds (and thirds) for “‘the lot’ please, that bbq-ed pineapple is amazing!”
The hall was filled with chatter and laughs with some shoppers making beelines to the baked goods stalls and others slowly meandering and enjoying the sport of browsing and selecting what they desired. Our community was on show and did itself proud at these markets. So many smiles.
The NRL grand final evening was also an opportunity to quietly socialise prior to the game for some of the locals as well as an opportunity for all – locals and visitors – to watch the footy showdown on the ‘big screen’.
Our PDCA treasurer, Wilfred Karnoll, is likely still grinning as this post ‘goes to air’ as the markets and grand final viewing made a net total of $1366 for our community. This success comes with effort from all the volunteers who:
Paluma and district produce and preserves… YUM!
worked hard to ensure the hall was ready for vendors and shoppers alike;
Made the effort to set up their own stall to raise funds for the rural fire service
ensured all ran smoothly throughout the duration of the market;
prepared many a preserve, cake, slice, cookie and sweet and savoury treat for the PDCA bake stall
Collected fresh produce and plants from local growers for the PDCA fresh produce stall
A great big “Thank You” to our volunteers. Your service makes our community stronger. As Wilfred said, “…just goes to show what a small community like ours can do when we all pull together.”
Text and photos by J. Poletto unless noted otherwise
Last Saturday, Sept 2nd, three keen workers joined Wilfred and did a lot of hard work cutting back the vegetation at Star Valley lookout to ensure it wasn’t getting too overgrown. Visitors (and locals) can now enjoy the view over the ranges. When was the last time you stopped for a look out over Star Valley?
Our community working bees are usually held on the first Saturday of the month.
Removal of the vegetation overgrowth by the working bee team has got to be seen to be appreciated! Many thanks to the September working bee team.
A reminder that a get-together will be held at the Community Hall this coming Saturday 17 June commencing at 6.30 pm to mark the occasion of Les Hyland’s 92nd birthday (which actually falls on 14 June).
Please bring a plate of food to share. The Bar will be open for drinks.
Come along to celebrate with Les and perhaps enjoy a wee dram (or two). Slainte!
1. A proposal for refurbishment of signs in and around the village including the village entrance, is being put together.
2. Security – After the community meeting which followed the PDCA meeting, actions are being taken to officially register our community with Neighbourhood Watch through our local police station. Our local security issues will be raised at a meeting in August with our local council representative, Margie Ryder. We encourage everyone to register on our Paluma WhatsApp group set up solely for security purposes.
3. Events Calendar: This is regularly updated on the website. Please keep a lookout for any changes and community notices. A new occasional social event will begin soon. It is an end of week “Friday Chill” gathering where the bar at the hall will be open from 5 – 7pm to kick back, catch up and generally chill out with your mountain mates. Do keep an eye on community posts on the website for the inaugural evening. We have to note here our social event organisers are simply excellent at generating community spirit and we thank them for their extra time and effort for our benefit.
4. A Community Meeting is being organised with Margie Ryder with an August date to be confirmed: Issues to be raised and discussed include: signage; animal control and hygiene; community security; vegetation control and road maintenance. All will be welcome to attend.
5. The Hall Bar management has officially been handed over to the capable Lynda Radbone from our iconic Irishman, Les Hyland. Les’s many years of reliable service and cheerful management of the Hall bar was noted and we appreciate his generosity of spirit and time in ensuring the takings were profitable. Thank you Les and we look forward to seeing you enjoying your 92nd birthday celebrations coming up SOON!!!
6. The Paluma History Display – Lyn and Les Hyland are stepping away from involvement in the History display. Lyn’s contributions and efforts to ensure an effective, interesting and valuable documentation of Paluma’s heritage is very much appreciated. Her input and efforts will be very much missed. Anneshka Brown will be calling for volunteers to help support our history display which will be changing from a Tuesday to a Wednesday.
If any of the above raises questions or you would like to know more information, please don’t hesitate to contact any of your PDCA committee members.
Did you know, five years ago on June 23rd, Paluma’s water treatment plant was opened by Margie Ryder and the community was invited to tour the facility?
It was your PDCA which played a key role in getting the Townsville City Council to install the facility. This became a necessity after a series of momentary shutdowns, monthly testing for giardia and finally many months of water not being fit for drinking.
