As mentioned in the last “Paluma in the Rain” update, we had a visit from the acting Mayor (Councillor Ann-Maree Greaney) and Zac Daws, Local Disaster Coordinator last Sunday. In preparation for the meeting, Peter Cooke wrote up a list of issues for discussion which included:
lack of news on the state of the range road and the schedule for repairs
lack of adequate backup power for the Telstra mobile phone tower
need for a formal landing area near the village for helicopters
need for rubbish collection as soon as possible
need for road maintenance to Ewan and Hervey’s Range road
request to increase bandwidth of the TCC wifi link at the Community Hall
The mayor noted that many of these items were outside their immediate responsibility but undertook to pass our concerns on to the relevant authority, and to respond in writing to those issues it was in a position to act on.
The following response was sent to Charlie Allen and Ross Hyne on Monday.
As promised by the Department of Transport and Main Roads last week, here is the first update on the status of the Range Road up to Paluma. These will appear on Tuesdays and Fridays until all work has been completed. If you would like to receive these reports directly by email please send a request to: engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au
Update for residents and the community of Paluma, Hidden Valley and surrounds
The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) wishes to provide you with an important update regarding the current status of Mount Spec Road, which has been severely impacted by the recent weather event in early February.
Due to extensive landslips and debris, Mount Spec Road remains closed to all traffic. Our work crews are working diligently to assess the damage and implement the necessary steps to restore accessibility.
Assessment of Mount Spec Road remains our priority over the coming weeks.
Image of Mount Spec Road is current and was captured as part of recent road inspections. Source: TMR
Mount Spec Road was closed following the severe weather event and remains inaccessible to traffic and walkers due to extensive landslips and debris.
Assessment of Mount Spec Road conditions remains our priority over the coming weeks.
On 7 February 2025, TMR crews carried out an inspection of Mount Spec Road, however, were only able to assess three to four kilometres of the road.
As of 14 February 2025, TMR have successfully cut a single-lane path approximately 17 kilometres on MountSpec Road towards Paluma.
TMR have recommenced on the ground assessments of Mount Spec Road and will work towards reopening the road as soon as possible, weather and conditions permitting.
Image of Mount Spec Road is current and was captured as part of recent road inspections. Source: TMR Image of Mount Spec Road is current and was captured as part of recent road inspections. Source: TMR
Community Updates
TMRâs Northern District, Customer and Stakeholder Management (CSM) team will provide two updates each week to the community of Paluma:
Tuesdays: An overview of planned works for the week
Fridays: A progress update on completed and ongoingworks.
These updates will continue until the road is fully reopened. In some cases, updates may indicate that there is no new information; however, this ensures ongoing communication and reassures you that the CSM team is available to answer any questions. Safety is TMRâs highest priority.
Earlier this afternoon we spoke with Ross Hyne who was able to give us an overview of the current status up at Paluma.
The worst of the rains seems to be over for now but the forecasts for early next week are not encouraging. The biggest risk from further rain is that it might cut off the tenuous road link back to Townsville via Ewan that has been used to bring up fuel and supplies to date.
Yesterday (Saturday February 8th), the Townsville Ciy Council sent up 1000l of petrol for household generators and about 300 litres of diesel for the water treatment plant as well as some medical prescriptions. Sam Stedman and Colin Meads also came up the back way to Hidden Valley to drop off fuel, requested prescriptions and some food which Ross Hyne picked up and took to Paluma. They headed back down immediately and just made it across the Star River bridge before it flooded. The Council workers left later and were unable to cross, spending the night at Zig Zag station.
Power is still out, and further investigations have revealed additional powerline damage on the line to Paluma which could take some time to repair. Plans are being made to bring up a small generator as soon as possible to power key facilities including the Telstra tower.
Major Landslip over powerlines feeding Paluma village. (photo: Ergon)
Food supplies are adequate for the moment and many residents with generators are able to keep some food refrigerated. Fuel will continue to be an issue, especially with the news that further significant work needs to be done to restore power to the village. There has been some discussion on the feasibility of bringing up larger generators via the back road to provide power more widely through the village. Provided the rains do not keep the back road closed for too long, it should be possible to deliver essential supplies to the village (including medical prescriptions for some residents) until the range road is passable.
Hidden Valley remains the worst affected with some homes still flooded or uninhabitable.
Community spirits in Paluma remain good. Daily meetings at the Community Hall are providing an opportunity to check in with everyone, and coordinate the distribution of supplies and requests for further assistance. Initial organisers Tracy Cooper and Sonya Hyne have now passed the baton to Charlie Allen and Ross Hyne who continue to coordinate communications to outside agencies and distributing any incoming resources to all.
The Townsville Disaster Management Group has been in daily contact and the World Central Kitchen organisation has made contact with Paluma. The WCK offered to fly in food supplies and even hot meals if and when required. They have already provided this to other isolated small communities down on the coast who are affected by this rain event.
The residents of Paluma village and neighbouring areas are very grateful to Josh (Macca) from Taravale who provided a starlink device which has allowed people to maintain contact with loved ones, keep track of what’s going on elsewhere as well as receive and send any communications to support agencies as needed.
We wish everyone on the mountain well. Take care and enjoy those snags! đ
Jamie Oliver and Juanita Poletto
PS Michael Drew would like to remind all about the dangers of Melioidosis when working in and around flood waters and silt.
Last Tuesday night, August 20th, village residents who were getting ready for bed, if not there already, were surprised by a sudden 10 fold increase of Palumaâs population. The Mystery Box Rally had come to an unplanned halt in our little town and could go no further due the night works road closure on the range road. Around 68 cars were backed up on our main drag with about 150 people unable to continue to their end destination of Rollingstone and nearby campgrounds.
To say there was some confusion and chaos amongst the thickest mountain fog this village has seen in a while would be an understatement. A few phone calls and requests for help saw Rick and Dave Roveda kick into action with Sam Stedman putting his organisational and leadership skills into action.
Firstly, Sam tried to get the road closure opened for the group but this was not possible. Later in the night, once campers were established and were being fed, the Rollingstone police weighed in and managed to get a 5 minute window for the rally drivers. Participants were given 10 minutes to pack up and go for it but but only a few took advantage of the opportunity.
Once confirming the road would not open, Sam arranged all rally participants to meet in our community hall. They were unsure of what was going on and what they could do so Sam went through various options with them but in the end, they decided they would stay. Three camp areas were then established: McClellands Lookout car park (with toilets); middle of town / hall area with toilets and Hussey Road.
Outer Limits Adventure Centre was actually running a camp for more than 100 secondary students so Sam used supplies available from his business and was permitted access to our community hall resources (bbq and urn) to provide a hot meal for everyone. His own employees, Aranda and Matt, helped out ensuring cooking and clean up was done efficiently and all campers at the three sites were settled. Dave from Paluma Tea House (Ivy Cottage) provided milk and coffee and by 10:30pm, all went to bed warm and fed.
In the morning, the lucky campers out at Hussey Road got to meet and have coffee with Don who generously served it up. By 8am, all participants were well caffeinated, decamped and were headed down the range for their final destination of the rally – Airlie Beach.
If not for the willingness and capabilities of a few, the consequences of this unplanned stopover may have been very negative for rally participants and the community. From the âheads upâ phone calls from the Furbers to Tony at Gumburu, to those who wrangled a confused and stranded 150 strong crowd into organised camping groups who were provided with hot meals and drinks, it ended really quite well. Credit needs to go to Sam who actually started his Tuesday at 5am at the start of the world championship cross tri at Pallarenda in the morning! Following this with the secondary school camp and ending it by stepping in and helping sort things out. His Outer Limits events and business have truly supported our community over the years. His positive âcan doâ attitude is refreshing and we can certainly do with more of it. He, with all others involved in ensuring a happy ending to Tuesday nightâs debacle deserve a pat on the back and thanks from us all.
Text: J Poletto based on report from Wilfred Karnoll and Sam Stedman
Our Master of Games, Peter Klumpp has declared the Paluma Mini Olympic Games Night held on Saturday August 17th at the Community Hall a rousing success. In Peter’s words, “There was much fun and laughter!” A live auction was held at the start of the night for one of Paluma’s prime athletes, Mark, to be a games partner for the night. This alone raised $110! Wife of said ‘prime athlete’ set the reserve at 5cents, so well done to all who attended to get that final price result!
Everyone enjoyed competing in the games of Table Tennis, Foosball-table soccer, Badminton, Axe Throwing, Indoor Bowls, Indoor Golf, Quoits, Cornball, Skittles, Darts and even Knock-em downs. There were 16 teams plus children playing as well as spectators, around 50 people all up. Noise and laughter could be heard throughout the village.
Much merriment and technical prowess was aided by Lynda’s infamous mulled wine and other offerings at the bar. The badminton room was a winner, with the younger members of the community having a smashing time. The Viking axe throw was heart-stopping and quite intense with some not able to watch where the axes landed.
At the end of the night it was Sandy Smythe and Stuart Watterson who won the gold cup and chocolates. At the conclusion to the games, many participants sat around the fire-pit enjoying a “quiet drink” and debating their close wins and losses. The sausage sizzle, onions and coleslaw was a success thanks to Mark and Wendy, Lynda and Wilfred.
Kudos to Peter, Dorothy and their dynamic team for another fabulous games night. It was a wonderful way for new residents to experience the friendly and helpful attitude of the locals at Paluma.
Text: Peter Klumpp and J Poletto Images: Peter Klumpp
The ‘Back Up’ crew arriving at Check point 1, Paluma Dam
The annual Paluma Push in the bush is over for 2024 and was a really successful event for all involved. Sam and Aline’s crew and the local volunteers ensured as smooth a run as possible for all participants. Members from our community who manned checkpoints along the various routes enjoyed one of Paluma’s perfect blue sky winter days. Some of volunteers saw quite a bit of action whilst others simply pointed the way. All were acknowledged and appreciated by many of the entrants as they passed by.
These ‘tykes on bikes’ were keen to get pedalling. Great to see the older ones as support at the back of the mob.
These 70km entrants were all smiles as they came through Check point 1.
It seems it was a more health conscious group this year as Wilfred says the PDCA Bar at Hidden Valley didn’t sell as much as usual. Regardless, the approximate profit for the fabulous efforts of the PDCA volunteers was around $2000. The PDCA is VERY grateful to those who made the time to enjoy the atmosphere which is always fantastic down at the finish line and who put time into service through helping out at the bar. The ‘heavy lifters’ involved in the set up and pack up of the bar are especially deserving of our gratitude.
The Legend who rode this bike in the 42KM was too fast for this photographer to catch in action!
We have some barstock left over for those needing to drown their blues (pardon the pun) after the ‘big game’ between Qld and NSW. We are willing to sell at cost price to our community members. Anyone interested in buying any of these are to contact Wilfred on 0447 822 626. The following sixpacks are available as of the publication of this post:
5 x Jim Beam & cola $23 each
2 x Jack Daniels & cola $29 each
8 x Bundaberg rum & coke $23 each
16 x Coopers pale ale $15
Very proud of this ‘Wise Wizard’ finishing his first 53km in The Paluma Push.
Wattle ânâ Gum hitting their stride in this country hall
The PDCA wishes to thank everybody for their efforts last weekend, helping out at the annual bush dance and the Markets.
Music and dance bringing joyous folk together
There were those generous with their time who were manning stalls, making cole slaw and slicing onions, cooking and serving sausages, cooking and baking for our cake and preserves stall, running the bar and stalls, setting up and cleaning, purchasing products and helping out in other ways to make it a great success.
Palumaâs very own âJam Cornerâ đ
Our treasurer Wilfred Karnoll has banked $1600 (with a few expenses to come out of that) but it still leaves a healthy profit for the PDCA and the community. GIVE YOURSELVES A BIG PAT ON THE BACK!!!
Text by: W. Karnoll (minor edits, J. Poletto) Images: Jill Meads
This article (with minor edits) was published as âPaluma in the Cloudsâ in the Rollingstone Rag June edition.
The iridescent midnight blue of a mature male satin bowerbird. Photo by J.Oliver
The Satin bowerbirds, a common resident in the village at this time of year, have been numerous and active. The bower in our front garden has been freshened up by a male satin bower bird and is once again decorated in fresh blue pieces to attract the many local females. There is much competition and amorous calling ensuring the bower birds of both sexes work up a large appetite. The glorious shiny black males and stripy legged females come into our bird feeder keen and hungry. Iâve counted ten on some mornings, jostling for space to snatch a tidbit.
A newly renovated bower with all the expected blue accoutrements. Photo by J. Poletto.
There have been two new welcome upgrades to our community. Firstly, weâre grateful to the Townsville City Council for providing a doggie poo bag dispenser next to their bins near the community hall. Locals and visitors alike will be most appreciative of the facility. Also, there has been a recent upgrade to our telecommunications by Telstra and we now have 5G on the mountain.Â
The doggy poo dispenser is conveniently located next to the council refuse bins near the hall.
Talking about wagging tails⌠WaGâŚaka The Wattle and Gum Bush Band will be providing a fun afternoon of bush dancing and music in the Paluma community hall on Saturday June 22nd from 12pm â 4pm. The PDCA bar and BBQ will be open from 12pm with the bush dance starting at 1pm. A gold coin donation for entry to the dance is requested. It will be great fun for friends and family and a brilliant way to warm up on a chilly day. Many locals have enjoyed this event and highly recommend it.
Wattle n Gum in full throttle last year at the hall. Photo by A. Brown.
Our upcoming June Market on Sunday 23rd of June is one of our most popular of the year. As usual, the sausage sizzle will be running and stalls with baked goods and preserves (all homemade), crafts, art, fresh produce and many other items will be open to punters from 9am to 1pm.   There is also the possibility we may be treated to some folk music from members of the infamous Wattle and Gum bush band. Fingers crossed they wonât be worn out from the dance the day before. It promises to be a market with fabulous atmosphere and goodies, but you may need to don your beanie as it could be a little chilly. Also, any locals available to help on the day, please contact Wilfred Karnoll. Your support for our community events is much appreciatedand essential to its success.
Don in the âdriverâs seatâ of the PDCA BBQ during a previous market. Photo by J. Poletto
From June, the Paluma History Display will be changing its opening times to the public from a Wednesday to every Saturday from 10am to 12pm at the Paluma Community Centre when there are no other events requiring the hall. Entry is free and tea/coffee will be available.Â
If youâre 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 youâd like to give it a go. Check with the person âon dutyâ 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.
