After delays and uncertainties resulting from COVID-19 the Paluma Push for 2020 is now confirmed and scheduled for October 11.
Visit the Paluma Push website for more information and bookings.
This year the event is being coordinated by Outer Limits Adventure, and Sam Stedman is keen to tap into the dedicated volunteers from Paluma who have manned the checkpoints in previous years. So please put this important date in your calendar if you would like to help out. More information will follow in due course.
Birdwatchers at Paluma continue to be delighted by the hive of activity amongst the local birdlife during these fine, sunny winter days. Here’s a further selection of birds seen and out and about in the village over recent days by Peter and Jan Cooke.
Golden whistler at Smith Crescent this morning.
Female Satin Bowerbird. When the light’s right the Satin Bowerbirds’ plumage shows such subtle variation. Male Satin Bowerbird.Male Satin Bowerbird.Female Riflebird or young male?Tooth-billed Bowerbird also spotted at Smith’s Crescent today.
Kelly Davis was a good friend of Dorothy’s and mine. His cheerful, friendly, generous nature was infectious.
We had many wonderful holidays and fun times together; trekking, skiing, fishing, golfing, and playing snooker, all of that Kelly excelled at, leaving me in his wake despite my baulking and razzing.
Kelly’s extensive knowledge of fauna and flora enlightened and enthused our interest in the natural wonderland around Paluma.
Strong physically and in character, Kelly approached all difficulties pragmatically, applying his many skills and practical knowledge to problem solving, and generously helping others with advice and assistance when required. Building many verandas in Paluma, including ours, Kelly started “veranda envy” in Paluma.
At Paluma Dorothy and I will sit at our “Kelly made” beautiful red stringy bark table on our “Kelly made” veranda and sadly, but fondly reflect the wonderful, inspiring impact Kelly has had on our lives.
Kelvin John “Kelly” Davis 6 May 1945 to 5 June 2020
It is with sorrow that we report the passing of long time Paluma resident, Kelly Davis. He died on 5th June after battling an aggressive illness.
Kelly was an active member of the Paluma community, generous with his help and expertise in many areas, from repairing a broken rocking chair to building a veranda, clearing fallen trees and debris from properties after cyclone damage, to helping dig a garden bed. He was tireless in his assistance to Len at the annual Anagama kiln firing: cutting and stacking timber for the fire and helping to monitor the kiln temperature for the four or five days of the operation. In everything he did, Kelly was attentive and thorough. There are very few gardens that do not have bulbs donated from Kelly’s garden and many of us benefitted from the produce from his very successful fruit and vegetable plots.
Before coming to Paluma Kelly had lived in Mount Isa where he was employed by Mt Isa Mines and worked as a powder monkey, deep underground. He and his family moved to Forest Beach where Kelly worked on line maintenance for Victoria Sugar Mill in Ingham.
Kelly came to Paluma in 1987, where with his then wife Carol, he owned and operated the very popular Ivy Cottage tea room. The business was sold in 1989 to Ann and Andy Bishop. Kelly worked in a variety of roles for Townsville City Council and then for National Parks until his retirement.
Retirement did not slow him down however: he just spent more time helping people with various projects, and indulging in his passions for gardening, traveling, wood-turning, (many will have seen his beautiful wooden bowls), and fossicking. Kelly also had an interest in quality wines and over the years built quite a collection, stored in the cellar he built beneath his house.
Kelly was a keen traveller, always interested in other countries and other cultures and learning about their history. As well as travelling extensively within Australia, his many travels included voyages to Antarctica and the Arctic Circle, Europe, USA, the Scandinavian countries and most recently France, in late 2019.
The Paluma community will greatly miss Kelly. Our condolences go to Kelly’s family and to Elizabeth and Marilyn in the loss of a person so dear to them all.
Honeyeaters are probably the most seen and most numerous birds in the Paluma village. Lewin’s Honeyeater, Macleay’s Honeyeater and the White-Cheeked Honeyeater are commonly seen. The Yellow Spotted Honeyeater is here also, but it is difficult to distinguish from the look-alike Lewin’s, other than by call. Paluma is also said to be at the southern edge of the range for the Bridled Honeyeater (Bolemoreus frenatus).
Wikipedia says the Bridled Honeyeater is a North Queensland endemic with a range that extends from the Bloomfield-Mt Amos area, south to Mt Spec. Its favoured habitat is subtropical or tropical moist upland forests and subtropical or tropical rainforests, usually above 300 metres. But in winter, it descends to lower forests including mangroves, and can sometimes be seen in more open habitats. It’s said to be mostly solitary and elusive, but when trees are fruiting or flowering they may gather in large, quarrelsome flocks.
Over the past four years of bird watching, Jan and I have seen the Bridled Honeyeater only twice, and not in down-town Paluma. Our observations have been recorded at Paluma Dam and out on Don Battersby’s little rainforest patch on his Hussey Road acreage block. The photographs below were taken at Don’s place in February 2017.
So, although Bridled Honeyeaters are unlikely to be here in winter, it’s surprising we haven’t seen them over four successive wet seasons in and around the village.
We’re wondering what observations others can share about this interesting bird with its bi-coloured beak, bright blue eyes and distinctive white eye markings. Have you seen the Bridled Honeyeater at Paluma?
Vines (as well as woody lianas) are a common and defining feature of tropical rainforests. Because they rely on rapid overgrowth of other plants for support, they are most frequently found in disturbed areas where there is ample light for rapid growth.
Vines and climbers share a growth form but (like animals that swim or fly) belong to many different and unrelated groups. They use a variety of methods to grow up from the forest floor and into the light near the canopy without having to invest in growing their own heavy and rigid trunks. Some climbers use thorns that catch on to adjacent leaves and branches, others use tendrils to clasp or twine around other plants, and others use modified roots to cling on to tree trunks.
1. Climbing Pandan (Freycinetia excelsa)
The climbing pandan is a very common leafy climber found growing up trees in the rainforest and is easy to see along Paluma walking tracks. It is related to the large Pandanus palm-like trees seen in open forests along the coast. Leaves are narrow and pointed with fine teeth along the margin near the base. Some stems can also be found growing along the ground near the base of their host tree.
Fruit are rarely seen but are red to orange elongate clusters of seeds. Flowers are surrounded by orange leaf-like bracts.
A second species of Freycinetia (F. scandens) also occurs around Paluma. It can be distinguished by its much broader leaves, which have a more uniform length.
2. Pothos or Candle Vine (Pothos longipes)
Pothos is another very common climbing plant found growing up tree trunks along the village tracks. The distinctive leaves provide the inspiration for its other common name – candle vine. The leaves have a constriction near the apex, with the remaining apical leaf portion shaped a bit like a flame. No other climber has this leaf shape. Pothos are another very common climbing plant found growing up tree trunks along the village tracks.
The leaves get progressively bigger as plant grows and change from upright and pressed against the tree trunk to long pendulous and downward-pointing. Larger stems can also be found growing along the ground near the bases of trees.
3. Yellow Lawyer Cane (Calamus moti)
This is one of a group of climbing palms variously referred to as Lawyer Vine, Wait-a-while, or rattan. They are most frequently found in forest openings and gaps caused by fallen trees or cyclones.
Several species of lawyer vine or wait-awhile can be found around Paluma. The most readily identified is the Yellow Lawyer Cane with its distinctive, robust, yellowish spines arranged in diagonal spiral rows along the cane stems below the leaves. The canes are often noticeably thicker than in other species.
The other common species along the tracks is the Hairy Mary (Calamus australis), which has finer brown spines and a frond with broader leaflets.
Hairy Mary (Calamus australis
All species have palm-like leaves and spines growing from a sheath that covers the stem (cane). They also all have tendrils with vicious hooks emerging from the leaf bases. These tendrils hook on to adjacent trees which provide the support needed to climb up to the forest canopy. In older plants the lower part of the cane loses its leaves and spines and becomes a tangle of smooth flexible canes winding along the ground and up into the trees. In this form they clearly reveal rattan cane – the material that is widely used to make cane furniture.
4. White Supple Jack (Ripogonum album)
While this common vine has large bright green leaves, it is most easily identified by the leafless matt-green stems with irregular curved green spines that wind their way through the foliage at eye-level. The stems can be up to 3cm in diameter.
They are more common in areas that have been opened up to the light by a tree fall or along the margins of the rainforest around the village where there is ample light. There are some good examples of this vine along Lennox Crescent opposite the Paluma Pottery, and around the edge of the adjacent car park. Ripogonum has small white flowers and globular red fruit.
5. Atherton Raspberry (Rubus probus)
Atherton Raspberry fruit
This rambling climber favours open areas and can be found in rainforest openings and at the start of the H-track on Whalley Crescent. There is another patch on the other side of the H-Track near the old fenced-off miner’s test pit and viewpoint over the adjacent creek. It usually grows no more than a few metres high and tends to lean over adjacent plants rather than growing up tree trunks towards the canopy.
R. probus has compound ovate leaves with 5-9 leaflets and the stems have widely-spaced fine thorns that are exceedingly sharp. The fruit looks like a small commercial raspberry.
There are 3 other species of native raspberry which can occur around Paluma and one of these (R. queenslandicus) is very similar, with slightly narrower and more pointed leaves. Based on leaf width, most of the raspberry patches around the village appear to be R. probus, but it’s possible that some are R. queenslandicus. To be perfectly safe when casually encountering a raspberry around Paluma you can have a bet each way and refer to it as Rubus probus/queenslandica. The fruit of both species is edible
Whilst it might be winter and a little chilly at Paluma, it hasn’t deterred the local birdlife from getting out and about amongst the village gardens and adjacent rainforest. Paluma is always a great place to do a spot of bird watching. These fine, sunny winter days are ideal for a stroll in the village and the opportunities abound to catch a glimpse of some locally common species. Peter and Jan Cooke have done just that, recently sighting the following birds in their own garden and throughout the village.
Crimson Rosella tucking into the nectar-laden grevillea flower spikes at No. 56 Mt Spec Road. This stunning flower is Grevillea Moonlight, a hybrid of G. banksii and G. whiteana.Another feasting Crimson Rosella, this time enjoying the powder-puff flowers of a red Calliandra. This Eastern Spinebill was up at dawn to enjoy the flowers of Grevillea Firesprite.Recently a pair of Grey Fantails have been cruising up and down Mt Spec Road….perching momentarily and then demonstrating great aerial acrobatics to take insects in flight.
Photos by Peter Cooke. Text by Peter Cooke and Michele Bird.
Vireya or Tropical Rhododendrons are currently blooming amongst Paluma gardens, providing a blaze of brilliant winter colour. Vireya’s are evergreen shrubs producing clusters of trumpet-shaped blooms several times a year. There are many cultivars and they come in a superb range of bright tropical colours. Some varieties have sweetly fragrant flowers. They are native to southeastern Asia and range from Thailand to Australia. They thrive in the cool mountain climate at Paluma and they are relatively easy to grow provided they have good drainage. Some of the varieties in beautiful bloom during June are shown below.
A recent discussion with friends about a very large tree in their garden which was to have a limb lopped off, has prompted me to feature the species Flindersia as Rainforest Tree of the Month. The limb of the tree in question hung dangerously over the roof of their house. My friends understood this tree to be Australian Teak, Flindersia australis, but I questioned this as it did not quite match the characteristics of Flindersia australis.
The seed capsule collected from my friends’ tree, was still green and had a bumpy surface rather than the characteristic spiny surfaced, five valved seed capsules of the Flindersia australis. Nor did the leaflets of the compound leaves, being slightly curved, match the elliptic shape of those of Flindersiaaustralis. The distribution of this tree is in rainforest from near Proserpine to northern NSW, at altitudes up to 750 metres. So, I feel that more likely candidates for my friends’ tree would be Flindersia acuminata, Flindersiabrayleana, Flindersia bourjotiana or Flindersia pimenteliana, all of which are endemic to Paluma.
There are seventeen species of Flindersia world-wide; growing in New Caledonia, New Guinea, Malesia and Australia. Fifteen species are endemic to Australia. The species is named after Matthew Flinders (1774-1814), the renowned navigator and cartographer who led the voyage of ‘The Investigator’ on which the British botanist, Robert Brown, collected many Australian plants. Flindersias are members of the Rutaceae family.
Flindersia australis, also known as Teak, Australian Teak and Crows Ash,can grow to a height of 40 metres on rich, volcanic rainforest soil. It is somewhat smaller elsewhere. Sprays of tiny white flowers appear from August to February with the spiny seed capsules forming from March to January. Unlike most other Flindersia species, these segments do not separate into individual portions. The 35-50mm seeds are flattish and winged at the apex. The timber is in demand for general building, flooring and fencing. It has a high oil content and is readily flammable.
Seed Capsule of Flindersia australis
Flindersia pimenteliana is also known as Maple Silkwood, Rose Silkwood and Mountain Silkwood. This majestic tree grows to 30 metres high and may be buttressed. It occurs from Mt Finnegan near Cooktown to Paluma and also is found in New Guinea. The leaves, like other Flindersias, are compound but the leaflets taper to a narrow point. The flowers are similar in size to the inflorescence of the other Flindersia species but are red to purple. They appear from November to March and are difficult to see high in the canopy. The fruiting capsule, 55 – 115 mm long, is green to brown with five spiny valves. These split and release about 20 flat, winged seeds about 45-50mm long, from July to December.
Flindersia pimenteliana seed capsules
Sulphur-crested cockatoos eat the seeds.
The timber of this tree was once used to make barrels and very decorative cabinet timber. Although young plants grow readily, they are not an economic tree to grow in plantations due to their spreading structure. Leaf material has been found to be active against some tumours.
There are several fine examples of Flindersia pimenteliana to be seen around the village. The easiest to find is in the stand of trees in the area between the tree ferns and the road cutting opposite the Rainforest Inn, (the kitchen end near the entrance to the motel units). Some still attached, green seed capsules hang just above eye level. Other trees can be seen at the end of Smith Crescent, at Number 20 and at the fence-line between Numbers 15 and 17 Mount Spec Road.
Flindersia schottiana is another tree which could possibly be found in the Paluma area as its distribution range is from Cape York to Port Macquarie at altitudes up to 1300 metres. This tree is also known as Silver Ash, Bumpy Ash, Floppy-leaf Ash and Cudgerie. A majestic tree, growing to 45 metres, it is rarely buttressed. The trunk features large bumps where old branches have been detached, hence its common name, Bumpy Ash. The tree has compound leaves with 7 to 9 leaflets, 50 to 260mm long. The upper-side of the leaves is mildly hairy with dense, fine hairs on the under-side. The tiny white or cream flowers are fragrant, appearing from August to December and in May. The five-valved fruit capsules are spiny, 80-130mm and release about 30 flat winged seeds from December to April. Flindersia schottiana is a pioneer tree, often found in regrowth areas and rainforest margins.
Flindersia acuminata, also known as Silver Maple, Silver Silkwood, White Silkwood and Ice-wood, occurs at altitudes up to 1200 metres in rainforests between the Windsor Tableland and Paluma. The tree can grow to a height of 40 metres and may be buttressed. The elliptic leaflets of the compound leaves are from 50 to 150 mm long, slightly curved, and tapering to a point. Fragrant white or cream flowers grow in terminal or axillary panicles from November to January. They are tiny, with five petals and are only about 3 mm in size. The fruit capsules, appearing from June to March are green to brown, 90 to 150 mm long and have five spiny valves which split to release flat, papery winged seeds, 65 to 80 mm.
Flindersia bourjotiana, also known as Queensland Silver Ash, Silver Ash and White Ash. The distribution of this tree is in rainforests from McIvor River near Cooktown to the Paluma Range at altitudes up to 1200 metres. The tree grows to about 35 metres and may be buttressed. The leaves are compound, with 3 to 9 elliptic leaflets, from 50 to 190 mm long. The underside of leaves can be slightly hairy. The tiny, (5-9mm), fragrant flowers can be white, cream or green and grow in terminal or axillary panicles, or sprays. Flowering occurs between April and January. Fruit capsules can be up to 150 mm long with five spiny valves which split to release several flat, winged seeds, 30-70 mm long. Sulphur-crested cockatoos and giant white-tailed rats eat the seeds.
Flindersia brayleana, is also known as Queensland Maple, Maple Silkwood and Red Beech. A tree growing to 35 metres, its distribution is from the Windsor Table-land to Mount Halifax near Townsville, at altitudes up to 1150 metres. The compound leaves have slightly curved leaflets, tending toward an ovate/elliptic shape and ranging from 60 to 210 mm in length. Tiny fragrant white flowers with five petals 3mm in size grow in terminal or axillary panicles from November to January. They are difficult to see high in the canopy. The fruit capsules, are 60 to 100 mm long, and have bumps rather than spines on the surface. They split into five valves, or segments, and release several winged seeds. Flindersia brayleana was once a common tree in rich, red, volcanic soils on the Table-land and on Mount Spec however, high demand for its exceptionally beautiful pink timber has caused it to become scarce. During World War 2, the timber was sought for use in aircraft production, such as in the manufacture of propellers and for ply-wood used in the Mosquito bomber aircraft. The timber was also used in rifle stocks and for beautiful decorated stocks in sporting rifles and shotguns. Boxes, barrels and window frames were also made from this timber. The timber can cause dermatitis.
This Sunday one of Paluma’s long-time and much-loved residents celebrates turning 89 years young. A big happy birthday to our resident Irishman Les Hyland. A small group of Les’ friends celebrated the occasion (early) with a Saturday morning tea and delicious cake baked by Lynn.
Happy Birthday Les from your Paluma friends and family!
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