With the weather warming up, this is a timely reminder that reptiles are on the move and may be encountered in and around the village of Paluma. Earlier today, Jennie Robinson spotted this large and well-fed python crossing Mt Spec Road near Nick and Glenda’s place. Note the large bulge in the mid-section of this snake from a recent meal. Jennie made sure the python was well off the road before any vehicles came along.
Please be alert for these amazing reptiles when driving through the village as they often like to bask on the warm bitumen along Mt Spec Road. No doubt this particular python was seeking a good place for a bit of R&R whilst digesting its dinner!
Last Saturday (3/10) at the Rainforest Inn we took the opportunity at the usual morning tea session to celebrate the upcoming birthday of Jennie Robinson. Jennie’s family and a number of her Paluma friends and neighbours joined her for coffee/tea and carrot cake. The cake was decorated with two of her favourite things – flowers and bees! Thanks to Lynda for her innovative cake decorating and to Michele for catching all those bees!
Happy Birthday Jennie for the 7th October. May you enjoy your birthday and the year ahead.
Jennie, Jack and Neil at the Rainforest Inn.Jennie’s birthday cake.
The PDCA would like to welcome to the Paluma community Bobby and Glen Parker who are the new residents at 1976 Mt Spec Road. This property was formerly owned by the Brennan’s and it is one of the 5-acre blocks to the west of the village. Bobby and Glen’s property is situated next-door to Graham and Julie’s place. Graham – who is recovering from a broken pelvis (now locally known as ‘Evel Knievel’) – brought the new neighbours along to the usual ‘C and G’ session (‘Coffee and Gossip’) at the Rainforest Inn last Saturday (26/09/20). Here, they met some of us locals for the first time – hopefully that will not scare them away…….!!.
We extend a warm welcome to Bobby and Glen to our village community and particularly to the 5-acre blocks area. We’re sure that by now they will have realised they have purchased a piece of Paluma paradise.
Bobby (left) and Glen (right) meeting their neighbour Lynn Hyland (centre) at the Rainforest Inn.
Photo by Les Hyland. Text by Les Hyland and Michele Bird
Addendum: (Jamie)
While we have focused on Bobbi and Glen since we go to meet them at morning tea last week, we also extend a warm welcome to other recent additions to the Village: Ian and Julia Anderson (14 Mt Spec Rd); Peter Carlin and Karen Knight (3 Lennox Cr); and Dean Stephenson and Judy Foote (54 Mt Spec Rd).
Notice to residents Mt Spec Road reconstruction works
Would you like to receive updates via SMS about Mt Spec Road closures?The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) will commence reconstruction works on Mt Spec Road, between Little Crystal Creek bridge and McLellands Lookout, from next week – Monday 14 September 2020.
To enable crews to safely and efficiently complete works at a number of locations, Mt Spec Road will be closed to all traffic each night from 6pm to 6am, Saturday to Thursday, and from 7pm to 6am on Fridays. Works are expected to continue until December 2020.
TMR will send SMSs to subscribed stakeholders for the first few weeks of works to ensure residents are reminded of the road closures and can plan their travel accordingly.
The next Paluma Social will be held on Saturday 7 November 2020 at 6.30 PM at the Community Hall.
The theme for the Social is ‘Monsters & Mayhem on the Mountain’.
Come as you are, or come dressed in your most horrifying, monstrous, scary or bewitching costume. It’s time to unleash the inner devil lurking within!
On a serious note – with all the events of 2020 it has been a lean year for our PDCA in terms of fund-raising events and opportunities. We therefore encourage ALL residents to join us at the Community Hall. It’s a great chance to catch up with your friends and neighbours, buy a beverage and support our community organisation.
As always – Please bring a dish to share – savoury, sweet or anything you like. Barman Les will be on hand to serve low-cost beverages.
We look forward to seeing you there! HAHAHAHAHAHA!
[PS – This event will of course be subject to any changes in government directives and requirements associated with Covid 19].
You know that Spring is just around the corner when the Hippeastrum bulbs are starting to poke through the soil with their long flowering stalks. All round the village the numerous varieties of these flowering bulbs can be seen getting ready to flower. At No. 31 Lennox Crescent (right on the corner of Mt Spec Road) there is a cluster of Hippeastrum papilio already in full bloom. This variety of Hippeastrum is native to Brazil. It is sometimes called the butterfly amaryllis. It has white flowers with a touch of lime colour and striking burgundy markings. Unlike many other Hippeastrums, this species is said to be evergreen in its ideal climate. Clearly, it thrives at Paluma!
Lynn Hyland celebrated her birthday this past week and the occasion was marked with a birthday cake at morning tea on Saturday at the Rainforest Inn. Jennie baked an amazing layered rainbow cake and it was decorated by Lynda with colourful blooms from her garden, including pansies, violas and snapdragons. The cake not only looked spectacular, but it was delicious too.
Back in late June I posted photos of the numerous beautiful flowering Vireya’s or Tropical Rhododendrons amongst the village gardens. About 6 weeks on (in early August) and these beautiful plants are as showy as ever. Several gardens have spectacular flowering specimens just now, producing a blaze of brilliant winter colour. I spotted the following beautiful blooms last weekend in gardens at the Rainforest Inn, Gumburu and at the Venn’s on Mt Spec Road.
Unfortunately, I don’t know which Vireya varieties or cultivars these are. But what’s in a name? To quote my beloved Shakespeare, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet”. I think the same applies to these Vireya’s. It doesn’t really matter what each is called, they are still spectacular!
When Townsville City Council (TCC) called for nominations for their annual Senior of the Year Award 2020 some us got to thinking about the many worthy potential nominees at Paluma who would aptly qualify for this award. In the end there was a collaborative effort (and a conspiracy of sorts) amongst three of us to nominate Leslie Hyland.
It was initially Colwyn’s suggestion that we nominate Les for his long-term volunteer work and his ongoing contribution to our village community. Michele then set about to do some research. Lynn was our main co-conspirator and she compiled a comprehensive dossier on Les’ various roles at Paluma over the past 30 years. Drawing on this information, Michele wrote a nomination and it was submitted to TCC last Friday. It was all rather ‘secret-squirrel’ (from Les that is) until Saturday morning when we told him of the nomination. He was quite surprised, but thankfully, well pleased.
TCC will announce the winners of the Senior of the Year Award (male and female) on 21 August 2020. We wish Les all the best and we hope he wins. Even if he doesn’t, he will always be a winner at Paluma.
Special thanks go to Lynn Hyland for her great assistance in preparing information for the nomination for Les. Of course, Lynn could very easily be nominated in her own right for this award and we acknowledge that she is an essential part of this dynamic duo of community volunteering. However, the main impetus for nominating Les at this time was motivated by the fact that he will be 90 years young in June 2021 and we felt that the time was nigh for this nomination and acknowledgement.
The nomination for Les Hyland is reproduced below, along with some photographs submitted with the nomination, showing Les Hyland in action in his various roles in the village.
Les Hyland is 89 years young and this year and indeed for more than 30 years he has been an active and enthusiastic community volunteer in the village of Paluma. Around here we view Les Hyland as our esteemed Elder. He works tirelessly for our community with the vigour of someone half his age. He is ever reliable, selfless and a stalwart of this community. His achievements are many. It is for his long-standing and dedicated service to our village community that we nominate Les Hyland for the Townsville City Council Senior of the Year Award for 2020.
Les was born in Dublin, Ireland and emigrated to Australian in 1974. He and wife Lynn became residents at Paluma in 1986 when they purchased their acreage block on the western outskirts of the village.
Soon after his arrival, Les joined the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade in 1986. His service with the RFB is current to this day. He also joined the Mt Spec SES as an inaugural member in 1989. Again, his service to the SES is current in 2020 and his resolve and determination to fulfil these roles has never wavered. Over some 33 years, Les has worked hard to protect and serve our village – be it fire, flood or other emergency. In a crisis he is the first to step up, providing logistical and other support when and wherever required.
Les has and continues to fulfil so many roles in this community and the list is endless. He is well known and much admired for his willingness to volunteer for just about anything!
Currently, he works with other community volunteers to run the Paluma History Display at the Community Hall. His wealth of knowledge about Paluma and the surrounding district has impressed many a tourist and traveller. He delights in sharing yarns about our village and he works hard to promote Paluma and the greater Townsville region. He has undertaken this role for over 7 years.
For some 18 years Les has undertaken the role of social coordinator and barman for just about every Paluma Social Event, including the annual Bush Dance. Perhaps his greatest work is in running the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration at Paluma. His Irish jokes and quiz night are renowned throughout the village. At every social and function, Les is the first to arrive, setting up the Community Hall and facilities so that others can relax and enjoy themselves. He’s always the last to leave whatever the time of night, washing the dishes or taking out the rubbish in the wee small hours – with that ever-present good humour and a twinkle in his eye. Just last week Les could be spotted at the Community Hall on Saturday afternoon ‘deep cleaning’ the Hall (down to the very door knobs) so that it could be utilised by the community.
Les Hyland is the king of the sausage sizzle. Not a Paluma Community Market or event goes by without Les coordinating his band of volunteer workers at the BBQ. He works with complete determination and resolve to raise much needed funds for our community association. Indeed, Les’ tireless volunteer work in his many roles contributes a substantial proportion of the annual income for the association.
Les’ voluntary service extends to many other roles, both formal and informal. He undertook the role of Secretary on the Executive Committee of the Paluma & District Community Association (PDCA) for 5 years. He also acted as Secretary for the Community Hall Building Committee for a number of years. He was the Editor of our local newsletter ‘Turkey Talk’ for a remarkable 16 years, producing an impressive 82 issues! As technology evolved, so did Les. When the newsletter moved to digital format in more recent years, Les adapted, bought a computer and taught himself how to use it!
His voluntary service also includes the annual Paluma Push Mountain Bike Event. For 16 years Les has manned Check Point 1 as Radio Operator. He is ready to serve again at the event this year, scheduled to October 2020. He served as a committee member and volunteer for the Rainforest Festival for 6 years and he has been a volunteer worker for the Northern Beaches Festival (Art Exhibition at Paluma) for 8 years. Les’ service also extends beyond Paluma and he is a Life Member of Lions International – Cleveland Bay Club, contributing 45 years of dedicated service.
On the 14 of June 2021 Les Hyland will be 90 years of age. We don’t think that will slow him down at all, but in his 90th year of life we would like nothing more than to acknowledge and thank him for his long-term service to the community of Paluma with the TCC Senior of the Year Award 2020. It would be our chance to give something back to this giant of our community and a true national treasure.
Les Hyland….the best dressed volunteer at Paluma.Les at Check Point 1 during the annual Paluma Push.Les and co-volunteers Lynn & Don at the Paluma Market sausage sizzle.
Notice to residents
The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) will commence reconstruction works on Mt Spec Road, between Little Crystal Creek bridge and McLellands Lookout, from next week – Monday 14 September 2020.
