Image – Page 7 – Paluma – our village in the mist

Leslie The Legend

On Saturday night (12/06/2021) Paluma hosted a 90th birthday party for our local living legend – Leslie Hyland. About 40 of Les’ friends and extended (Paluma) family joined him to mark the occasion with dinner and drinks. The Community Hall was transformed into shades of emerald green and orange to honour Les, his Irish heritage and his enormous and ongoing contribution to our village community. The whisky and wine flowed as freely as the lively conversation, before everyone enjoyed an amazing banquet of food to rival any restaurant. As always, Paluma’s cooks were outstanding in producing enough food for a small army. No-one went home hungry, that’s for sure!

Some outstanding presentations were made in honour of Les by Lynn, Peter, Jamie and Anne. Lynn compiled and presented a photo essay of Les’ life from birth to 90. Peter, Jamie and Anne were eloquent in expressing the great respect, appreciation and love we all have for Les Hyland and each gave renditions of the remarkable contribution he has made to the Paluma community over the past 35 years. There were a few Irish jokes, a lot of Irish whisky, good humour and camaraderie. Les received an array of birthday gifts including enough whisky to last him until the next birthday!

Special thanks to all those who contributed to making the occasion a special night for Les including Lynn, Peter, Jamie, Colwyn and Charlie. Lynda was exceptional as always at multi-skilling with her decorating and bar-tending.

Les’ birthday is actually on Monday (14 June) so we all wish him the very best on the day. And just to let you know Les, we are already planning your 100th birthday party!!

Text & Photos by Michele Bird

Reminder: Les Hyland’s 90th Birthday Party

A reminder to all that on Saturday 12 June 2021 the village of Paluma will host a 90th Birthday Party for our very own living legend – Sir Leslie Hyland.

Please come along to celebrate this occasion with Les. You are all invited to share your favourite story, tale or anecdote about Les, or to tell an Irish joke or two.

When: Saturday 12 June 2021 at 6.30 pm.

Where: Paluma Community Hall

What to Bring: A dish to share – savoury or sweet, hot or cold.

The Bar will be open for drinks (although we are giving Les a rest on this occasion with a stand-in bar person for the night!).

We look forward to seeing everyone at this very important occasion.

In the spirt of this upcoming event here is an old Irish blessing:-

“There are good ships and there are wood ships,

The ships that sail the sea,

But the best ships are friendships,

And may they always be”.

Let the Games Begin…..

Saturday night (29/05/21) was Games Night at Paluma. A good crowd gathered at the Community Hall from 4 pm to take part in a series of games and sporting activities. Four main teams were formed and they rotated through the various activities including pétanque, darts, table tennis and quoits. The competition was fierce amongst the rival teams – even if the skill level was sometimes questionable. What we lacked in skill, we made up for in enthusiasm!

The Games Night was hosted by Dorothy and Peter Klumpp who provided some excellent coaching tips. Peter did his best to control some rampant cheating amongst the team members. Lynda was in charge of the BBQ, cooking a gourmet sausage sizzle, complete with coleslaw, caramelised onion and sauerkraut. Barman Les was on hand to supply drinks to the thirsty competitors. The overall winning pair on the night were Colwyn and Danno, proving that age, wisdom, charm and cheating are a winning combination!!

A great deal of fun was had with laughter, cheering and banter echoing from the Community Hall. Special thanks to Peter, Dorothy, Lynda and Les for making the night a great success. And thanks to all those who participated, keeping the spirit of community alive and well in the little village of Paluma.

Let the pictures tell the story!

Text By Michele Bird. Photos by Michele Bird & Peter Klumpp.

Reminder: Games Night at the Hall Saturday 29 May

GAMES NIGHT at the Community Hall will be held this Saturday 29th May, commencing at 4 pm.

This will be an afternoon/evening of games, sport and most of all FUN to be hosted by none other than Peter (Captain) Klumpp. Come along to join in on a game of social table tennis, darts and pétanque, or all three. You can rotate through the activities and play them all if you wish!

Don’t know how to play? – Don’t worry, you can learn the games on the night. The emphasis is on FUN, LAUGHTER and COMMUNITY.

The Bar will be open for drinks and the PDCA will provide a $2.00 Sausage Sizzle with Lynda at the BBQ.

Come along and join in!

It’s a Dirty Job……..

A small group of volunteers spent much of their Sunday (23/05/21) cleaning the Community Hall. The activity was frenetic as they washed, swept, scrubbed, polished and water-blasted away the mould, mildew, dirt and grime from the Community Hall – inside and out. While the number of volunteers was small, the enthusiasm and the dedication to sprucing up the Hall was high. The sturdy cleaning crew were Lynn, Les, Charlie, Colwyn, Wilfred, Colin, Michele and Bruno. Whilst Jamie could not make it to the Hall on Sunday, he is busy washing all the cloth sails from the ceiling.

Thanks to the volunteers for a job well done. Here’s the crew in action!

Charlie did a great job of making the windows sparkle.

Colwyn washed every door in the Hall, inside and out (whilst still looking glamorous!)

It’s a dirty job, but Les was there to do it!

Wilfred cleaned all the skylights, light recesses and the cabinet.

Lynn was downright dangerous with her water-blaster removing mould from the deck.

Colin cleaned the ceiling throughout the entire Hall.

Jess the Kelpie kept an ear on things…..

Flossie thought it was all too much trouble and took a nap.

Les was polishing this tin like it was a magic lamp…..!

Text & Photos by Michele Bird

The Paluma Social Event of the Year is Coming…….

The Paluma Social Event of 2021 is fast approaching in June.

On Saturday 12 June 2021 the village of Paluma will host a 90th Birthday Party for our very own esteemed Elder, living legend and champion volunteer (of just about everything) – Sir Leslie Hyland.

Mark the date in your diary people, as this is an event not to be missed.

When: Saturday 12 June 2021 at 6.30 pm.

Where: Paluma Community Hall

What to Bring: A dish to share – savoury or sweet, hot or cold.

Please come along to join your friends, neighbours and fellow ‘Palumerians’ to pass on your regards to Les and to share your favourite story, tale or anecdote about Les, or to tell an Irish joke or two. Yes, all Irish jokes are permitted at this event!

Beverages can be purchased at the bar and tea/coffee will also be available.

We look forward to seeing everyone at this event and this is our chance to thank Les for his many years of dedicated service and volunteering in our village community. See you there – to be sure, to be sure.

Petanque – Paluma-Style

A small, but very enthusiastic group of Pétanque players gathered on the Village Green on Saturday afternoon (15/05/2021). Well, perhaps it is a stretch to say we were all Petanque players, but by the end of the session we had all learnt a great deal about the game and had honed some new skills. Twelve players gave us enough for two teams and there were even a few spectators who came and went during the course of the afternoon.

Expert coaching was provided by Les and Lynn Hyland, who not only provided their pétanque sets for us to use, but also gave us a crash course on how to play the game. Scoring was undertaken by Lynn who kept a sharp eye on any would-be cheating during the play!

Players quickly developed a range of skills which were necessary given the sloping terrain on the Village Green and the deep grass cover. By the end of the afternoon, ‘Team B’ led by Captain Bruno were the valiant winners. Bruno invented a new technique in the game with the ‘Pentaque lob’.

All in all, a great deal of fun and laughs were had by both players and spectators. Drinks and snacks were enjoyed after the game and everyone agreed we should play again very soon.

Text & Photos by Michele Bird

Reminder: Petanque on the Village Green, Saturday 15th May

A reminder that the next Social Event at Paluma will be ‘Pétanque on the Village Green’ this Saturday 15th May, commencing at 4 pm.

Come along to show off your championship skills at Petanque, or come along to learn how to play the game.

Please bring a plate of finger food or nibbles to share on the deck of the Community Hall after the game. The Bar will be open for low cost drinks in support of the PDCA.

Please come along to share in some good sport and friendly, but feisty rivalry as the ‘Village People’ (those that live in the village) take on the ‘Republican Bush Whackers’ (from the western outer blocks). It is sure to be a riveting competition. See you there….!!

Community Hall Spring Cleaning – Call For Volunteers

Calling all enthusiastic volunteers who love to do a bit of spring cleaning!!

The Paluma Community Hall is in dire need of a ‘spit and polish’ in preparation for all the upcoming social events and bookings over the next few months.

We are calling for keen volunteers to help clean the Community Hall on Sunday 23rd May at 9 AM.

If you can swing a broom or mop, wash a window or wield a duster – WE NEED YOU!

Many hands make light work, so if you can spare an hour or two on Sunday morning the 23rd May, please come and join the cleaning crew. A free cuppa is on offer for all cleaners! See you there!

Botanical Books Now Available to Order…..

For those with an interest in Botany, I find these two books by former Paluma resident, my mentor and good friend, Emeritus Professor Betsy Jackes, invaluable. Betsy has offered to have a limited print run done, primarily in support of my friends at Savannah and Wet Tropic Guides, but I thought some Paluma people may also be interested. The cost of each publication should be under $50.00 (Betsy mentioned $35), but we won’t be certain until printing is completed. This price will not include a retail mark-up, so will be very affordable.

Plants of the Tropics is my go-to for rainforest plants. A somewhat technical book, it covers rainforest plants of the Wet Tropics of the Kuranda and Paluma ranges, along with the dryer areas of the Herberton-Stannary Hills and Hidden Valley, and a section on Bryophytes by specialist Dr Andi Cairns. There is an excellent section with illustrations explaining botanical terms, leading onto identification keys for families. This book has a strong focus on identification using leaf characteristics, using similar features to those we used during the botanical workshop. Both my copies are well-worn, copious notes taken on pages and I find it invaluable as a starting reference for identification.

Plants of Magnetic Island is perhaps an easier book for people to use. Whilst the focus is on Maggie, many of the plants described in this book can be found throughout Northern Australia, including offshore islands. It contains many of the plants found in “dry” (monsoonal, vine thicket) rainforest, and it also includes many introduced species and weeds. This book features two guides to genera, based on flower colour and obvious fruit features, before leading onto a key to groups, based on leaf characteristics. For me, the outstanding feature is the illustrations; most plants are represented with excellent images.

To order, please contact me at swan.sarah@bigpond.com. Taking orders until end of May, to give everyone an opportunity to purchase. Payment will not be required until after the printing is completed, as an exact price will not be known until then.

Text & Photos provided by Sarah Swan.