A misty morning and threatening rain, did not bode well for the Easter Sunday Mountain Markets, but we did get mentioned in “Townsville Eye” and seemingly people were determined to get out over Easter. As a result, despite the mandatory wearing of masks, a steady crowd appeared in the Community Hall and the nine stallholders were kept pleasantly busy and all seemed pleased with sales.
Over in the gazebo, Don Battersby and Glen Parker were kept busy on the sausage sizzle, while Les was the cashier, thus no conflict in the food handling. Customers were lining up before 09.00hrs and there were only odd occasions when there was no one at the counter. Two short light rain showers did not deter the crowd, many notably being family groups and by 12.00 hrs the sausages had sold out.
Altogether it was one of our most successful Market days. Hopefully, we will also do well on Sunday June 27th – the day after Wattle ’n Gum have their annual Bush Dance in the Hall.
A small but enthusiastic crowd of revellers met at the Community Hall on Saturday night (20 March) to belatedly mark the occasion of St. Patricks Day which falls on 17 March. Crowd numbers were down at this Social with several villagers away working or attending the Cowboys home game in Townsville.
Despite the small crowd of only 13 people, Les was kept busy at the bar which did very well with takings. With the mix of local villagers, was a couple who were staying in the village who dropped in for some drinks and helped boost the bar takings and the camaraderie. The Guinness was a hit, given the Irish theme of the night.
Lynn ran the usual Irish quiz which was won by Colwyn who took home a bottle of pink champagne in reward for her Irish knowledge. The quiz illustrated the distinct lack of knowledge of all things Irish at Paluma Village! The Lucky Shamrock Competition didn’t afford any fortunes amongst the“scratchies”. Obviously the Leprechaun had given away all his good fortune.
Lynda and Lynn decorated the hall in a sea of green and shamrocks. As always, the gourmet delights meant everyone had plenty to eat, this time with a distinctive Irish theme.
Just lately a very persistent prowler has been making a nuisance of itself in homes and gardens at the eastern end of Paluma Village. The perpetrator is a rather lengthy Night Tiger Snake, otherwise known as a Brown Tree Snake or Doll’s-Eye Snake (Boiga irregularis).
It all started with the onset of the warm weather and the wet season. Lynda at the Manali House started noticing that the Night Tiger was making regular visits to her front verandah. It wasn’t long before Lynda noticed that her closely guarded nest of Shrike-Thrush chicks had been raided. The chicks disappeared overnight and Lynda found the slithery culprit curled up in a nearby shrub with some distinctive lumps in its belly. Put that down to nature I suppose, but then the Night Tiger started to take some liberties around the place……
Several times Lynda was woken to things that go bump in the night, only to find the Night Tiger in her back room, actively rifling through the contents of boxes and other things in the search for food – geckoes, cockroaches and frogs.
The guilty reptile being relocated to the rainforest.
The next time Lynda encountered the snake it was in her lounge room, having a snooze under her favourite recliner. It was promptly relocated to the garden. Just last week, the Night Tiger was back in the lounge room, this time comfortably resting on the bookshelf. A late night call was made to the neighbours for some assistance in relocating the Night Tiger to the outdoors again. It was relocated to the forest at the eastern end of the village, but we are convinced it will be back, when it wants an easy feed of geckoes and tasty frogs or birds.
A spot of reading? The Night Tiger Snake resting on the bookshelf in Lynda’s lounge room.
My own encounter with the Night Tiger was one evening upon returning from an outing. I walked up my drive-way only to find the ‘stalker’ outside my garage door. With some skilful wrangling via my gumboot, my umbrella and a cake tray, the snake was re-diverted back up the driveway. It took off, heading again for Lynda’s place. No doubt it was missing the cosy lounge-room and its recliner!
Re-diversion of the Night Tiger Snake away from my garage.
The Night Tiger or Brown Tree Snake is a nocturnal snake (as we have obviously discovered!). They are arboreal and can often be found in buildings and in tree hollows. They feed mainly on birds, eggs, frogs, geckoes, small mammals and other reptiles. These snakes have a large head with distinctive and protruding large eyes with vertical pupils (I am not getting close enough to look into its eyes!). The head is distinct from the narrow neck. They are usually brown in colour with darker cross bands on the back and sides (hence the common name of ‘Night Tiger’). Specimens in northern Australia tend to have bold reddish bands with a creamy to orange belly. This snake can grow up to 2m in length. They are not usually considered dangerous, but they are venomous.
Text by Michele Bird with Photos by Paul Venn, Lynda Radbone and Michele Bird. Noting that the quality of our photos is not great, given the night time conditions and in my own case, the shaking hands and rapidly beating heart!
Dear Members of the PDCA, Paluma Residents, Friends & Neighbours,
Please note that your PDCA has a newly formed sub-committee known as the ‘Social Committee’ (or perhaps more aptly termed the ‘Any Excuse for a Get-Together Sub-Committee’!!).
Your new Social Committee Members are:- Lynn Hyland, Les Hyland, Colwyn Campbell, Lynda Radbone and Michele Bird.
The inaugural meeting of this new sub-committee was held just recently and we have set about in planning an array of Social Events over the coming year. We hope there will be plenty of opportunities in 2021 for you to get out of the house, dust off your best outfit, catch up with friends and neighbours and also dress up and be a bit silly on the odd occasion, should you feel inclined…..!
We do encourage all Paluma residents and PDCA Members to contact us with your thoughts, ideas and feedback on upcoming and future Social Events. We are sure many of you have some great ideas for future Social Events and we would love to hear from you.
A working list of the planned Social Events for 2021 is outlined below and regular posts will be added to the website to remind you of upcoming events. Please join us to support your PDCA, to share some great food, good company, good humour and the odd beverage. All are very welcome.
The exciting events to come are:-
Saturday 20 February Chinese New Year Social (Evening)
Saturday 20 March St. Patricks Day Social (Evening)
Sunday 4 April PDCA Paluma Markets
Saturday 24 April PDCA Annual General Meeting with BBQ (Lunch)
Saturday 15 May Petanque (Bocce) and Nibbles on the Green (Afternoon)
Saturday 12 June Les Hyland’s 90th Birthday Party (Evening)
Saturday 26 June Bush Dance – Wattle n Gum
Sunday 27 June Paluma PDCA Markets
Saturday 17 July Paluma Push Bike Race (Outer Limits Event)
Saturday 7 August International Night Social (Evening)
Saturday 11 September Back to the 70’s Social (Evening)
Sunday 3 October PDCA Paluma Markets
Saturday 9 October ‘Paluma-Fest’ Social – BBQ, Beer and Bonfire Night
Sunday 24 October Community Hall 20th Anniversary (Morning Tea)
Sunday 31 October Paluma Trail Run (Outer Limits Event)
Saturday 6 November Return of the Monsters & Mayhem on the Mountain
Saturday 11 December Tropical BBQ Social (Evening)
The year 2021 is flying by and it’s time for the first Paluma Social Event of the year. Chinese New Year will be acknowledged and celebrated in true Paluma-style and you are invited to attend. 2021 is the Year of the Ox.
When: Saturday 20 February 2021 at 6.30 PM
Where: Paluma Community Hall
What to Bring: The usual. A Chinese-inspired or other delectable savoury or sweet dish to share with your friends and neighbours.
Dress: Yes please, whatever you like to wear, but clothing is preferred. If you have a Chinese outfit, please don’t hesitate to come along in costume.
Barman Les will be open to serve all kinds of beverages at bargain prices.
All are welcome and encouraged to attend. We look forward to seeing you there.
