Paluma, Queensland
Paluma is a town in the City of Townsville and a locality split between the City of Townsville and the Charters Towers Region in Queensland, Australia.[2][3][4] In the 2016 census the locality of Paluma had a population of 68 people.[1] It is in the Mount Spec Ranges and is the southernmost point of Townsville's heritage-listed Wet Tropics.
| Paluma Queensland | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  Paluma | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 19.0094°S 146.2094°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 68 (2016 census locality)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.02961/km2 (0.0767/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4816 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 2,296.2 km2 (886.6 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | |||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Kennedy | ||||||||||||||
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Geography
The now-closed Greenvale railway line passed through the locality which was served by the now-abandoned Girrinjah railway station (19.3196°S 145.9668°E).[5]
History
The area was originally known as Cloudy Clearing until it was renamed Paluma in 1934.[2]
It developed from a mining and forestry background. The first people to arrive here were tin prospectors in the 1870s after an abundance of tin in the mountains. The area remained isolated until a road was built up the range in the 1930s. This industry lasted for years until landowners worked together to shut it down. The tin industry was using the creeks for washing the tin, however this was incompatible with using the creeks for the Paluma's water supply.
Paluma Temporary School opened on 28 September 1950, becoming Paluma State School in 1952. The school closed on 19 July 1968 due to falling enrolments.[6][7][8]
The Paluma Environmental Education Centre was established in 1977 by the Queensland Department of Education on the site of Paluma State School.[9]
In the 2016 census the locality of Paluma had a population of 68 people.[1]
Heritage listings
The Mount Spec Road and Little Crystal Creek Bridge is a heritage-listed road with stone-faced arch bridge in the Mount Spec Ranges built in 1933. It is the only arch road bridge that remains in service in Queensland. Crystal clear water flows down the creek filling the deep pools of Little Crystal Creek, making it an excellent natural swimming hole. It is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.[10]
Education
Paluma Environmental Education Centre is an Outdoor and Evironmental Education Centre at 53 Mt Spec Road (19.0082°S 146.2074°E).[11][12] The school provies students from years 1 to 12 the opportunity to engage with the natural environment with one of the classrooms built underneath the canopy of the forest.[9]
See also
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Paluma (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- "Paluma – town in City of Townsville (entry 25935)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- "Paluma – locality in City of Townsville (entry 44625)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- "Paluma – locality in Charters Towers Region (entry 44550)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- "Railway stations and sidings - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
- "GOSSIP". Townsville Daily Bulletin. LXX. Queensland, Australia. 29 August 1950. p. 6. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Agency ID 6426, Paluma State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "Paluma Environmental Education Centre". Paluma Environmental Education Centre. 7 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- "Mt Spec Road and Little Crystal Creek Bridge (entry 602652)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- "Paluma Environmental Education Centre". Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
Further reading
- Venn, Linda (2002). Paluma : the first eighty years 1870s-1950s (PDF). Thuringowa City Council. ISBN 978-0-9577305-5-7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2019.
