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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 / -19.0094; 146.2094 (Paluma (town centre))
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)	Townsville City Charters Towers Region
State electorate(s)	Traeger Hinchinbrook
Federal division(s)	Kennedy
Localities around Paluma: Mount Fox Upper Stone Yuruga Bambaroo Crystal Creek Valley Of Lagoons Paluma Clemant Lynam Basalt Dotswood Hervey Range

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 / -19.3196; 145.9668 (Girrinjah railway station)).[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.^{[citation needed]}

Running River Provisional School opened in 1946 but closed on 31 December 1949. The school re-opened on 2 February 1954 but closed on 21 June 1963. It re-opened on 23 January 1965 and closed on 10 April 1974. It subsequently re-opened and closed permanently on 16 December 1994.[6][7] It was at 28 Furber Road (also known as Breakaway Road and Ewan Road, 18.9777°S 146.0262°E / -18.9777; 146.0262 (Running River State School (former))); it was a 5-acre (2.0 ha) site with a frontage onto Running River.[8][9][10]

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.[11][12][13]

The Paluma Environmental Education Centre was established in 1977 by the Queensland Department of Education on the site of Paluma State School.[14]

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.[15]

Education

Paluma Environmental Education Centre is an Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre at 53 Mt Spec Road (19.0082°S 146.2074°E / -19.0082; 146.2074 (Paluma Environmental Education Centre)).[16][17] The school provides 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.[14]

See also

• Paluma Dam

References

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.

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