Palm
Cove News
Tropical North Queensland
NOVEMBER
2007
Oceans
Edge open
GOLFERS
who fondly remember holes 1,2,& 3 of Novotel Golf Course and who
mourn the loss to developers can drive in and take a look. The housing
project is now open to the public and the landscaping is all done. Wallabies
and curlews are still there, especially in late afternoon. The hill
from which we drove off the second tee has been levelled; the creek
over which we hit is now a lake; and the garden plots are quite unique
and colourful. Development Manager for Indigo Dennis Nicol said that
plots were selling well.
Turn right at the roundabout, all welcome.
We are replicated
PALM
COVE has been honoured with a replica of our village at Cairns's sister
city Zhanjiang. Also featured at the first Sino Australian Friendship
Garden in China is a replica of Cairns Lagoon. The Palm Cove display
doubles as a Fisherman's Wharf seafood restaurant precinct.
Mayor Kevin Byrne opened the garden in September.
Designed by Cairns landscape architects Andrew Prowse and Kim Morris,
the garden features 5,000 North Queensland species of plants.
When the big blow cometh
BEN
O'DONOGHUE says there are 4000 families between Kewarra and Ellis Beach
and a lot of them, especially newcomers to the area, don't know much
about cyclones.
Buchan Point Branch of the State Emergency Service (SES) is holding
an open day Saturday, 10th November at branch headquarters, Captain
Cook Highway (opposite Novotel), 1.00 to 3.00pm.
"The meeting is for public awareness. It includes how the SES can
help in an emergency which can occur any time between December and April,"
he said.
"There is no obligation to join as an SES volunteer, but if you
are 16plus and would like to help, we'd love to have you."
Quality training is provided, and it's free.
Call
Deputy Group Leader Ben on 4055 3688, or email SESbuchn@bigpond.net.au
Wanted: Frangipanis
Palm
Cove florists Pink Moss want to buy frangipanis for weddings, etc, and
they are not available commercially.
Anyone interested please call Annette 4059 2875 at her home.
Editorial
TIME TO
GO
T'S
been eight enjoyable years and I am now moving on in life
: this will be my last edition.
I have one or two literary projects in mind and it's time I did them.
From letters and comments received, I know that Palm Cove News has been
welcome to a good number of readers. Thank you for your support.
Thanks also to volunteers Kristina Johns of Island View Estate and John
Mayo of Buchan Point who, as with previous volunteers, have selflessly
delivered into local letterboxes.
But the biggest vote of thanks goes to my blind friend Bertil who edited
using his braille keyboard.
If you thought the grammar, punctuation, and construction of English
has been good, you can acknowledge Bertil Nilsson B.A. DIP.ED (English,
French and German), Lund University now resident of Terebra St.
If there is a writer among you who would like to carry on the newsletter
(no charge) please let me know. I can pass on a few journalistic tricks.
I have published PCN at my own expense, but the costs of printing etc
have not been great. The use of paid advertisements would, I am sure,
pay for most costs. I have had several requests to advertise but have
always said no for reasons of autonomy.
Jerry Dukes
Our own aviator
TOM
McDONALD PARK in Trivia St is named in memory of jeweller and pilot
Thomas (Tommy) McDonald who was one of the earliest residents of Palm
Cove.
Immediately prior to WW2, Tommy bought a beachfront block for twenty
pounds from Albert Veivers who was the first to sub-divide his land
in Palm Cove.
Tommy was a jeweller and watchmaker and he opened a business in Abbott
St in 1923, a business that still continues in Innisfail. He died in
1978 at age 86. He was, to all accounts, a remarkable man, especially
in aviation.
An old acquaintance once described his success in life : "Whatever
Tommy McDonald did, he did not dip his toes in the pond of life, he
jumped right in and got completely wet." He bought a Tiger Moth
aircraft, took flying lessons, and used the plane to buy jewellery stock
from Brisbane, a much faster method of doing so as Cairns often had
impassable roads and a boat only once a week. He bought more planes
and started the first NQ airlines. He delivered mail to outlying stations
and brought in sick and injured people to hospital.
He had been known to land and take off from Palm Cove's beach, although
his official landing strip was an old saltpan which is now Cairns Airport.
The following is taken from Cairns Port Authority Centenary Supplement
19/12/2006: Mr McDonald helped to organise an air show in Cairns at
which visiting well-known entertainer Clem Dawes offered to perform
a parachute jump, something yet to be done.
The stunt was promoted as the centrepiece of the event. But a few days
before the event Mr Dawes confessed he had never been in an aeroplane
and was too frightened to go ahead with the jump. Mr McDonald came up
with a brilliant solution. He stuffed a pair of overalls with rags and
fitted a "dummy" with the parachute. Mr Dawes wore a similar
outfit. The dummy was hidden in a locker in the plane. The plan was
to release the dummy and hide Mr Dawes from view. But when the plane
reached the desired height Mr Dawes became sick. His legs tangled in
the plane's control cables and Mr McDonald had difficulty controlling
the plane. In the melee, the dummy was released prematurely, the parachute
failed to open properly, and "Mr Dawes" was seen by the crowd
to flutter towards the ground, flailing his arms. The dummy fell into
a small mangrove creek and Mr McDonald landed the plane on the opposite
side. He bundled a limp Mr Dawes out of the plane, dragged him to the
creek and threw him into the water. As Mr McDonald dragged Mr Dawes
out of the stream covered in water and mud, the first group of spectators
arrived at the stream and forced their way through the mangroves. They
were in time to see Mr McDonald helping Mr Dawes back into the plane
and immediately they raised the shout : "He's alive, he's alive."
Published by Jerry Dukes
52 Terebra St
Palm Cove 4879 QLD
Ph: 4059 1610 Fax: 4059 0058
Email: info@palmcovenewsletter.com
On website: http://www.palmcovenewsletter.com
Palm
Cove's official website: http://www.palmcove.net