On Sunday night a northwest cioudband travelling on a jet stream brought overcast conditions to the region for a couple of days. The moisture in the cloud had some rain bearing potential but the atmosphere below was too dry to trigger any precipitation. The cold spell continued until Thursday when a warm front moved through the region, bringing rain bearing clouds and the chance of a shower or two. We had just a splatter but not enough to tip the bucket of the rain gauges.

Soil moisture index at a depth of 20 cm continues to decline and we are now in the range where regular watering of shallow rooted plants, such as azaleas, should receive special attention, especially, if they are showing any sign of stress in the leaves.

Current Weather.

UV and wind change with return to cold weather

From the Archives

When next in Maleny take the interesting riparian walk from the town to the showground and reflect on the various moods of the creek, see the antics of water dragons, terrapins on rocks and an occasional shy platypus. Think about what stories this creek could tell about past associations with aboriginal people and early settlers. In fact, It is not hard to imagine that this is the heart of Blackall Range Bunya Tree country with its rich source of nutritious food.

Sometimes referred to as a pine, which of course it isn’t, is a tall tree with a straight trunk, prickly leaves and separate male and female flowers. The cone is big and shaped like a football and weighs approx. 10 kg. The fruit is eaten raw, roasted, or sometimes powdered to flour to make breads.

The fruit ripens and falls between December and March with every third year often producing a bumper crop. It was during harvest time when some 700 Aboriginals would meet in Baroon Pocket for the Bunya Festival; when any hostilities between tribes were for a short time suspended.

Tom Petrie, living with his Scottish mother and father in Brisbane, spent a lot of his childhood with the aboriginal people and learned their language fluently. .He was invited to attend the feast at Baroon Pocket and afterwards submitted a report to NSW Governor on his knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal people. He also told him about the abundant source of native food available in the Baroon Pocket region; and here we are talking about a time when Queensland was part of NSW.

It was also about this time when the NSW Governor was looking for a means to appease the Aborigines following the deliberate poisoning of about 50 members of their tribe at one of the Kilcoy squatter’s stations in December 1841.

As a result the NSW Governor submitted the Bunya Proclamation Bill to Parliament on the 14^th April 1842, which in essence meant no licences, would be granted to any settler for the felling or clearing of timber in an area where Bunya trees were to be found.

Unfortunately, the Bill did not have the desired effect, mainly due to no attempt being made to define boundaries; and in consequence, when the new Queensland State came into being in 1859 the Bunya Proclamation was superseded with the passing of the Unoccupied Crown Lands Occupation Act 1860

Riddle of the Week

Why did the woman go outdoors with her purse open?

Because she expected some change in the weather.