Newsletter 1

Issue 1 – June 2024

I have always had an interest in our native plants and as we travelled I collected quite a portfolio of photos of the flowers and plants that we saw. Being quite mad, I also started photographing some interesting grasses, trees, fungi, lichens and more. I found this wasn’t sufficient. I decided I needed to know what they were called and more about them. So I started researching to try to identify my finds.

So went many happy and also frustrating hours, on line and in books, looking for a name or a clue as to what they were. In some instances I resorted to pestering anyone I thought might be able to help. To these people I say a big thank you as in the main they were extremely courteous and helpful.

Newsletter 2

Issue 2 – August 2024

Our travels earlier this year took us back to far north Queensland and south through Central Queensland. The early months of the year are not the best time to visit as there is still a lot of rain happening. However, if you don’t mind being a bit of damp, there is a lot to see. We have a number of favourite places to stay on the Atherton Tableland, one being Bonadios near Yungaburra. This is a privately owned caravan park hidden behind the corn fields, on the banks of the Barron River which is home to a number of platypus. The green ring-tail possum (Pseudochirops archeri) is one of the many critters that love to drop in for a feed of fresh fruit of an evening. There is also a large family of red-legged pademelons (Thylogale stigmatica) which fight the brush turkeys for a snack.

Newsletter 3

Issue 3 – November 2024

This trip we ventured to the south east corner of Queensland starting at Miles, formerly known as Dogwood Crossing. Miles is situated on the Dogwood Creek and is known for its wildflowers, particularly following the first Spring rains in September. We were a little early but far from disappointed. There is a wildflower driving trail that passes through the Gurulmundi State Forest which is home to many endemic species, in particular the Calytrix gurulmundensis and the Micromyrtus carinata commonly known Gurulmundi heath myrtle. An excellent map with detailed written directions is available from The Historical Village Museum Information Center.