JAMARR is pleased to thank the Mareeba Shire Council for a cash donation to secure the trees for our Southern Approach beautification project. Cr Nipper Brown led the effort to secure the funding for a project that has attracted interests across the region. Working group member Rupert Russell noted: “This will enable us to purchase really good stock from excellent nurseries.” Rupert has already placed the order for 25 trees from Gaylene Sheather, the head of Douglas Shire’s nursery and…
A harmonious gathering of nearly 40 people enlivened the Labyrinth Oval at Mount Molloy on 5 May 2018. Although the turf and the inter-row growth was looking a bit splotchy, the locals and visitors were pleased to circulate and chat on a beautiful early Dry afternoon. Celebrating community, contemplation, kids, and a couple of coldies: We were especially lucky to share the event with some of Mount Molloy’s early pioneer families, the Clacherty’s. They settled in Julatten in the late 1920’s,…
JAMARR turned the wheels on another year and celebrated our 22nd JAMARR AGM on 12 April 2018 with 20 locals attending along with Mareeba Shire Mayor Tom Gilmore and Councillors Angela Toppin and Lenore Wyatt. (Shown above, L-R: TJ McCaldin, John Brisbin, Rupert Russell, Gerda Domen – Marc and Julie Nolan in the background) Finances were presented by the much-appreciated outgoing Treasurer Julie Nolan. JAMARR is solvent and making modest gains thanks to the influx of administrative fees via a…
A modest yet lively group assembled on Father’s Day morning in August to undertake the much-anticipated Heritage Trail Planning exercise. The session was facilitated by Dr Wendy Seabrook, whose consultancy Learning from Nature, is focussed on low-input productive landscapes. Wendy led a brief introduction and orientation to how the day might unfold. The three stages of the design process involve: visualising what our goals and aspirations are for the site surveying and assessing the site combining these two frameworks into…
About JAMARR
JAMARR (Julatten and Molloy Association of Ratepayers and Residents) was incorporated in 1996 as a progress association.
We have an open membership policy and count over 100 current recipients on our local news mailing list. Our meetings are bi-monthly and normally attract 15-25 attendees. Council is usually represented by the Mayor of Mareeba Shire and at least one other Councillor. Our members include new and old residents, retired and salaried, business owners and caregivers.
We have full access to the MT Molloy Memorial Hall (150p capacity) which is in excellent condition and features a certified food kitchen.
The community hall at Geraghty Park (Julatten) is of similarly utility, though it has a very well-appointed performance stage to boost its profile.
About our region
Mount Molloy is a small village in continuous transition. It was founded first as a staging point for Cobb & Co routes to the Palmer goldfields, and later it became a mining centre itself with a grand copper smelter. After copper crashed in 1905, a large sawmill was set up and timber became the town’s mainstay. With the advent of World Heritage protections in the early 80s over the remaining forests, the sawmill closed and many of the old families moved away due to lack of employment. In the past 5 years there has been a modest increase of young people taking up property in the area.
There is a growing realisation that we are now a gateway village: thousands of travellers going to or returning from their Cape York adventure pass through Mount Molloy annually. Among the main reasons these travellers stop is a lovely (free) Council campground at the crossing of Rifle Creek. This is a spot where Indigenous people gathered traditionally, then it was the stagecoach crossing, and now it’s a one-lane highway bridge and camping spot.
The campground attracts up to a hundred visitors each night during the Dry season.
The traditional owners, the Muluridji People, are currently working toward a Native Title determination over the village and surrounding area.
About 35 students are enrolled in the local school which has a strong and diverse arts and culture program. In 2012 the school was nationally recognised as a Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program recipient.
There is an active Landcare group and the community frequently comes together to discuss shared issues or aspirations.
Julatten is a regional area with a thriving elementary school, first-class pub/restaurant, and incomparable natural beauty in between the canefields and cattle paddocks that help sustain the local economy.
The area was settled gradually through the First World War, survived the depression through hard work in the timber industry and a self-founded dairy operation, and carried on til the Second World War.
Around this time many of the younger generation were called away for service. On returning back to Australia the cities had become so full of energy and opportunity that the rural communities began to wither out.
In the late 70's a fresh wave of residents came along with the mining boom in Mt Carbine and with the lifestyle movements of that era. By the 80's Julatten had transformed to a more gentrified landscape with many interesting and highly accomplished residents quietly enjoying their lifestyle properties.