The early years of beekeeping in New Zealand

Honey bees brought to New Zealand. 19 March 1839. 

Mary Bumby, the sister of a Methodist missionary, was probably the person who introduced honey bees to New Zealand. She brought two hives ashore when she landed at the Mangungu Mission Station in the Hokianga in March 1839. 

Read more about Mary Bumby in Honey bees brought to New Zealand on New Zealand History (Ministry for Culture and Heritage). 

Ko Ngā Pī

Ko Ngā Pī  (1849) is the first book to be published in te reo Māori about bees and beekeeping in New Zealand. 

Read more about this book on the National Library of New Zealand blog. In English, the bee takes flight again and in te reo Māori, Ka rere anō te pī. 

A growing industry 

While there were already many beekeepers throughout New Zealand since the 1850s, after World War I and World War II, many returned service men became involved in commercial beekeeping activities. However this was not initially universally agreed as a suitable undertaking, as the opening paragraph of this article from The Evening Post, 08 August 1917 demonstrates. 

BEES AND SOLDIERS - NOT A GOOD COMBINATION  It seems to be the general opinion among those to whom beekeeping is more or less of a closed book that beekeeping work is of a very light nature, and therefore would be specially-suited to returned soldiers. This is, however, not, shared by the Beekeepers' Conference which sat last week in Wellington. 

 However, as time went on, there was generally support for returned servicemen to become beekeepers.  

 Beekeeping was also encouraged as a "suitable occupation" for women. 

Additional newspaper articles about women and beekeeping: 

• Can woman keep bees? Bruce Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 2783, 4 September 1896, Page 3. 
• The Apiary: Beekeeping as an occupation for women. Otago Witness, Issue 3083, 16 April 1913, Page 12. 
• The Honey Industry Beekeepers Conference. Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 228, 14 June 1918, Page 8. 
• Beekeepers' Club: Lecture and Honey Show. Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16808, 14 April 1920, Page 5. 

Hives across the country

Here is a selection of photos across Aotearoa New Zealand, from 1901 to 1938.

Additional resources

A famous beekeeper, Papakura Bee Day demonstration and more ... 

Sir Edmund Hilary. Obituary (Sydney Morning Herald). Hillary: beekeeper who stood on top of the world. January 11, 2008. 

In front of an interested crowd, beekeepers demonstrate the different parts of a beehive and handle bees without any bee suits! 

Additional resources to explore

• Beekeeping in New Zealand from Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 
• New Zealand Beekeeping History hosts the NZ Beekeeping Digital Archive, and covers history from the early 1900s through to 1949. 
• Apiculture New Zealand is the peak body representing New Zealand's apiculture industry. 
• Browse digitised copies of New Zealand Beekeeper magazine (archive 1914 - 2016). 
• Listen to a Radio New Zealand interview with Nick Wallingford, a former president of the NZ Beekeepers' Association. The Buzz on NZ's bee-keeping history. 01 October 2021. (includes transcript of the interview)

Enjoy some bee photos! 

This DigitalNZ story was updated October 2023.