Tambo Valley Honey Story
THE BUTCHER, BAKER AND CANDLESTICK MAKER
From growing up and working in family-owned and run bakeries I was destined to be a 5th generation baker! So, I spiced things up a bit, dropped out of school in year 10 and went on to do a butcher’s apprenticeship in my hometown of Bruthen. After nearly 7 years working as a butcher, I thought it would be time for me to explore either running my own shop or learning a new skill in life. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would end up in such a niche, unpredictable yet weirdly addictive job!
THE TAMBO VALLEY HONEY STORY
Like all good stories, ours began in our local Mexican restaurant (OZ Mex) over a few beers with a mate of mine who was moving to Canada. He had been working part time for Ian and Robyn Cane (as a beekeeper) and now the position needed to be filled-. I still remember sitting on a bar stool in the dimly lit dining area drinking a Corona stubby (with lemon and lime in it) and thinking that this random job might just suit me and my personality.
One month later (March 2012) I was a beekeeper! It took 3 days for me to get my first ever bee sting and it didn’t look like things were going to last real long. I got stung on my right hand it swelled right up past my elbow, much to the concern of my wife Stacey, who made sure that we outlined the swollen area every few hours so we could keep track of how bad it was getting. In hindsight, I think we just did this to trick ourselves into thinking that we were doing the right thing! Luckily things got a little better from that first ever sting.
Over the next 6 years I crafted my skills under Ian Cane, who is a 3rd generation apiarist and has a vast amount of knowledge about the bees and the forest. Working away from home and travelling around the state was something that I was unaware the beekeepers did. Breeding queen bees was something I would have never thought existed and getting stung dozens of times a day, I thought would leave anyone in hospital. This is where it gets weirdly addictive. I wanted more!
Apart from the extensive bee knowledge that I gained in this period, I was surprised at how much more this job would offer. Keep in my mind that my background was in baking and butchering, so my handyman skills were poor at best. I learnt how to cut all the pine for the bee boxes and all the other bee related gear, how to build it and a few little trade secrets that ensure that we get the maximum amount of life out of all the bee gear that we build. During the quiet period I would help landscape Ian and Robyn’s garden where I learnt how to concrete, pave and use earthmoving equipment among other things. All these little life skills I learnt through being a beekeeper would go on to be very helpful and assist me to appreciate a good tradesperson and I am very grateful to Ian for teaching me this.
After beekeeping for 5 and a half years working under Ian it was time for me to once again explore the option of running my own business or learn a new skill in life. I approached Ian and Robyn about the possibility of buying the business off them, 6 months later (July 2018) Tambo Valley Honey was born!
A lot has happened since July 2018.
