Sweet success for Loomberah boutique beekeepers

Mr Martin works in earthmoving and Mrs Martin is studying nursing, but their lives revolve around their bees.

They sell their Loomberah Gold Honey at the Tamworth Growers’ Market every Saturday and the 500-gram, one-kilogram and 1.4kg jars are also available at stores in Tamworth and Newcastle. 

The Martins, originally from Wales, are passionate beekeepers and have a long history with bees and honey.

Mr Martin’s grandmother was a bee inspector in Wiltshire and his father has kept bees for most of his life. 

Mrs Martin’s parents are also beekeepers.

“I’ve always been interested in it in Wales and about 18 years ago my dad got back into beekeeping and I got involved,” Mr Martin said.

“I’ve been keeping my own bees ever since then.” 

Obtaining bees was the first priority when the couple moved to Australia five years ago. 

“When we landed we had some money, backpacks, a few contacts and the promise of a job, but we got bees within a couple of months of arriving,” Mrs Martin said. 

“We didn’t even have a car but we had bees.” Mr Martin said he wanted bees as soon as he saw their potential in Australia. 

“The thing that’s missing in Europe and Wales is there’s no real feral bees anymore. 

“In my second day in Tamworth I went out on a job and this tree was alive with all these bees and I was thinking it was like the promised land - I just had to give it a go.”

The Martins now have 30 hives in various spots along Loomberah Road and are constantly approached by people wanting bees near their gardens. 

A range of locations means there’s plenty of variation in the flavour and colour of Loomberah Gold Honey.

“If bees are in a garden it’ll give the honey a perfumed taste but the honey is completely different if they’re on wildflowers,” Mr Martin said. 

“Along Loomberah Road we have lucerne, trees and ground cover so there’s good diversity.

“We don’t try to normalise or regulate our honey - it’s seasonal. 

“Every batch we sell changes in colour and taste throughout the year.” 

A sought after product has been applebox honey. 

“The applebox trees flowered late last summer so there was very short window of blossom, but it’s been very popular,” Mr Martin said. 

“Because it’s quite rare and hard to come by you can sell it for more money.” 

The Martins produced more than a tonne of honey last year, with about 20 kilograms of honey in each box. It’s a simple extraction process with no heating.

“Because we don’t move the bees we only extract when it’s ready,” Mr Martin said.

“It’s raw honey so we don’t heat it to flow or filter. 

“It’s literally as though you’ve taken off the hive - just filtered a few times to get rid of wax.” 

The wax is a hit with customers, with Mrs Martin making pure beeswax candles as a by-product of the honey extraction. 

The Martins used 10 frames in their bee boxes to encourage minimal wax capping from bees, meaning 90 per cent of the wax is returned to the hive, but what remains is used. 

“The candles are so easy to make and they burn for hours,” Mrs Martin said. 

Making candles is just one of Mrs Martin’s jobs, along with managing the business administration and social media.

“Our Facebook page has been really good,” she said. 

“We share photos and videos about beekeeping and the honey and people have been liking it. 

“We’re now looking at creating a website because people from other areas come to the markets then want to be able to purchase the honey again, so we’re hoping to do online sales.” 

The couple plans to double production in the next year by buying another 25 to 30 boxes. 

“In the United Kingdom 30 hives is a lot and the production you can get of 30 hives here outstrips is the same as about 80 hives in the UK, but we need more bees because of the demand for honey,” Mr Martin said. 

“I’m always after more bees.”