I'll admit to:
(1) having a keen interest in NZ beekeeping, but
(2) never really having much interest in Mary Bumby and other really early aspects...
My interest starts maybe in the 1870's, with the moveable frame hive, and the widespread introductions of queens from all over through that period of time. And even more so into the 1930's and 1940's - it was a lively industry back then...
But taking our caravan north, I couldn't help but detour just a bit to the Mangungu Mission House, on the south side of the Hokianga Harbour, up in the Far North. My partner was starting a leg of a bike trip not far from there, so I figured I might as well see the place.
Got out of the caravan - and my phone rings. I'm not a particularly popular person, and the phone may only ring once or twice a fortnight, so it was somewhat exceptional. And it turned out to be Allen McCaw, a pleasant conversation indeed. Allen and I served on the NBA Executive, and each of us as President through those tumultuous times of the 1980's and 90's.
So we talked, and remembered (vaguely) parts of the story relating to the painting of Mary Bumby that I thought had been presented to the Mission House back in 'our time'. No good looking for it, as the place was still closed up tight; couldn't even see in the windows.
I told Allen I'd try to find the references to that old painting in 'the Ark Hives' of old NBA stuff I have. In the meantime, I found the story about the painting on the Internet Archives, searching in the text for 'Mangungu'.
Bruce Stevenson and the Northland Branch ride a boat up the harbour to donate the painting:
NZ Beekeeper magazine - May 1991 : National Beekeepers' Assn of New Zealand : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Beautiful location. I can easily see how two skeps of black bees could acclimatise - a sunny sheltered hillside sloping down to the harbour (though I'm sure the bush would have been more imposing back then. I expect they'd swarm to all buggery, a somewhat desirable trait for that style of keeping bees.
Gotta say, as much as I enjoyed the visit to Mangungu, I still don't really have much interest in Mary Bumby...
