Some early Cerman beekeepers in Queensland

It should not be surprising that many German

immigrants, particularly those with a Iarming
background, brought with them their beekeeping
skills and the intention to keep bees Iollowing their
settlement here. The Iirst mention oI early German
beekeepers in Queensland appears in the Brisbane
Courier, 17 January 1863. 'The real worth oI
many things may be oIten enough talked about,
and even widely known; yet, somehow, people
don't care to trouble themselves about making use
oI them, and this is the case with bees. They thrive
to a remarkable degree here, but the German
settlers are nearly the only parties who seem to
appreciate their value. . I know a small Iarmer,
who has over thirty hives; he sells the honey at
sixpence per lb., and the wax he sells to people at
less than one-halI its value, and they use it with
their tallow in making candles. Young hives he
sells at 10s. each, and he has cleared Irom 25 to
30 a year by them Ior these last three years. .
Some arrived skilled in modern European
beekeeping methods. Rather than extol the
exquisitely designed American movable bar-Irame
hive, invented by Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth in
October 1852, and still in use today by both
commercial and hobby beekeepers, these
Germanic beemasters Iollowed the teachings oI
their Iellow countryman, Rev Dr Johannes
Dzierzon (pronounced 'zerzon). The
Queenslander, 14 October 1871, saluted him as
'an eminent German apiarian, |who| resides in .
Lower Silesia . has succeeded in realising nine
hundred dollars as the product oI his bees in one
season.
The Brisbane Courier, 2 February 1907, printed an
obituary: 'Germany's oldest beekeeper has passed
away at the good old age oI 95 years. As
Langstroth was the Iather oI American beekeepers,
so was Dzierzon that oI the German and the great
progress made in apiculture in Europe during the
last century is attributable to his research in no
small degree. . He was an able writer and
contributed to many oI the leading German
journals. His work Rational Beekeeping was
subsequently translated into English, and Iorms
one oI the leading text books oI modern
beekeeping. . His Iather kept bees in logs which
were eventually placed by young Dzierzon in
improved hives and here he was within an ace oI
the discovery oI the movable bar Ilame. .
Custaf Adolpb Ziebig {8-9],
citrus farmer, apiarist, Saxon Gardens Apiary,
Rockhampton, 1892: Despite Dzierzon`s many
German beekeeping publications, there was no
guarantee the latest improvements in beekeeping
techniques always entered Australia via German
immigration. Some beekeepers may have brought
with them, or manuIactured aIter their arrival, a
bagenstulper, a hive with a round top. (mentioned
in The Queenslander, 10 Sept. 1887) Once
exposed to the society oI advanced Queensland
beekeepers and the modern methods promoted in
the press, no doubt some Bienen:chter
|beekeepers| eventually recognized the beneIits oI
change. One such was Dresden born GustaI
Adolph Ziebig.

A Dzierzon hive, Irom Deutscher Bienenfreund,
Dec. 1876 (p.205)
The Bee Notes report in Rockhampton`s The
Capricornian, 7 June 1890, indicates Ziebig had
been keeping bees Irom at least that year: 'Mr.
Ziebig began the season with Iour hives, increased
to twelve, and produced 160 lbs. honey. Forty
pounds per hive, spring count, is rather a low
average, but he conIidently expects to do better
next season. Fellow townsman Emil Weisse 'has
had a pretty Iavourable season, and has been
somewhat Iortunate in getting runaway swarms
Irom diIIerent places.
In July 1892 Ziebig 'opened the season with thirty
Iour colonies, increased to 48. (The
Capricornian, 1 July 1893) A year later Adolph
Ziebig |now using his second Christian name|
reported his Saxon Gardens Apiary consisted oI
56 hives which produced a honey surplus oI 6.5
imperial tons. The apiary subsequently increased
to 65 colonies. (Morning Bulletin, 27 July 1894)
From The Capricornian, 2 Sept. 1893 'During the
year Mr. Ziebig ... exported a trial parcel |oI
honey| to his native country, but owing to the
opposition oI merchants who handle an article they
call 'CaliIornian honey', it has, so Iar, been
diIIicult to make an impression on the German
market.
Competing against local beekeepers who presented
their produce in the Bees section under the
patronage oI the Central Queensland Dog and
Poultry Club, Ziebig won Iirst prize Ior his exhibit
oI a "1 lb. cake oI beeswax" and a second Ior a
'Irame hive oI local manuIacture." (Morning
Bulletin, 11 Nov. 1893)
From Rockhampton`s Morning Bulletin, 3
December 1897 'It will doubtless interest our
readers to learn that quite recently there have been
several large transactions in bee business in this
district. . Mr. Ziebig has recently sold out a large
portion oI his apiary and, so we arc inIormed,
intends to go into beekeeping on a new system.
Presumably, Ziebig intended to change over to the
American Langstroth designed hive style.
Adolph`s overall beekeeping expertise was
recognised when in April 1899 he perIormed as
sole judge oI the bee section at Rockhiampton`s
Agricultural Society show. (The Capricornian, 6
May 1899)
Friedrich Ruttner, in his 1981 article 'Johannes
Dzierzon und die deutsche Bienenzucht
|'Dzierzon and German beekeeping| published in
Allgemeine Deutche Imker:eitung (Vol. 15 No. 11)
commented that "no good explanation has been
Iound Ior the prolonged dichotomy between the
use oI movable-Irames in back-opening hives -
oIten in a bee house in German-speaking parts oI
Europe - and in top-opening hives out oI doors in
the rest oI the continent and oI the world.

GustaI Adolph Ziebig
Was it perhaps partly a reverence Ior Dzierzon,
who had a very strong personality? Or an
attachment to bee houses, which preceded
movable-Irame hives? In German-speaking areas
the use oI top opening hives lagged a Iull century
behind their Iull use elsewhere, and most hives
were still back-opening in the 1980s." Even so, not
all Queensland beekeepers, German or otherwise,
upgraded their methods Irom those commonly
practiced into the latter years oI the 19
th
Century.
Many continued to use the weidenkorb |wicker|,
simple straw skeps (inverted baskets) or the
problematic and antiquated, simple closed
Irameless box hive made Irom a gin case, kerosene
case, candle box or similar.
ean Baptiste Louis Isambert {8-
9] Ipswich wine merchant and beekeeper,
soap and candle manufacturer, politician,
mining investor: There was much debate in the
pages oI The Queenslander and the Brisbane
Courier (eg., 12 Dec. 1872), between the
Germanic proponents oI the Berlepsch / Dzierzon
style oI hive and the zealots such as bee columnist
Jas Carroll, who preached the beneIits oI the
American designed Langstroth style hive and
variants known by such names as the Quinby,
Kedder's, Pettitt's improved, Neighbour`s, the
Woodbury improved or the Milton (Carroll`s
pattern).
Carroll quoted a French bee-master, writing to the
French Bee Journal in December 1867: "... the
construction oI the hives in Germany requires the
patience oI a German to manage them, and would
not suit anyone accustomed to the simplicity and
ease oI control oI the Langstroth hive." Carroll
observed 'In my hives any comb may be taken out
without removing the others, whereas in the
German hive it is oIten necessary to remove many
combs to get to a particular one." Around the year
1862 Isambert stated he "procured a pattern-box
Irom the Rev. Mr. Dzierzon and adopted his
system entirely, and I must state that my "German
patience" was more severely tried by the
Woodbury system and in working the hives Irom
the top than by the Dzierzon system, and working
the hives Irom the sides."
In the Brisbane Courier, 12 December 1872,
Brisbane regional apiarist Mark Blasdale oI Long
Pocket, Indooroopilly, recognized Ipswich`s Mr.
Isambert with the introduction oI the Dzierzon
hive to Queensland. His observation epitomized
the Australian Iair go. "Should the Dzierzon hive
prove superior, I shall be greatly pleased and
acknowledge greatly surprised, Ior I was certainly
under the impression that the class oI hive I am
now working (Mr. Carroll's pattern) are very
closely allied to perIection. I have twenty Iour now
at work, and iI any person will pay me a visit I
think I can convince him by an inspection oI the
inside oI my hives that iI the Dzierzon hive is
really superior to mine, both Ior honey and brood
producing, it must be a very desirable hive
indeed."
Isambert must at some stage have kept bees
commercially Ior in The Queenslander, 23
November 1872 'Mr. Isambert no longer keeps
bees as a business, or he would give instructions in
the art oI making the Dzierzon hive and managing
bees, but there are some oI the hives in Brisbane,
as well as other places, and they are so simple that
any carpenter can easily make them aIter seeing
the pattern. Isambert considered the Dzierzon
hive to be 'ne plus ultra |'nothing more beyond
being 'the best or most extreme example oI
something| in principle and construction. (The
Queenslander, 2 Nov. 1872)
From an 1865 issue oI Melbourne`s Weekly Age
and reproduced in the Brisbane Courier, 18
January 1873, its editor commented on Dzierzon's
bee hives: "the principle and plan oI which are new
to the colony, although not to the continent oI
Europe." Isambert was observed as he wielded his
tobacco pipe bee smoker. 'On a recent occasion
we had the pleasure oI witnessing the depriving
process as perIormed by Mr Isambert, who, having
covered his Iace with a light net and lighted a pipe
oI tobacco, one side oI the door oI a hive was
opened, and the inmates having been treated to two
or three whiIIs oI smoke to keep them quiet, the
door was taken quite down. .

Jean Baptiste Louis Isambert (ca. 1889)
Image Irom State Library oI Qld.
Despite his German heritage, beekeeper J.
Isambert`s letter to 'The Honey Bee column oI
The Queenslander, 7 June 1873, displays a
commanding use oI the English language. Typical
oI such beekeeping letters, Isambert and others
entered into lively discussions, this one
surrounding the ebb and Ilow oI the honey season
in diIIerent Queensland districts. Isambert
commented, in part "The beekeepers oI Germany
have an extensive and high class literature on bees
and their management, in books and bee journals.
. |eg.,| the Eichstadter Bee Journal |is| a bi-
monthly paper oI about sixteen sides. . No
beekeeper there oI any standing would be without
a bee journal, as they contain much useIul
inIormation, and are Irequently interesting through
the lively controversies therein; and no matter how
keen these controversies and their arguments are,
yet they are entirely Iree Irom all animosity. ..."
The Queenslander, 10 September 1887, mentions
one beekeeping journal subscribed to by German
ex-patriot beekeepers - the Illustrated German Bee
JournaI. Copies oI Dzierzon`s magazines Der
Bienenfreund aus Schlesien (The Bee-Iriend Irom
Silesia) published 1854-1856 and Rationelle
Bienen:ucht (Rational apiculture) published 1861-
1878 may also have been subscribed to by
Australian resident German beekeepers. His 1882
Rational bee-keeping, or The theory and practice
of Dr. D:ier:on of Carlsmarkt, translated into
English and published in London by Houlston &
sons, 1882, no doubt Iound an antipodean
readership. Indeed, this author has a 1909 copy, in
German, oI Unfere Honigbiene |Apis mellifera, ie.,
the common honey bee|, very likely brought to
Australia a century ago by a German immigrant.
An obituary Ior J.B.L. Isambert appeared in
Rockhampton`s Morning Bulletin, 2 March 1906
"... at one time member Ior Rosewood in the
Legislative Assembly oI Queensland, |between
July 1882 and 25 October 1892| says the
Townsville Bulletin oI the 24th oI February, died in
the Cooktown Hospital on Thursday last Irom
Iever contracted on the Alice River goldIield. At
one time Mr. lsambert was in a good position as a
vigneron and wine maker in the Ipswich district;
but misIortune overtook him, and oI late years he
had a hard job to make ends meet. He was a well-
educated and highly intelligent man, and his death
will be regretted by many who remember him in
the good old days." (Notes: The Alice River
GoldIield, discovered in 1904, is located
approximately 30 klms slightly south west oI
Townsville on Cape York Peninsula, and about
440 klms by road Irom Cairns in Far North
Queensland. The Alice River Iever Isambert
contracted possibly equates to today`s Ross River
Virus, given that the two locations are but 51 klms
apart by today`s roads.)
an intelligent Cerman bee-keeper,
near Walloon" 8: In The Queenslander,
15 February 1873, a beekeeper at Mount AlIred
(located in western Queensland, 300 klms NW oI
Birdsville) sought assistance 'Can any oI your
correspondents - Mr. Bee-master Carroll or other -
give a description oI how to avoid, and how to
expel, moths and their maggots Irom the hives? .
A gentleman who owned a large number oI bees
on the Patterson was looking at my bees last week,
and told me I should lose them all Irom this |wax|
moth: since then, I have seen an intelligent
German bee-keeper, near Walloon; |oII the
Warrego Hwy, 17 klms west oI Ipswich| he told
me that at the commencement oI the season he had
27 hives, - now (although he has saved swarms) be
is reduced to 15. He Iurther told me that an uncle
oI his owned over 100 swarms, and now has not a
single swarm leIt, all through these pests. . I have
nine hives, but no honey - owing to this moth and
grub I suppose; and in an observing hive |Jas
Carroll`s, editor oI 'The Honey Bee column in
The Queenslander| the bees stopped making comb
or Iilling it Ior nearly a Iortnight. I, and I doubt not
many others, would Ieel grateIul iI you could
publish a remedy in a Ioot-note to this enquiry.

The engraving above, taken Irom The Town and
Country Journal, 24 November 1883, is a
caricature oI a late 19
th
Century German
beekeeper, operator oI a large commercial queen
bee breeding apiary in eastern Australia Irom
1882. Note the oversize tobacco pipe used to
smoke the bees. The honey Irame in hand comes
Irom the German Berlepsch / Dzierzon style oI
hive.
W. Boldeman, Rockbampton
beekeeper 8, brewer, soap
manufacturer: The Iollowing report appeared in
theRockhampton Bulletin and Central Queensland
Advertiser, 2 November 1867 'We have lately
examined Iour hives at Mr. Boldeman's, near the
Upper Dawson Road, which, though common
enough in Germany, will seem to the British eye
complete novelties. There are Iour hives, two over
two. Each hive consists oI an oblong box standing
upright; there is a door in Iront extending nearly
the whole length oI the box, with a small aperture
at the bottom Ior the bees. On opening this door,
the bees are discovered in Iull work. At each side
oI the box is a ledge supporting a series oI
moveable partitions, or Irames, on which the bees
build their combs. These Irames can be removed
separately. The operator, previously to opening the
hive, lights a piece oI dry wood, and opening the
door cautiously, eIIectually mesmerizes the tiny
labourers by 'incensing them. He then takes out
Irame aIter Irame with its load oI golden honey,
the bees clustering over it harmlessly. Our
practical German Iriend went so Iar as to cut a
large slice oII one oI the outer combs, to the
astonishment oI the bees, and putting it on a plate
invited us to try it. We Iound it delicious . This
style oI hive 'has been almost universally adopted
on the Continent. We would recommend any one
who intends Iorming an apiary, to visit Mr.
Boldeman's establishment, and that gentleman and
his obliging and polite partner will give the
necessary inIormation.
In the Morning Bulletin, 13 October 1886 '... the
Black or English Bees ... were Iirst introduced into
this district about twenty years ago, by Mr.
Boldeman and Mr. Isambert ... For a time they did
remarkably well, and colonies were planted in
many parts oI the surrounding country. When the
|bee| Moth began its destructive course, Bee-
keeping, as a rural industry, was destroyed. One
selector, |Glenny Naish| near Raglan, who, we
have been inIormed, had sixty hives, did not
manage to save one. ..."
The Morning Bulletin, 19 December 1923,
reported Boldeman established his soap making
business at Rockhampton in 1867 in conjunction
with J.B.L. Isambert, who, aIter some years in
partnership, removed to Ipswich. Boldeman and
Iamily were initially resident in Sydney Irom at
least 1854, then relocated to Queensland in 1862.
Clenny Naisb, Raglan, ca. 8: was a
citrus, lucerne and maize Iarmer as well as a
sometime absentee apiarist. Rockhampton`s
Morning Bulletin, 2 June 1900 stated 'Mr Naish
came to Rockhampton twenty-Iive years ago (ca.
1875). . |he| has an apiary Irom which he gets
about two tons oI honey annually. He has received
high encomiums (high praise) Ior the product,
which Iinds a ready sale in the western country. It
is arranged in neat tins, labeled Cedar Valley, the
name oI the Iarm. His thoughts on "The Habits oI
Bees in Queensland appeared some twenty years
previously in The Honey Bee column oI The
Queenslander, 13 September 1879. 'I have in my
apiary over thirty colonies oI bees, the direct
descendants oI two hives imported into
Queensland some years ago. A beekeeping
pioneer in the Rockhampton region, he inIormed
the Morning Bulletin, 18 October 1886: 'Some
years ago I conveyed over Iorty hives by steamer
to Raglan. |470 klms NNW oI Brisbane, being
west oI Gladstone and south oI Rockhampton.|
These being the Iirst ever landed . Disaster was
to strike these hives.
Naish`s letter to The Capricornian appeared on 23
October 1886. His hives, which succumbed around
a decade previous to this clariIication 'were
manipulated by me substantially to my satisIaction
Ior some years prior to bringing them to Raglan.
'My bees succumbed to an insidious Ioe,
commonly known in Europe and America as Ioul
brood. ... The disease originated through the
purchase oI an imported hive, which had been
supplemented by brood combs Irom a so-called
Italian colony, received Irom San Francisco. They,
no doubt, contained the germs oI this Iell disease,
which had at that time decimated some oI the
largest apiaries in America. In conveying my hives
Irom the steamer, they were unavoidably exposed
to the Iull glare oI the sun's rays, a state most
Iavourable to the spread oI the disease, which I at
that time unknowingly assisted, by giving Irames
oI brood combs Irom inIected hives to others
which were Iairly healthy. As the disease
developed, and showed itselI in a more marked
degree, I was enabled, by my acquired knowledge,
to see what the trouble was; but to remedy it was
another matter. AIter battling with it until my
colonies were reduced to small proportions, I
adopted the only remedy then generally known,
viz., destroying the balance, and subjecting the
hives to a bath oI I caustic soda, with the idea oI
starting at some Iuture time with non-inIected
colonies Irom another district. ...
Begin again he did Ior in a report on the Summer
Show oI the Fitzroy Pastoral, Agricultural, and
Horticultural Society, which appeared the Morning
Bulletin, 24 January 1880 '... the visitor is ...
pleased and surprised by what might be called a
"bee trophy." Honey in the comb, oI the purest
quality, is displayed in glass cases, underneath
which is the honey bottled, tinned, and attractively
labelled, and all varied by specimens oI wax
evidently prepared by an adept at the business.
These are the exhibits oI Mr. G. Naish, North
Rockhampton, and both Irom an industrial and
artistic point oI view deserve the attention oI the
visitor.
In The Capricornian, 23 September 1893 'The
crops oI maize and potatoes have been most
abundant. Dairying has been most successIully
carried on, and bee-keeping has succeeded beyond
all expectations. Mr. Naish and Mr. Christiansen
are large bee-keepers, and they have already sent
away over three tons oI honey this year. (To place
'large bee-keepers in context, Christiansen had
20 hives oI bees in 1900. Morning Bulletin, 2
June.)
In the Morning Bulletin, 1 November 1892 'There
seems quite a craze in this district Ior bee-keeping,
and some oI the apiarists seem to be doing
remarkably well too, judging Irom the way their
stocks are increasing. The largest apiary contains
sixteen colonies, the owner oI which commenced
last December with only one. .
Continuing to work as a commercial traveller in
1900, Naish`s 'peregrinations extended all over
the Iar west to the border. The prevailing drought
that year 'debarred his traveling and he has in
consequence remained at home to work on the
Iarm. While away he manages it by
correspondence. Mrs. Naish and the Misses Naish
are enthusiasts in agriculture, and they do the
supervising during the absence oI the chieI. Cedar
Valley Farm must have been a pleasant place to
visit Ior 'the cottage home is almost embowered
with trailing vines and creeper Ilowers, trained and
tended by the Ieminine hand, a place where
'music, mirth, and jollity help to while away the
hours.
Would that I had lived in that region and in that
time Ior I could have gathered together my
beekeeping paraphernalia and looked Iorward to a
convivial visit to Cedar Valley.
.