Following on from the recent post about " mad honey" thought the following 
may be of interest.

1831    Dr T B Wilson, R N, set up a hive on the deck of the ship "Catherine 
Stewart Forbes". The bees were free to fly on the voyage from England to Van 
Diemans Land. They were fed on a sugar syrup and were originally conveyed to 
Sydney.



            However, they were off loaded and presented to Governor Archer 
and placed in the Government Gardens because of the flora present.



1832    The original hive of the preceding year produced 13 swarms. 
Colonists were warned to be careful eating this honey as it might be 
poisonous as the nectar of the local plants was unknown. (Some deaths had 
occurred in the American Colonies because of eating poisonous honey.)



The above is re the introduction of bees to Tasmania in Australia and comes 
from an article by a retired Apiary Inspector in Tasmania, Harold Ayton. 
Van Diemans Land is the old name for Tasmania.



Trevor Weatherhead

AUSTRALIA

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