Introducing the Bayside Beekeepers Association

The Bayside Beekeepers Association is a friendly beekeeping Club located in the bayside suburb of Cleveland, about 30 km south-east of the Brisbane GPO. The Club was originally created by a group of beekeepers (The Founders) in 1987 who sought out each other’s company to share information about beekeeping and to provide assistance to each other. The basic tenets of this early gathering have carried over into the Club today.

When they first started to meet, the Founders met in coffee shops, and each other’s lounge rooms and garages. Today, the Club is fortunate in being able to use the Conference room in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Research Facility at 26-40 Delancey Street Cleveland QLD. Over the years, the Club has created an apiary, which is also located at the Research Facility, and constructed a honey extraction room, storage facilities and an outdoor kitchen, and seating area.

The basic aims of the Club are to:

• Provide information and support to club members;
• Promote ‘excellence in beekeeping’ as our standard practice;
• Promote beekeeping in the community;
• Provide an opportunity for fellowship with other beekeepers; and
• Promote understanding about bees and beekeeping within the community.

The Club conducts monthly field days on every second Sunday of every month and monthly Club Meetings every third Thursday of the month from 7.30 pm. The field days provide members of the Club with opportunities to learn first-hand about best practice beekeeping methods and then to be able to put that knowledge into immediate use. The field days usually incorporate honey extraction and filtration as well as basic equipment maintenance. The Club meetings on the other hand provide members with opportunities to learn from guest speakers as well as from each other. Both the field days and the Club meetings are followed by an extended period of fellowship while enjoying well -earned refreshments. Each year members have an opportunity to have their honey judged by a professional honey judge during the annual Bayside Beekeepers Honey Competition. This is a great way for members to obtain feedback on the honey their bees are producing.

The Club participates in local events including the Indigiscapes Eco days conducted by the Redland City Council, The Redlands Museum Science Days and the Mt Gravatt Show. At these events we display live bees and members give brief talks to the members of the public who attend. These events also provide the Club with an opportunity to raise much needed funds through the sale of honey. As part of its ongoing connection with the Mt Gravatt Show, the Club is proud to conduct the Mt Gravatt Show Honey Competition.

Currently the Club has 88 active members with seven members serving on the Management Committee.

As a result of the encouragement of members who had experience of the Amateur Beekeepers of Australia, the Club has decided to joing the ABA so that all members can enjoy the additional benefits offered by the ABA.

The Bayside Beekeepers Association is proud of our approach to the incursion of Varroa mite, being one of the first Beekeeping Clubs in Queensland to ensure that its membership is all fully trained in the detection and treatment of Varroa mite. In this regard, the Club sought and made good use of a grant from the Redland City Council to provide all members with Varroa mite detection kits and training in their use.

The Club is a member of and supports the Australian Honey Bee Council (AHBIC) and the Qld Beekeepers Association (QBA). If you are looking to join a welcoming Beekeeping Club whose members love sharing their knowledge and information and whose facilities are first rate, please come along to one of our meetings. You will be warmly welcomed!