New Members Information
Welcome to the SGB |
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Every effort is made to help all of our new members to achieve all they wish to as beekeepers
It is highly recommended that all new beekeepers attend a Beginner Beekeeping Course.
These are available through a number of sources in the club.
Check our Beekeeping Courses Page to see when & where the next one is coming up.
It is highly recommended that all new beekeepers attend a Beginner Beekeeping Course.
These are available through a number of sources in the club.
Check our Beekeeping Courses Page to see when & where the next one is coming up.
At club meetings throughout the year we have the annual honey and mead tasting and judging the June pizza night, plus our themed AGM with fabulous prizes. There are regular guest speakers with varying topics as well as prac. sessions and Q & A
Our monthly meetings have an average attendance of 48. Your Club
Meetings and supper in particular are an opportunity to chat with other beekeepers in the area when you can compare notes and get answers to burning questions.
Check out our excellent library books as you partake of a delightful supper. |
Services
The club’s 3 frame honey extractor (a more modern version than the one pictured above), electric decapping knife and tubs plus a double strainer are available for club members to hire at very reasonable rates.
Please follow this LINK for this and other club services. The club attends a number of Community Shows and events throughout the year. The calendar on the Home page will keep you up to date with upcoming events. |
MentorsAbove: At our first meeting for 2017, 3 of our mentors spoke to the club about the mentoring program answering questions and giving some helpful tips.
Follow this LINK for contact details for our mentor's list, what to do if you have or want a swarm, getting bees for the first time and more. 
Above: Some of the huge crowd who came to our 2016 Field Day.
The club gives members notification of upcoming field days throughout the state. |
Where to get your beekeeping equipment, bee colony (inc queen) and individual queens from.
For your hardware and protective gear there are a number of beekeeping suppliers in the South Gippsland area which include Fisher's Beekeeping Supplies, Jeeralang Apiary Supplies, The Bunyip Beekeeper and a little further afield is Redpath's Beekeeping. Contact details can be found either in our newsletter or Google
The best time of year to order your first colony of bees and new queens is in the autumn or early winter. This is to get your name onto the order or waiting list in preparation for the next bee season which begins with massive hive growth in early spring.
To get your first lot of bees you can make inquiries with the above suppliers but also through the Nuc List and Swarm List within the club as listed on the Club Services page. (The advantage with collecting a swarm is that it is free.)
There are many bee colony and queen suppliers all over the country but it's best to get your bee colonies from a supplier as close to you as possible to ensure that they are acclimatized to local conditions and to reduce the trauma of many hours of transportation.
Queens can be posted across the country with relatively little effect on the bees. There are queen breeders in Victoria but sometimes a particular race of queen or unavailability in general may mean that you have to order from NSW or Qld.
When your queen bee arrives you may not be able to put her into the hive straight away but as along as she and her attendants are kept in a darkish place at a warm room temperature and given a drop or two of water each day, they will be fine for up to 4 days.
For your hardware and protective gear there are a number of beekeeping suppliers in the South Gippsland area which include Fisher's Beekeeping Supplies, Jeeralang Apiary Supplies, The Bunyip Beekeeper and a little further afield is Redpath's Beekeeping. Contact details can be found either in our newsletter or Google
The best time of year to order your first colony of bees and new queens is in the autumn or early winter. This is to get your name onto the order or waiting list in preparation for the next bee season which begins with massive hive growth in early spring.
To get your first lot of bees you can make inquiries with the above suppliers but also through the Nuc List and Swarm List within the club as listed on the Club Services page. (The advantage with collecting a swarm is that it is free.)
There are many bee colony and queen suppliers all over the country but it's best to get your bee colonies from a supplier as close to you as possible to ensure that they are acclimatized to local conditions and to reduce the trauma of many hours of transportation.
Queens can be posted across the country with relatively little effect on the bees. There are queen breeders in Victoria but sometimes a particular race of queen or unavailability in general may mean that you have to order from NSW or Qld.
When your queen bee arrives you may not be able to put her into the hive straight away but as along as she and her attendants are kept in a darkish place at a warm room temperature and given a drop or two of water each day, they will be fine for up to 4 days.
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Publications - Highly recommended for New Members
Print them or read online |
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These publications were previously printed and given to each new member in a 'Beginner pack'.
It made for a very bulky pack.
In the interests of decreasing our club's ecological footprint it was decided to give each member
the option of reading the material on-line or printing it themselves.
It made for a very bulky pack.
In the interests of decreasing our club's ecological footprint it was decided to give each member
the option of reading the material on-line or printing it themselves.
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Hobby Beekeeping. (DELWP (Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning)
General information on getting started. Beekeeping and Livestock Disease Control Act. (DELWP) This paper outlines all of the necessary laws and responsibilities Registration as a Beekeeper (Aust Govt) Everyone keeping bees must register. This online form makes it easy and it's free for up to 5 hives if you apply online. Bio-Security Code of Practice. (Aust. Govt) The Biosecurity Code of Practice is based on the principles of good biosecurity and aims to provide a clear framework for Australian beekeepers to engage in best-practice biosecurity. The standards expected in the Code are not onerous, they are only things that all beekeepers should be doing anyway to manage and / or minimise the impact of pests and diseases on their hives. |
Beginning with Bees (GAA) This 12 page booklet produced by the Gippsland Apiarists Association is an excellent read for anyone starting out or thinking about getting bees.
Bee speak (GAA) was designed to be printed onto both sides of an A4 and folded in thirds. It is a comprehensive dictionary of beekeeping terms for the beginner. Apiary Code of Practice. (Vic Govt) This Code is a document for the management of beehives and incorporates a reference or minimum standard by which all persons who own, manage or operate honey bee hives in the State of Victoria must comply. This Code is formulated to form the basic prescription for harmonious co-occupation by beehives and land occupiers in Victoria. The aim of the Code is to ensure that the keeping of honey bees does not become a nuisance to people, property, domestic animals or native flora and fauna. |
