3 Generations Of Bee Keepers
There's an old saying that a person doesn't decide to become a beekeeper; you get stung and then it's in your blood.
Charlie Bowman first came across two abandoned beehives in the early 1970's covered by a sand drift. He uncovered them, cleaned them up and so began the Bowman Family Honey adventure.
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The Bowman Family officially registered in 1978, but we were beekeeping on North Stradbroke Island long before that - some of our hive sites have been established for 5 decades!
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Charlie Bowman loved his bees and noticed that his arthritis seemed better after working with the super thick Jellybush honey. When his son Phillip came on board, they began sending samples to the University of Queensland and Sydney University to be part of the first studies conducted in Australia on Active honey.
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Stradbroke Island is the second largest sand island in the world and this has a huge impact on how the native flora. Flowers on the island produce about a fifth of the amount of nectar that they would on the mainland slowing down honey production considerably. Because of this our market stall, shops on the Island and this website are some of the only places our honey is available. Phillip and Theresa have been working their market stall on Stradbroke for over 15 years, now with the help of daughters Leone and Tayla.
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We are all very passionate about bees and the environment and strive to maintain balance with the land; all aspects of robbing, collection and storage are chemically free, organic and natural as can be.
Then
And Now
Stradbroke Island
Located off the South East Queensland coast, North Stradbroke Island (affectionately known as Straddie) was first known as Minjerriba. Charlie and Phill Bowman are proud to share in the local Quandamookan heritage. The island is also affectionately known as Straddie, while our bees call it home.
With over 800 flowering species of flora on the island the flavour and colour of our honey is constantly changing. Lighter honey has a sweeter, subtler flavour while darker honey has a more robust flavour and is higher in antioxidants. Stradbroke Island is the second largest sand island in the world and this lowers the amount of nectar in the flowers and consequently honey production can be as little as one fifth of what can be seen in hives on the early mainland areas. After 40 years here we have learned how to read to bees, when to let them rest and when it is safe to collect honey from our hives. We do what is in the best interest of the bees, and their home.
We are so proud to have partnered with Kettle Chips
with their honey, soy, and chicken chips.
We like to think of it as a little bit of Straddie reaching across Australia.
The Bowman Bee Team
PHILL and THERESA
Second generation beekeeper and co-founder Phillip lives on Stradbroke Island with his wife Theresa. Together they manage over 300 hives, our Stradbroke Island Market Stall and pass their expertise along to their children. Phill's innovative toxin free pest control has been sought after by the DPI and Theresa has created many of our top selling products. You can often find Phill and Theresa volunteering at Queenslands Ekka Apiculture attraction.