1919
With the Armistice in late 1918, NZ beekeepers turned once more toward peacetime activities. Elements of sadness continued in the magazine, however, as the influenza epidemic took its toll of the civilian population. The Editor apologised for the lateness of some of his correspondence as he had been placed in charge of a temporary hospital in the Katikati district, while his home had been used as a nurses’ home.
Discussions on the desirability of apiary boundries continued in the magazine. The call for licensing of beekeepers and/or sites was strong, but there was no concensus on achieving the desired end of stability in the siting of apiaries.
Mr HW Gilling, Manager of the HPA, wrote to thank beekeepers for their favourable response in the calling up of subscribed but unpaid capital. He commented that with the war over, the honey in store should soon reach England. He remained confident that the prices being obtained would remain near the same for honey supplied.
The HPA had handled between 450 and 500 tons of honey during the previous year. The number of shareholders had increased to 412. Subscribed capital was up from £4,510 to £6,716, while paid up capital rose from £849 to £3,631. Operations had been moved from Taranaki to centre on Auckland to make handling of honey somewhat easier.
By late January prices in England had already begun to slide, with honey having dropped from the high of £200 per ton achieved in 1918 down to £100. Rather than an average return of £150 as the Editor had predicted in the January issue, by March he was suggesting a return of only half of that.
In March Mr J Rentoul, Chairman of Directors for NZHPA announced the replacement of Mr HW Gilling with Mr CF Ryland as Manager of the HPA. Mr Gilling had resigned but was still planning to stand for the Directorate of the company, though he did not eventually decide to do that.
The Editor of the magazine produced a small booklet titled “Beekeeping for Beginners” which was available to all NBA members and any new members who joined the NBA.
Mr H Bartlett Bartlett-Miller of Kihikihi continued to provide a two page advertisement for the magazine extolling the virtues of his patented comb reducer. Mr Bartlett-Miller was very outspoken about the advantages and features of his invention, and spared no prose in describing the shortcomings of anyone who disagreed with him!
Mr C Smedley of Te Awamutu was also a manufacturer of melters, and a series of competing advertisements featured in the magazine over an extended period of time.
The Sixth NBA Conference was held in Wellington in the Dominion Farmers’ Institute, Featherson Street, starting on 11 June 1919. Mr James Allan (Tasman, Nelson) was elected President with Mr W Watson (Geraldine) as Vice President. Mr R McKnight (Domett), Mr HR Penny (Okaiawa), Mr AH Davies (Claudelands) and Mr JB Adams (Gisborne) were elected to the Executive
A letter appeared in the August issue of the Journal from Mr Allan R Bates, formerly of Kaponga. Mr Bates had served in the War and appears to have remained in England for the period following, planning to return later in the year. He described cycling out to visit the beekeeping operation at Buckfast Abbey, and he described the operation as “up to date as any that I have ever seen at home”.
The packaging of honey in petrol tins (used!) for export was finally discontinued by order of Mr TW Kirk, Director of the Horticulture Division. The allowance had been made for the last year or two due to the lack of tin plate, provide that proper lids were fitted to the petrol tins.
The October issue of the magazine featured a photograph of the NBA President, Mr James Allan. He was first elected President in 1913, the first president under the new constitution. He served as President again in 1914, and as Vice President in 1918, then President again in 1919.
The Editor carried out an acrimonious exchange with Mr WB Bray late in 1919 in the pages of the magazine. The Editor, having the final word, returned Mr Bray’s 5/- magazine subscription and told him that he, too, was sorry that he had sent in a subscription!