“Skep”… – New Zealand Beekeeping History

Over a 40 year period of time, from the 1940’s until the 1980’s, the NZ Beekeeper magazine published articles aimed at the beginning beekeeper. The articles appeared with the name “Skep”, and over the years different beekeepers took on the task of writing the columns.

The NZ Beekeeper magazine had restarted publication in January 1939. The journal was primarily a means to communicate with National Beekeepers’ Assn members. Initially, it did not offer much for beekeepers other than commercial and semi-commercial beekeepers.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1939_01_NZBkpr.pdf

Not long after W.J. “Wilf” Lennon (Omakau) took over as Editor in 1944 he introduced a new feature – a column called “Talks to Beginners”. The column appeared under the name “Skep” in July 1944. The notes didn’t appear in every issue of the quarterly magazine. Some issues had questions from hobbyist readers (and others).

Though it was probably not much of a secret at the time, it was later revealed that Wilf had been both columnist and Editor! At one point he self-consciously finishes a column saying “If we use more space the Editor will be using his blue pencil”.

Wilf’s last column as “Skep” was August 1947, having written three years of columns to try to appeal to the hobbyists.

The new “Skep”, described as a guest for a year, was not identified by name at the time, but was later revealed to have been L.I. “Len” Box, of Hariot. Len had previously been an Apiary Instructor, and was only recently building up hive numbers. He had several columns that concentrated on preparing honey for both market and honey competitions. True to the original plan, he wrote for only one year.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1947_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=11
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1948_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=7
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1948_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=30

The next “Skep” wrote the columns for three years. It turned out to be J.R. “Jim” Barber (Pio Pio). Jim’s columns were sometimes more general than specific, simply emphasising the value of a young queen with adequate stores. He said he started writing with “some diffidence”, saying that differences between districts make writing such a column very challenging. He referred to himself as “Skep”, but would also use the first person pronoun “I” in his writings.

In May 1949 Jim wrote:

“In the dark winter of the year, when all is barren, bleak and sere, what shall I find to put down here?

Skep hopes to write to some beekeepers who will be the commercial producers of the future. Some commercial producers have become so almost by inheritance, being among the bees from childhood, and continuing to run, and perhaps extend, a business started by their fathers.”

Though Jim said that might be the easier way, many others started with the fascination of hiving a swarm as a 10 year old. His last column was May 1951.

In some cases the transition to a new “Skep” involved a missed column, or perhaps an overseas beginners’ column. August 1951 saw a different case – A.J. Shaw (Dunedin) wrote a “one off column” under his own name, but was seemingly not “shoulder-tapped” to be an on-going “Skep”.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1951_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=26

The next “Skep”, starting in November 1951, wrote columns for more than one year before stepping aside. It turned out to be P.A. “Percy” Hillary (Auckland), Ed Hillary’s father. Percy was a well-regarded writer and editor, and was described as “a beekeeper of wide experience”, with “many years of successful beekeeping…a natural teacher…possessed of a ready pen.” Percy’s few columns did not refer to himself as “Skep”, but rather spoke to the reader in the second and third person, saying “you” and “a beekeeper”.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1951_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=23
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1952_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=22
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1952_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=19
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1952_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=35
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1952_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=21

Percy Hillary was farewelled as “Skep” in November 1952, but columns continued to appear. By tone and content they would seem to have been from Hillary.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1953_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=20
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1953_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=19

The next “Skep”, starting August 1953, was described as a “new contributor…a commercial beekeeper and a busy man.” It turned out to be T.E. “Tom” Pearson (Darfield). Tom wrote primarily from a commercial beekeeper’s point of view, and generally only referred to himself as Skep in signing each column. He spent one column giving all the reasons someone should not take up beekeeping, and then the next column listing all of the positive points of being a full time beekeeper.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1953_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=40
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1953_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=14
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1954_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=23
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1954_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=17
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1954_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=33
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1954_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=21
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1955_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=18
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1955_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=23

Tom Pearson’s successor as “Skep” was, in fact, another Tom Pearson. T.H. “Tom” Pearson (Auckland) was one of the oldest beekeepers in the South Auckland area, and told stories of the difficulties in loading bee hives on horse drawn vehicles. His first “Skep” column was in August 1955. In his first column he reprinted a letter to the NZ Herald, signed by “T.H.P.”, that gave an immediate clue as to who was doing the writing.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1955_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=36
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1955_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=20
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1956_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=27
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1956_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=25
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1956_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=34
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1956_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=19
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1957_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=18
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1957_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=26

It was when the second “Tom Pearson” finished as “Skep”, May 1957, that the Editor listed all of those beekeepers who had written the “Skep” columns through the 13 years.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1957_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=32

When a new “Skep” began writing the column in August 1957, he said it was with some “fear and trepidation”. “The previous writers under this nom-de-plume have put out some excellent matters, well written and punctuated, with a spot of humour”. He feared that his own contributions might be dull in comparison. Again, Skep’s identity was not given at the time, and it was only later that it was revealed to be George Gumbrell (Geraldine).

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1957_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=26
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1957_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=21
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1958_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=25
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1958_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=34
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1958_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=29
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1958_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=17
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1959_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=24
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1959_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=30

There was something of an attempt to “out” George. In the February 1958 magazine there is a picture captioned “‘Skep’ in Action at a Field Day”, saying “Surely we’ve seen those burly arms somewhere!”

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1958_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=27

And only a few pages later, another photo from a different angle, showing it to be George Gumbrell.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1958_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=30

After two years, George Gumbrell stepped aside, replaced by someone in August 1959 who was a “well known and highly regarded North Island beekeeper”. After two years of producing the column, that iteration of Skep was announced to be J.D. “Dudley” Lorimer (Hamilton), who wrote his final column in May 1961.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1959_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=36
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1959_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=19
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1960_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=13
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1960_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=22
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1960_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=29
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1960_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=21
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1961_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=23
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1961_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=31

In August 1961 a new Skep began writing, described as a “hobbyist beekeeper of long experience and a student of the craft.” This Skep, Chris Dawson (Timaru) wrote a number of columns with quite detailed instructions for queen rearing. There were a number of columns that would certainly have been beyond the understanding of hobbyists. But then, suddenly, some columns would cover subjects interesting to hobbyists, and clearly written with them in mind.

In November 1963, the history of Skep mostly ended. Chris Dawson began producing columns under his own name, and did so for several years after that. Most of Chris’ efforts shifted to the maintenance and promotion of the NBA’s Beekeepers’ Technical Library, as he was the first Librarian.

Beginner beekeeper columns were only sporadic for some years, until in May 1973 a new section of the magazine appeared, authored by Paul Marshall (Hastings), who had only recently bought a commercial beekeeping business. The section was headed “Nectar for Novices: A Section for Hobbyists, Amateurs and Others”. But Paul did not choose to use the Skep nom-de-plume. The columns produced by Paul were often little more than collected stories from other sources, but did have some original writing.

https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1973_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=31
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1973_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=39
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1973_11_NZBkpr.pdf#page=31
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1974_02_NZBkpr.pdf#page=27
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1974_05_NZBkpr.pdf#page=33
https://www.beekeeping.nz/NZBDA/NZBkpr/1974_08_NZBkpr.pdf#page=33

At that point, Chris Dawson stepped back in to write a “reinstated ‘Notes for Beginners’ section. Some years later he was followed by David Williams (Rotorua) who wrote columns in the early 1980’s.

The nom-de-plume “Skep” was not used in the NZ Beekeeper magazine for more than 20 years. Not until the last Skep started writing in March 1985. I’m not sure that I was ever identified, but that was me, way back then…

I wrote the beginners’ column until September 1987. That was only two and a half years, only eleven columns to write. But I remember the pressure of trying to come up with something interesting, and especially if I had some photos or drawings to illustrate it. I would note that the earlier Skeps never had to plan for that, back in the pretty much text only days…

The beginner beekeeper columns continued in the NZ Beekeeper in later years, but none of the writers used the “Skep” moniker. Both John Heineman and Frank Lindsay both contributed begnner columns for many issues of the magazine.