Who we are.
Beatrice was born of the fruits of family labour in the pursuit of the vital task of pollinating many of the crops that people need to sustain life. The Claridge family set out to create a bee-keeping business as an adjunct to the existing crop scouting and fertilisation business, which has been the core function of TJ Claridge PTY LTD for the last two decades.
The reason.
The reason for this was two-fold. Firstly, Tim noticed a growing need for commercially supplied bee's due to the decline of wild colonies of bees in key food production areas of Australia. Secondly, Tim was confronted by the reality that fertiliser supply and support was being monopolised by bigger companies which were willing to trade at just above cost to eliminate smaller family-based operators. Development of an apiary was a way to keep small family business engaged at the coal face of growing Australia's food.
Family.
Being family people with young children, we found ourselves explaining the peculiar habits of bees at different times of year through the lens of a character we chose to call Beatrice the Bee. This has led to the creation of a number of tales which explain the cycle of a beehive over a season in a fun way which children can enjoy.
Operating out of central Victoria, the business is perched on the banks of a backwater of the Goulburn River. Named “Iolanthe” for water spirit from Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous play, Beatrice is fabled to drink deeply from the sweet waters of her home in creating some of the best honey people can buy. The bees are travelled from the south of Victoria as far north as central New South Wales.
Tim’s dad.
