William Charles Cotton and Robert Campbell 1842

8/14/2019 William Charles Cotton and Robert Campbell 1842

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William Charles Cotton and Robert Campbel colonial beekeepers in Sydney 1842Robert Campbell senior, and his eldest son John, were prominent and respected Sydney merchants for many decades. They were also talented and advanced beekeepers as I shall demonstrate. Campbell senior 1, a Scottish merchant, arrived in Sydney in June 1798. Campbell & Co. was soon heavily involved inthe Australian trade, having 50,000 worth of goods in its Sydney warehouses in 1804. 2 Through trading

at reasonable prices he challenged the monopoly of the New South Wales Corps. A canny businessman,Campbell maximised the profitability of speculative voyages by the purchase of suitable land on which to

build berthing and warehouse facilities. This avoided downward pressure on prices when the colonialmarket was swamped with freshly landed product. By 1803 he had built a storehouse, a large residenceand a wharf, known as Campbells Wharf. By 1810 another wharf had been added, behind which in itsown garden stood Campbells house finished in an elegant manner with colonnades and two fronts.

Nehemiah Bartley in Australian Pioneers and Reminiscences, 1849-1894 3 , briefly mentions Campbelland Co. as they were in the year of William Cottons Sydney visit In 1842 R. Campbell, jun., and Co.were general merchants in Bligh-street 4, Sydney they sold tea, rice, pickles, spirits, iron, andhemp goods . Balancing Campbells astute business acumen the merchants name becamesynonymous with fair trading, reduced prices and generous credit, and was publicly acknowledgedby small settlers, officers and governors alike Governor Bligh was told the price of hismerchandise was the same in time of scarcity as in abundance he protected the poor anddistressed settlers; and that in fact he was the only private pillar which supported the honest peopleof the Colony. 5 Samuel Shumack recalled in An autobiography or tales and legends of Canberra

pioneers 6 In the early days I constantly came in contact with old hands who had worked underMerchant Campbell. They spoke of him as a just and honourable man, and I never heard of oneunjust or harsh action during those early years when injustice and oppression were the rule. (p.3)

Son Robert Jnr. was also held in high regard. Alexander Brodie Spark of Tempe on Cooks River, diarisedon 15 April 1843 Wrought up my resolution to call on Mr R Campbell Jr. of Bligh Street, for myheavy debt to whom he is but inadequately secured. He received me kindly, expressed his sorrow formy situation, and told me that if I could not pay him the interest, he would never ask it. He directedme to write him my proposal and he would answer me, and I came away not a little affected by his

generosity.

1 My summary of the biographical entry in The Australian Encyclopaedia (Vol. II, p.246) is as follows Pioneer Sydney merchant (born 28 April 1769, died 15 April 1846), arrived June 1798 aboard the Hunter, received

permission to lease land on the western side of Sydney Cove, to erect buildings, and carry on trade. Returned toIndia, arrived back in Sydney 1800, when he constructed buildings and a wharf, widely used, which became knownas Campbells wharf. In 1825 he was appointed a member of the first Legislative Council in NSW and he held a seaton it until 1843. He was one of the first settlers in the district in which Canberra was later built. He received a grantof 5000 acres of land, for which the deed was issued in October 1834, although it had been occupied some yearsearlier. He named the property Duntroon (being himself related to the Campbells of Duntroon Castle, Argyleshire),and it remained in the possession of his family until 1910, when the Commonwealth Government acquired it for amilitary college.2 Steven, Margaret. Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume I , pp.202-2063 Bartley, Nehemiah (1896) Australian Pioneers and Reminiscences, 1849-1894 , John Ferguson, Sydney, 1978.4 Bligh-street was , location of their office of business.5 Bartley, Nehemiah (1896) Australian Pioneers and Reminiscences, 1849-1894 , John Ferguson, Sydney, 1978.6 An autobiography or tales and legends of Canberra pioneers , (p.3)


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Robert Campbell snr. (Mitchell Library, Sydney)

Campbells Cove snuggles on the north western shore of Circular Quay, just south of Dawes Point and thesouthern footings of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Stone warehouses remain but the Campbell house islong since demolished.

Robert Campbell

I see it as no coincidence that the barque Tomatin , carrying the first Bishop of New Zealand, his familyand entourage for Auckland, berthed at Campbells Wharf after it was damaged on entering SydneyHarbour on 14 April 1842. Nor do I find it surprising that the Anglican Bishop Selwyn, his family andchaplain, William Charles Cotton, were made guests of Robert Campbell. Robert became well connected

with the Church of England and its Bishop in Sydney.7

As the business of his firm progressed (c1837-38), and his three eldest sons became firmly established intheir various fields, Robert Campbell gave increased attention to charitable work and church affairs. his house and garden at the wharf were always available for fetes and functions to raise money for charity.Bishop Broughton continued to be a frequent visitor. In 1837 Campbell gave land and a donation for theconstruction of St Peters Church, Cooks River. 8 Campbells worth to Cotton as host provided significant

7 Newman (1961) p.1668 Newman (1961) The Spirit of Wharf House , p.166


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benefit, for both Robert Campbell Snr and eldest son John were beekeepers, their apiary located in thegarden beside Wharf House which stood back from Campbells Wharf. Cottons beekeeping mania wasabout to be fed.

Im confident the missing second volume of Cottons journals would have documented the proceedings of the valuable beekeeper introductions Campbell was sure to have provided. Unfortunately, this lost volume

covered the period of Cottons stopover in Sydney, between 15 April and 19 May 18429

. Most likelyappraised by a letter from home of its non-arrival, and hence its implied disappearance, Cotton replied,lamenting its loss in his letter of April 1843, a copy of which is pasted into his third volume I fear Vol IIshould have perished (obsit omen) I will endeavour to give a tabular abstract of these three months... What interesting reading it would have made as it progressed through his various beekeeper appointments.

A Letter from An Australian, 1864 Some eight years ago I became aware of an antiquarian bee book authored by Dr. John Cumming, titled

Bee-Keeping, by The Times Bee-Master , first published London, 1864. The advertisement for Cummings book stated it contained correspondence from Australian beekeepers. With that invitingattraction to my some time bee book collecting obsession, I was tempted to part with US$150. Given the

Australian Dollars decidedly weaker position, however, that purchase had to wait. Eventually, possessionof a copy and access to the clues within this book and resulting research have enabled me here todefinitively declare that Robert Campbell Snr. and his eldest son John were beekeepers. The evidencefollows.

Moving forward to June 2001, I received from Joseph Bray of San Diego, California, another in hisseries, Beekeeping and Related Subjects Occasional List , his periodical antiquarian bee book catalogue.Listed within was another copy of the 1864 edition of Cummings book, again mine for US$150 (approx.AUD$290). Joseph and I have corresponded previously on a friendly and productive basis so I contactedhim to see if the book was still available, outlining the reasons for my interest. Unfortunately, it had beensold though not yet dispatched. 10

Joseph kindly wrote back I spent some of my evening scanning the pages of the book for any other

Australian references but couldnt find any others. However, Cumming does occasionally refer to My Bee Book , and at one point he describes it as The first and most useful, as well as most beautiful modernwork on bees ... It is profusely illustrated, and is the most genial and instructive work on bees it has beenmy lot to read. I have felt so great an interest in this good clergyman, that it often occurred to me to try toascertain where he was and what he was doing. ... Joseph then referred to correspondence withincontaining reference to Cotton. It was simply signed An Australian. London 12 th August, 1864.

Brays review of Cummings book states Dr. Cumming was styled the The Times Bee-Master after hisletters on beekeeping provoked a deluge of replies from an enthusiastic but sometimes critical readershipof that newspaper. Rather than respond to each inquiry individually, Cumming issued this marvelous bee

book, presenting his ideas of bee management. Luckily, Cumming also included many of the lettersaddressed to him and his responses, providing a fascinating view of the controversies of the day. Fraser (1958) in Beekeeping in Antiquity wrote of Cumming He seems to have been a good beekeeper, for heentirely objected to sulphuring bees, and he was well read on the subject. He strongly believed that his

bees knew him. Cotton championed such sentiments. The 1864 letters author held similar views.

This letter to The Times Bee-Master, in part, reads Our chief guide in the management was a book written by the Rev. Mr. Cotton, called My Bee-Book and it may be interesting to mention, thatwhen in after years that gentleman accompanied the Bishop of New Zealand to that country, via

9 volume two commenced 15 May, concluding 20 August 184210 Early in 2002 Joseph Bray procured another copy of Cummings book which I promptly acquired.


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Australia, he was my fathers guest. Mr. Cottons delight at finding his favourites so appreciatedwas only equaled by our pleasure in meeting the author of My Bee-Book

The title page of Cottons My Bee Book shows its publication year as 1842. Cotton sailed on the Tomatin on 26 December 1841, arriving in Sydney in April 1842. Prior to departure could he have taken on boardsome pre-publication copies of his book ? I think it possible though unlikely. Campbells wrote Our

chief guide was a book written by the Rev. Mr. Cotton in after years that gentleman wasmy fathers guest These words construe that My Bee Book had been in use for some time prior toCottons arrival, that his fame had preceded him.

However, John has confused the actual chronology of events. Cotton accompanied the Bishop of NewZealand in the same year as the publication of My Bee Book , ie., 1842. Its possible Campbell wasreferring not to My Bee Book , but to its precursors, Cottons 1837 and 1838 letters, addressed

particularly to Englands cottage beekeepers. The 1837 publication of twenty-four pages was A short and simple letter to cottagers from a conservative beekeeper. A further four editions subsequently appeared upto 1842, as well as an American edition in 1841.

British Bee Books, A bibliography 1500-1976 states There was a second letter to cottagers, apparently published three years after the first (ie., 1840), but we have not seen a copy earlier than 1842, both lettersthen being included in My bee book . Walker cites the two letters together, dated 1843 and 1844. (p.121)Given this evidence, its possible it was Cottons 1837, produced five years before My Bee Book that Johnwas referring to. Either way, some latitude should be allowed in Johns sequencing of events. Writing in1864 at the age of sixty-two years 11, he was recounting Cottons visit of twenty-two years prior.

And finally, to confirm that John Campbell did write the 1864 letter, Cotton named his temporary Sydneylandlord. From my transcriptions of Cottons script during study of his journals at the Mitchell Library

between 1995 and 1997, I located a letter home 12 dated May 1842. Cotton clearly wrote Mr. R.Campbell lent the Bishop his house at Woolloommoolloo 13 (sic) for the first 3 weeks to follow whenthe Tomatin has been hove down . Therefore the Australian correspondent to The Times Beemaster wasone of Campbells sons. I had originally thought William Cotton was geographically confused when hementioned Woolloomooloo, for Id assumed he was writing from Wharf House which overlookedCampbells Cove, however

Cotton was specific on where he was to temporarily reside. Other than Wharf House over in SydneyCove, what property in Woolloomooloo had Campbell provided for his guests ? This question triggeredsome further research into the early houses and residents of that locale. Im unsure if his house is to betaken literally. A possible candidate appears to have been Woolloomooloo House , owned by RobertCampbells brother-in-law John Palmer. 14 A watercolour painting of it by Sophia (Palmer) Campbell isheld at the National Library of Australia.

To zero in on which son wrote the letter, Robert Campbell Snr., who died in 1846, was survived by four sons: John (1802-1886), Robert (1804-1859), Charles and George (1818-1881). Its unlikely to have beenGeorge, who, even though he died in 1881 some years after the letter was written, was mostly involvedwith the family property of Duntroon from 1839. On his fathers death in 1846 he became its owner.

Newman (1961) Duntroon became the country house in which any member of the Wharf family could

rest if he wished. John was wedded to business, but the others used the house quite often. It cannot have been Robert Jnr who joined his father in politics and public affairs, but most definitely because he died

11 At the time of his death in 1886 John was aged 84. He was interred at St. Johns, Parramatta.12 Mitchell Library, Cottons diary Vol. 3. Ref. CY664, MS35, 21st August 1842 to 25th February 1843, p.2frame.24713 Cottons spelling was Woolloommoolloo; todays spelling is Woolloomooloo14 last paragraph, p.25, from Sydney Cove to Duntroon


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in 1859, five years before the letter was written. Charles joined his father on the land in 1835 (p.168) sohe appears to have had much less to do with Wharf House than his older brothers John and Robert.

By 1822 Robert Campbells two eldest sons (aged 20 and 18) were at work with Campbell & Co., (p.139) They had joined their father in his business and were able to relieve him of some of hisresponsibilities. They traveled about in ships dispatched to carry merchandise (p.130) and had no

fixed routine in the office They supervised work at the wharf, in the stores and developed aknowledge of the mercantile business. They traveled in ships, interviewed customers and suppliers, sawtimber cut and shipped, and meat salted and sold. They acted as extra eyes, ears and mouthpieces for their father, though it was not long before they were giving orders on their own account. (p.139) John becamede-facto head of Campbell & Co. in 1830. By 1836 John was the head of the business and young Robertthe public relations representative. (p.173)

Wharf House was the home of a prosperous and happy family. Although the two eldest sons had builttheir own houses, few days passed without both of them entering their old home, and Charles, who wasliving at Duntroon , was a frequent visitor to Sydney. (p.163) John had moved to Clunes , a house hehad built in Cambridge Street, Stanmore. It was a solid, two-storey building the area was quiet, andthere John could entertain customers and others away from the noise of the wharf and overcrowdedWharf House . (p.174) But theres no doubt bees were kept in the Wharf House garden - refer to the

chapter Sophia Ives Campbell, swarm-catcher of Wharf House on page 14. By process of eliminationits my deduction the letters author was John. On his fathers death in 1846 John moved from Clunes

back to Wharf House .

Cottons 1837 twenty-four page A Short and Simple Letter to Cottagers, from a Bee Preserver , whichrealised a distribution of some twenty-four thousand copies, was followed by Part II, Natural Theology of

Bees in 1842 . The first letter was intended to be a manual of Bee-keeping, my second of Bee-observing. The second cannot stand without the first; the first is needed for profit but he whoneglects the second, loses all the pleasure and instruction which may be derived from this mostdelightful of all country pursuits. An updated version of his first letter forms the first part of My Bee

Book and the second letter is re-produced near its end. Cotton allowed that some copies might go intoforeign parts. 15 Its possible that at least one copy of his Cottons Short and Simple Letter to Cottagersfound avid readers in Sydney between 1837 and 1842. These readers included the beekeeping Campbellsof Wharf House in Sydney.

John closed his dissertation to Cumming P.S. I have never had an opportunity of keeping bees inEngland. I shall look for your promised manual, as I hope some day I may be able to have some of my favourites to care for. I may add, my father procured our original stock from Tasmania, in thecommon straw hive, a bit of pierced tin fastened over the entrance. ...

Early Childhood Memories, 1810-1814 John Campbells letter to The Times Bee-Master recounted From early childhood 16 I shared myfathers interest in his pets; and at one time I could have counted upwards of ninety hives in the twoapiaries which he kept for his own amusement, and for the encouragement of those who werewilling to keep bees. Everyone was welcome to a swarm who cared to ask for one.

15 My Bee Book , Preface, p.xli16 Campbell Snr obtained his first stock of bees from Tasmania, (see page 23) so swarms should have been availablesome reasonable time after January 1831 when Thomas Braidwood Wilson successfully introduced bees there. Johnwould then have been aged around twenty-nine.


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View to the east by Conrad Martens, 1842, overlooking the gable of Campbells Wharf House (leftmost), then acrossSydney Cove with Government House prominent at centre, itself overlooking Farm Cove to the east, behind which

lies Woolloomooloo.

The question arises in this instance whether John was describing a pair of apiaries in England or Australia, despite the letters opening mention of It may be interesting to you to hear that myexperience in Australia of the habits of your little favourites is identical to your own. John, bornin 1802 in Sydney, would have been aged twenty when Captain Wallace introduced hives of bees intoSydney in 1822. Assuming early childhood refers to an age approaching around ten years, was John

was recalling a time c1812 ? To answer the question Ive constructed a chronology of events based on thecontents of C.E.T. Newmans (1961) The Spirit of Wharf House : In January 1805 when John was aged around three years, his father, mother and younger brother

Robert sailed to England. Some eighteen months later in August 1806 the family had returned to Sydney. In May 1810, when John was aged eight years, the family returned to England where they

remained for approximately four years. It think it most likely that this was the period whenRobert Campbell entertained upwards of ninety hives in the two apiaries .

The family, except for John, aged thirteen years, and his younger brother Robert, aged elevenyears, arrived back in Sydney in March 1815. 17 The two boys remained in England to continuetheir schooling.

From close study of the bulk of Johns 1864 letter, theres certainty that the remainder of his recollectionswere sited in Australia. As well, the letter provides fascinating insights into colonial beekeeping methods

practiced from 1832, the earliest likely year when Robert Campbell sourced honeybees from Tasmania.

Beekeeping Introductions, 1842In My Bee Book Cotton wrote The Bee of England, if he be but good of his kind, is, I think,surpassed by none in the world. I will not get Bees from India nor Bees from South America norbees from New Holland (ie., Australia) , but carry them direct from England, sixteen thousand milesover the sea. Its ironic, having suffered the loss of his meticulously prepared beehives at sea in early1842, Cotton needed to view Sydney as a source for some bees. And doubly so, for the descendants of

bees he eventually acquired were brought from England to Australia via Van Diemens Land (Tasmania).Fortune did, however, smile upon him for in the Campbells he found perfect bee-aware hosts. With their

17 Kerr, Joan (1982) from Sydney Cove to Duntroon, a Family Album of Early Life in Australia (p.37)


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prominent position within commercial, political 18, religious 19 and social circles 20, the Campbells wereexceedingly well placed to provide Cotton with the beekeeper introductions he would have eagerlyaccepted.

I propose that through the Campbell introductions Cotton was able to visit: Alexander Macleay, prominent Sydney citizen, most likely at his Elizabeth Bay residence, whose

garden, famous for its rare specimens of plants, was described as a botanists paradise21

;Macleay was a member of the Legislative Council between 1826 to c1836. Campbell sat on theCouncil between 1825 and 1843.

Elizabeth Macarthur at Elizabeth Farm, Parramatta who has a capital apiary 22

Elizabeths nephew, Hannibal Macarthur of Vineyard House, located on the north bank of theParramatta River A large property 15 miles from Sydney bounded one side by a tidal river,navigable for small steamers & on the other side extensive forests, chiefly composed of gumtrees, & a good sized farm house with cultivated fields, and outbuildings of a mile fromthe house. Large gardens & in the heart of the forest, a semi-circular terraced vineyard,with a stream at the foot, bordered with ferns & mimosa, a lovely spot. 23

Gregory Blaxland 24 25 at his property Brush Farm outside Parramatta;

Revd. Dr. Thomas Steele, the Parson of St. Peters, Cooks River 26;

18 He was one of the three private members appointed to the newly constituted Legislative Council in 1825, wherehe remained a member until it was replaced by the reformed Council in 1843. Aust. Dict. Biography, Vol. I 19 Campbell was an active and financially contributive member of the Presbyterian Scotts Church in Sydney. agrowing connection with the Church of England, strengthened by the affiliation of his wife and intimates (eg.,Rowland Hassall 1768-1820, Samuel Marsden 1764-1838, Bishop Broughton) was emphasised by generousendowments. Aust Dict. Biography, Vol. I 20

amongst the pallbearers at Robert Campbells funeral were Alexander Macleay and Alexander Berry21 Fletcher, J. J. The Societys Heritage from the Macleays , Proc. Linn. Soc. NSW., vol. 45 (1920)22 from a Cotton letter dated April 184323 Emmeline Macarthur, Hannibals daughter, recounted from the time when she was thirteen years old, in The

Recollections of Emmeline Maria Macarthur (1828-1911)24 I assume Cotton was referring to Gregory rather than his brother John, for Cotton simply wrote I paid a visit to Mr Blaxland. From a Cotton letter dated April 184325 The online version of the Australian Dictionary of Biography provides Gregory sailed in the William Pitt on 1September 1805 with his wife, three children, two servants, an overseer, a few sheep, seed, bees , tools, groceries andclothing. In my Volume I theorized the substance of Blaxlands dispute with the ships captain, both before and after his arrival in Sydney, was the captains refusal to allow Blaxlands bees aboard. Whatever the reason, a lengthydispute was not out of character: the online version of the Australian Dictionary of Biography states Blaxland wasAlways a man of moody and mercurial character . Accidents with bees on ships were not unknown. From The

Quarterly Review , Dec. 1842 The inhabitants of the Isles of Greece transport their hives by sea, in order to procurechange of pasturage for their bees. Huish relates (p.287) that Not long ago a hive on one of these vessels wasoverturned, and the bees spread themselves over the whole vessel. They attacked the sailors with great fury,who, to save themselves, swam ashore. They could not return to their boat until the bees were in a state of tranquility, having previously provided themselves with proper ingredients for creating a smoke, to suffocatethe bees in case of a renewal of their hostility (Huish, Robert. 1817, A treatise on the nature, economy, and

practical management of bees; p.15) .26 In 1837 Campbell Snr. gave land and money towards the cost of building St. Peters Church, Cooks River, andcontributed funds towards an Anglican Cathedral for Sydney. Aust. Dict. Biography, Vol. I ; The Spirit of Wharf

House , p.166


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and the merchant gentleman, Alexander Spark 27 and his wife Frances at Tempe, close by the banks of Cooks River, up stream from Botany Bay.

Cottons acclaimed mastery over his bees was temporarily thwarted when handling Campbells bees for inJohns letter he humorously recounted but sad to say, our bees conceived a dislike to their visitor;and upon his exhibiting his fearlessness in handling bees, he was stung (much to the amusement of

some small bystanders) by two wicked bees .. . . I doubt Cotton documented this embarrassing episode.The month of May in Sydney concludes the season of Autumn, a time when he should have been safeinspecting the bees. Cottons exuberance and joy at working a hive for the first time in Australia likelytested the bees patience.

Gregory Blaxland (1778 - 1853), by unknown artist, 1813, State Library of NSW. GPO 1 14069

Colonial Beekeeping, Sydney, 1832 to 1842

Reminiscent of the free-standing bee-house designed by Marianne Campbell at Duntroon , 28 JohnCampbell described his form of bee-house. As well he painted a clear picture of the advanced methods of keeping bees in Sydney to The Times Bee-master in 1864. Theres no doubt these events partook inAustralia for John mentions gum-trees hollowed out by the action of fires through the bush , anunmistakable Australian occurrence. John opened with It may be interesting to you, whose letters inThe Times have so delighted me, to hear that my experience in Australia of the habits, instincts, andaffections (if I may so apply the word) of your little favourites is identical with your own.

27 From Sparks diary entry for 6 April 1837 A deputation, consisting of Messrs R. Jones, Willm. Macarthur, Jas.Bowman, Robert Scott, Robert Campbell Jr. and myself, waited on Mr McLeay at his house to present the Addresswhich had been prepared, and very numerously signed, on the occasion of his involuntary retirement from the officeof Colonial Secretary. In reading his reply the fine old septuagenarian was much moved, his voice quavered and hiseyes filled with tears Abbott, Graham & Little, Geoffrey (1976) The Respectable Sydney Merchant, A. B. Spark of Tempe , Sydney University Press (p.76)

28 Refer page 12


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Campbells Wharf, Wharf House and attached garden (centre right)

I may give some curious facts as to the sagacity and gratitude of these insects. During theprevalence of the hot winds, 29 it sometimes happens that the delicate comb melts, and the firstindication is a stream of melted honey and smothering bees. I have been called to the rescue, andhave taken up honey and bees in my hands, placed them in a basin of tepid water, and spread myfingers as landing-stages until all capable of restoration have plumed their wings and buzzedgratefully away, and so on until order and comfort was restored to the disturbed hive. I never wasstung on any occasion whilst working amongst the bees, and only twice that I remember, and thenby meeting an angry bee accidentally in the garden. The buzz of an angry bee is quite well known totheir lovers.

Of course we could not house all our swarms, so they went off to the woods and found habitationsin gum-trees hollowed out by the action of fires through the bush. I recollect one swarm, however,belonging to a neighbour, which preferred its old quarters, and actually built the combs and filledthem with honey suspended from beneath the shelf upon which the hives were ranged in the openair. Its ultimate fate I do not remember.

Bees have many enemies in Australia; the greatest is probably the sugar-ant. To protect them fromthese intruders, we had the hives ranged on shelves, the supports of which stood in wide vessels of water, alike a protection against other foes. The apiaries were built open in front and ends, against awall, with thatched roof and overhanging eaves; and there was a space between the shelf on whichthe hives stood and the wall, where one could sit or stand and watch them; for most of our hiveswere square, made of wood, with glass slides and wooden shutters; and the bees were so accustomed

to be looked at, that they kept their side of the glass quite clean, and generally built a smoothsurface of comb next to the glass, leaving space to move between the comb and the glass; and I haveoften seen the queen, surrounded by her admiring subjects (exactly as you describe) making herprogress across the comb, each attendant bee with its head next her majesty, fanning with its wings,and one could hear a purr of satisfaction.

29 The intensity of Sydneys hot Summers heightens in January and February. The Argus , a Melbourne newspaper,mentions hives that melted in sun. (5 October 1867, p.5c)


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John Campbell in later years

The antipathies of the bee are very curious. I have known one individual who was chasedperpetually round the garden, and I have seen him obliged to rush through a hedge to escape hislittle tormentors. Their feuds were sometimes most violent, and I have had to remove a hive fromone apiary to the other, 30 a distance of half a mile, to preserve the bees.

Your plan of super-hives is excellent. Most of our hives were square, and all of wood. The strawhives proved a harbour for insects, and deprived us of the pleasure of watching the bees at work.We used large confectioners glasses as supers, 31 turned upside down. They were speedily filled, andwe could ensure honey flavoured with the different blossoms, by placing the glass during the seasonof orange-blossom, or heliotrope &c., &c.

A relation of my own kept her bees in the verandah of her drawing-room; and she has frequentlycut out of the hive a large piece of comb, taking care not to break it, and merely cutting through thelittle connecting links of wax which support the layers of comb; and this she could do with impunityfrom the super of a busy hive, simply because she lived amongst her bees.

I have never had an opportunity of keeping bees in England. I shall look for your promised manual,as I hope some day I may be able to have some of my favourites to care for.

One system I do not see alluded to, which we found answer very well, when we wished, for anycause, to take the old comb and start the bees afresh. We used in the early dawn to place the fullhive over an empty one, covering all with a large cloth, and then beat the top hive steadily, notroughly, with a stick. Very soon the queen would take refuge in the lower box, when a board wasslipped between, and the upper old hive removed. The bees (the few that loitered behind the queen)soon left the honey to join their friends: at night the new hive was carried to the site of the old one,and turned up upon its own board. We always had cross bars of wood on the hives, upon which theswarm at first clung.

Given Campbells explicit reference to Cottons My Bee Book as Our chief guide in the management(of bees), I wondered if John Campbells method of beekeeping bore relation to either of Cottons twoLetters to Cottagers or to My Bee Book itself. Though I found some parallels to Cottons 1837 letter, theCampbells used relatively advanced methods. Cotton acknowledges the use of straw skeps and acclaimsmethods of taking honey without killing all the bees.

30 This apiary may well have been located at Woolloomooloo House .31 See The Argus , 18 June 1861, p.7c, it mentions honey taken in glasses and boxes from the tops of the hives


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In France, Germany, Switzerland, indeed everywhere, except in England, they never kill theirbees. (p.62) Some of them make their straw hives with the top to take off, and fasten it down withwooden pegs: in July, they pull out the pegs, and with a large knife cut away the top of the hivefrom the combs which are fixed to it, like the top of a pumpkin: they then cut out what honey theBees can spare, never caring for those which are flying about their heads: for they will not touchthem if they have a pipe in their mouth. When they have helped themselves, they peg the top downagain, and leave the Bees to make all straight, and gather honey enough for the winter in Augustand September

A close up view of the garden adjacent Wharf House . Note the dovecote at centre. Unfortunately theres no obvious sign of beehives.

Others put another large Hive on the top of a strong stock in May, as in done in some parts of England, which prevents their swarming. This Hive they take off when full. Others turn up theirHives in July or August, and cut out some of the combs. Others, who know more about it, placesquare wooden boxes one on another, putting empty boxes below, and taking away full ones fromthe top. Some who know more about it, put an empty wooden box in front, and take it when full.These ways are clumsy, much worse than those I am going to teach you, but all better than burningthe Bees. (pp.65-66)

For the taking of honey Campbell used a method compatible to that of Cottons, although stackablewooden boxes were the medium. Again from Cottons first Letter Make your hives with a hole at thetop, an inch and a half over, with a bung to fit into it. This is needed for the plan of capping, which Iam now going to teach you. In May, when your Hives get full of Bees, and they begin to hang out,put a small straw Hive, which will hold about 10 lbs., on the top of a strong stock, after you have

pulled out the bung from the hole at the top. It should have a bit of glass worked into the back, thatyou may see when it is full. In good places the Bees will fill it sometimes in a week or ten days.Directly it is full, take it off (p.74)

Cottons prime rule matches the care and concern practiced by Campbell to ensure the welfare of his bees.Cotton in 1837 Well then, let this be your first rule, Never kill one. (pp.65-66) Cotton proceeded todescribe the use of ventilated side box hives which were first brought into general use by Mr. Nutt.Side boxes were, however, made one hundred years ago by Mr. White, but without ventilators,which is the grand thing . You will see directly how much easier it is for the Bees to store theirhoney in a side box, than in one Hive put on the top of another it is much easier to keep a side


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box cool, than one Hive when put upon another. The fanning which Bees make on a hot day at thedoor shows how they like coolness. You often see hundreds hanging out when it is too hot to work;and cases have even been known, where the combs, made soft by heat, have fallen down, andsmothered the Bees. All this is prevented by that hard word - VENTILATION. (pp.83-84) Cotton,however, would have accepted the hives in use by Campbell: most of our hives were square, made of wood, with glass slides and wooden shutters ...Your plan (ie., Cummings) of super-hives is excellent.Most of our hives were square, and all of wood. The straw hives proved a harbour for insects, anddeprived us of the pleasure of watching the bees at work.

Marianne Campbell, Beekeeper of Duntroon At a collectors meet at Nambour Showground in June 2002 over 150 stallholders were present together with several thousand eager collectors looking for that special find. I was one of the hopefuls and there Ifound and bought a book most useful to my research. Published in 1982 and titled from Sydney Cove to

Duntroon, A family Album of Early Life in Australia , this beautifully illustrated book portrays the artwork of two remarkable women, the first, Marianne Campbell, mistress of Duntroon and wife to GeorgeCampbell; and Sophia Campbell, mistress of Wharf House and wife of Robert Campbell Snr.

Of Charles Campbells wife, Catherine Irene (Palmer) Campbell, Newman wrote (1961) At Duntroon inthe early 1840s Mrs Charles Campbell kept a very good house, and her father-in-law (Robert snr.)enjoyed planning in the garden and elsewhere 32 Kerr (1982) Of Georges wife Marianne Like her father, moral and spiritual values derived from England, as did her cultural ones. She continued to paintEnglish flowers and she furnished Duntroon House and garden largely with English imports. At first,Mariannes anglophile attitudes were most clearly expressed in architecture. This apparently surprising

preoccupation for a woman was by no means uncommon in the nineteenth century. One of her great-grandsons still owns her small household book which initially was almost entirely given over to designsand sketches for domestic buildings. It contains designs and plans for the enlargement and improvementof Duntroon House itself; for garden buildings such as a Bees House and fencing for the estate. Aseparate later watercolour displays a practical plan for improving the drainage on the estate, soMariannes interests extended well beyond architectural embellishment. However, most of the plans in the

book are of ground plans and elevations for cottages on the estate 33

It seems the Bees House, if built, would have been constructed c1862. The dense exotic plantings of thegarden and the multi-gabled house and cottages suggest an English estate transported to the bareLimestone Plains. Mariannes garden was another important part of her life. It was said she planted atree in it from every country she had visited. That, too, was typically Victorian and reflected the Englishand colonial taste for gardens containing the greatest possible variety of plants. (p.57)

32 p.16733 pp.55-56


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By permission of the National Library of AustraliaBees House design from Mrs Campbells household sketchbook (catalogued manuscript MS840)

The design of a Bees House within Marianne Campbells small household sketchbook is twice mentioned34 in from Sydney Cove to Duntroon Like the Duntroon extensions and the bees house, all the staff cottages were in a domestic Victorian Gothic style, with gables, barge-boards, small porches or verandahsand diamond lead-light windows. This sketchbook was stated to be in the possession of one of MarianneCampbells great-grandsons. Her c1875 addition to Duntroon House of a large new conservatory with aconical glass roof is suggestive of the Victorian period Berkshire bee house illustrated below. I thereforesuspected Mariannes bees house would have been of a similar design.

It seemed natural to me to conclude that bees would have been kept at Duntroon but Id not come acrossany evidence of this, apart from Robert Senrs residence there from 1846. Newman (1961) wrote of

Duntroon The house and grounds had been fashioned as the country residence of a city man on themodel of types in the Old Country. The garden, enclosed by a hedge, was typically British. Armed withthe new knowledge that Marianne had c1862 designed a bees house while at Duntroon , it appears certainthat honey, meade and beeswax were as common as garden vegetables and flowers about their LimestonePlains home.

34 page 56


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A Victorian bee house at the Berkshire College of Agriculture,Hall Place, Burchetts Green, Berkshire

I wrote to the National Library of Australia and received prompt reply from the Reference ServicesLibrarian. Ms. Frei performed a search and graciously supplied a photocopy of the relevant page from the

household sketchbook, illustrated above. The three hives drawn within the bees house appear to be boxhives topped by glass bell jars. Accommodation for at least nine hives is available.

Sophia Ives Campbell, swarm-catcher of Wharf House Newman (1961) The two daughters had been in charge of Wharf House since their mother (SophiaCampbell) died in 1833. Its my assumption it was the daughter, Sophia Ives 35 Campbell, who wasmentioned in her uncle Johns 1864 letter to The Times Bee-Master. Sophia Ives Campbell wasinadvertently part of the beekeeping scene, having fearlessly survived a settling swarm of bees upon her hand and arm. John wrote On one occasion a swarm met my sister, and actually began to settle onher hand and arm. She knew their ways, and walked very slowly on (of course surrounded by bees)until she found what she considered a comfortable bough, under which she held her hand. Thequeen adopted the suggestion, and after a few minutes patiently standing amidst the confusion, shequietly retired, and, as you will believe, unharmed. Assuming Campbell obtained his hive fromTasmania around 1835 when Claytons apiary at OBriens Bridge near Hobart Town was freely

producing swarms, Sophia Ives would have been aged around twenty-three years.

Unfulfilled PromisesAlmost twelve months after Cottons Sydney visit he wrote home 36 on 21 April 1843 My Dear Arthur,my brother and my Godson. I hope to have some bees sent over to me from friends in Sydney,where they prosper, as I wrote to you before, most wonderfully. Despite promises Cotton receivedduring his stay in Sydney, no bees were forthcoming from Elizabeth Macarthur at Parramatta. Some nineweeks after his April 1843 letter, the day before Cotton recorded the Shamrock was to sail for Sydney, henoted in his journal on Friday, 7 July 1843 I also sent a note to Mrs McArthur of Parramatta beggingher to fulfil her promise of sending me some Bees .

Which Shamrock was Cotton referring to? From Newman (1961) The Spirit of Wharf House The sonsJohn and Robert (Campbell) visited their father frequently (at Duntroon ), and in 1844 they spoke of their

35 Sophia Ives Campbell, born in England, 1812, sailed for Australia in 1815 with her parents, Robert and Sophia.Its my guess she was the swarm-catcher, however it could equally have been her younger sister Sarah born c1816 inSydney.36 letter located by Bruce Stevenson in 1997 at the Auckland Institute & Museum, New Zealand.


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trips in the Shamrock , which was the crack steamer of her time. 37 The steamer Shamrock 38 was at onetime owned by Campbell & Co. Again from Newman (1961): In 1844 Another Shamrock , a schooner,was about to sail for New Zealand It would appear it was the schooner which delivered Cottons bees.39

Other New South Wales beekeeping friends had also defaulted on their best intentions, probably due to

their own agricultural priorities, the difficulties of organizing shipping and covering expenses, and theabsence of a suitable chaperone, one with both opportunity and time for a minimum fourteen day returnvoyage to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.

Such an opportunity arose when Cottons friend, James Busby, acted as his beehive collection emissaryduring the latters July 1843 Sydney visit. Cottons friends thus need only provide a hive. Busby wouldsee to arrangements and accompany their carriage. 40 Among those Cotton visited in Sydney during Apriland/or May 1842 were:

Hannibal Macarthur As covered in my book The Immigrant Bees (Volume II) , Hannibal Macarthurs daughter Emmeline, thensome thirteen years old, recounted, as published in My Dear Miss Macarthur, The Recollections of

Emmeline Maria Macarthur (1828-1911) 41 In 1841 42 Bishop Selwyn, the first Bishop of New

Zealand, arrived with his chaplain Mr. Cotton, who was delighted to find my Father as enthusiasticabout bees as he was. He wrote My Bee Book. I remember his putting a small star of tin foil on theQueen Bees back, so that he could watch her at work through the glass sides of the hive. I wonder if Hannibal Macarthur, like Robert Campbell, was subsequently in possession of a copy of My Bee Book ?

Revd. Steele, St. Peters, Cooks River Cottons April 1843 letter home tells of his visit to the Cooks River apiary of Revd Steele I send youherewith, that is by the same ship, a bottle of Australian honey, which is so very nice, to my taste atleast. It was made at Cooks River, near Botany Bay, by the bees belonging to Mr Steele the Parsonof the place. The bees are English bees, but came last from Van Diemens Land, whither they weretaken, I believe, some time ago. They do exceptionally here. I met Mr MacClay (sic.) ... Bees werefirst brought for his daughter. ... I paid a visit to Mrs McArthur at Parramatta who has a capital

apiary, and to Mr Blaxland.

Assuming Steele did not procure his bees from the bush, two possible sources were Alexander Macleayand Robert Campbell, both of whom obtained their bees from Van Diemens Land (Tasmania). Campbell,I believe, is the leading candidate because of his close links with the Church of England which includedthe Cooks River church of St Peters. In 1837 Robert Campbell gave the land and a donation for the

37 p.167.38 Ive found no evidence the steamer Shamrock ever visited New Zealand. From web sitehttp://www.jenwilletts.com/Steamships.htm The Shamrock was owned by the Hunter River Steam NavigationCompany. She was rigged as a three masted schooner, with a raised quarter deck and had been built in Bristol. In1843 she replaced the 'Seahorse' plying between Launceston, Melbourne and Sydney. In February 1846 she was thevessel of choice for Rev. Dr. Lang on his voyage to Port Phillip and Moreton Bay An excellent hand colouredlithograph the Shamrock c1841 may be viewed on web site http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an9579370 39 From web site http://members.ozemail.com.au/~captbaz/1874_S.htm I located a schooner Shamrock of 85 tons,

built Nova Scotia in 1839 and registered in Wellington 1865, owned by WM Jewell. This is a candidate for Cottonsexpectations.

40 for more complete coverage, refer to William Charles Cotton, Grand Bee Master of New Zealand, 1842 to 1847 .Peter Barrett, Springwood, 1997.41 de Falbe, Jean (1988) My dear Miss Macarthur, The Recollections of Emmeline Maria Macarthur (1828-1911) ,Kangaroo Press42 It was actually in 1842
http://www.jenwilletts.com/Steamships.htmhttp://www.jenwilletts.com/lang's_immigration_scheme.htmhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an9579370http://members.ozemail.com.au/~captbaz/1874_S.htmhttp://www.jenwilletts.com/Steamships.htmhttp://www.jenwilletts.com/lang's_immigration_scheme.htmhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an9579370http://members.ozemail.com.au/~captbaz/1874_S.htm


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building of St Peters Church, Cooks River. 43 The family of Robert Campbell had been brought up notonly as traditionally religious people, but as devout believers in their faith. Their knowledge of theChurch of England was profound and they helped it freely. By 1846 the family had been responsiblefor much of the work at St Phillips in Sydney, St Peters at Cooks River, St Johns at Canberra and StJohns at Parramatta. 44

Cottons apiary visits and resulting promises finally bore results following Busbys presence in Sydney inJuly 1843. As recounted in my 1997 book William Charles Cotton, Grand Bee Master of New Zealand ,Cotton recorded in his journal for Thursday 3 August, under the page heading Bees Arrive During themorning I had a letter from Mr Busby dated of this Day at sea, and bringing the joyful intelligencethat he had his hives of Bees for me, one from D Steeles, the other from Mrs Sparke. The followingday Many thanks to them.

Cottons journal entry 45 for 3 August 1843 names the donors of the two hives James Busby sourced for him while in Sydney. In interpreting Cottons handwriting, one name clearly reads as D Steele,identified by Cotton as the Parson of St. Peters, Cooks River. Rev. Dr. Thomas Steeles hive was a veryheavy one, the combs had all broken down & the Bees were drowned in honey 46. This also appearsto have been a large straw hive. My Sydney friends made the mistake of picking out for me some of their heaviest hives, whereas the lightest wd have been best. The storified Hives too, like that which

Mr Busby brought down for himself are best suited for the voyage - in them the combs are morebroken up into smaller portions, & have more support. But to return to this lot of mine. 47 Itappears the storified hive, most likely a more advanced design utilising spaced top-bars, came neither from Thomas Steele or Mrs Sparke. Busby may have had contacts of his own.

Some fifteen months previously, either in April or May 1842, Cotton had visited Revd Steele at CooksRiver. An unplanned delay in Sydney 48 supplemented by Campbells introductions gave Cotton theopportunity to visit beekeepers who might replace his lost bee hives. For whatever reason, Cottons well

planned grand experiment to bring hives of bees packed in an elaborate icebox from England to NewZealand had failed before reaching Sydney. Who then was this Mrs Sparke ?

Frances and Alexander Spark, Tempe, Cooks River The best I could make of Cottons script was Mrs Sparke who had supplied a very large straw one 49

a great deal too large more than three times the size of those we have in England. 50 Subsequentto publication of my Volume II , I located a book titled The Respectable Sydney Merchant, A. B. Spark of Tempe . 51 Tempe is a town upstream of Botany Bay on the shores of Cooks River. Alexander BrodieSpark, a prominent Sydney banker and merchant, and his wife, Frances Maria Spark, were well known toSteele, the minister of the parish to which they actively belonged. From Sparks diary 52 for 2 January1848 Listened with very great interest to the farewell sermon delivered by Dr Steele previous to hisproceeding to England with Mrs Steele by the Agincourt . Many tears told the esteem in which theywere generally held The Mrs Sparke of Cottons journal must refer to A. B. Sparks wife.

43 Newman (1961) p.16644 Newman (1961) p.18645 Barrett, Peter (1997) William Charles Cotton, Grand Bee Master of New Zealand, 1842 to 1847 46 ibid., 10 August 184347 ibid.48 Thurs 14 April At sunrise off Sidney Heads. It had fallen a dead calm during the night. Cotton was in Sydney until 19 May.49 Cottons diary entry for 10 August 184350 ibid., 29 September 184351 Abbott, Graham & Little, Geoffrey (1976) The Respectable Sydney Merchant, A. B. Spark of Tempe , SydneyUniversity Press.52 ibid., p.184


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Alexander and Frances Spark resided at their home Tempe sited beside Cooks River. Sparks diaryentry for 5 March 1837 Was called from my morning studies to see a swarm of Bees that had justemigrated from the parent Hive. I found them hanging from the branch of a Loquat tree, a largeblack cluster. A new hive was in readiness, and after due protection against their sting, theGardener and Harry shook them from the branch into the hive, which was then placed in i ts properposition & a white cloth thrown over it. 53

Spark continued his interest in matters both agricultural and manufacture for he wrote 54 on 12 March1850 Presided at a Committee meeting of the Botanic Society, at which the important Report fromthe Sub Committee was passed, relative to receiving all articles of colonial growth or manufacturefor transmission to the grand Exhibition in London 55 next year under the auspices of H.R.H. PrinceAlbert. He was also an active exhibitor at horticultural shows, often winning prizes. On 13 February1839 the second show of the Floral and Horticultural Society. To this show I had sent in mygardener with fine specimens of Pomegranates, Olives and Flowers, and some prizes have beenawarded to me.

Sparks estate on the Cooks River, Tempe, boasted one of the best houses and most admired settings of the time. The garden, landscaped by convict labour, boasted many imported shrubs and vines. 56 12January 1838 Abundance of fruit this season at Tempe. Apricots, Mulberries, Figs, Peaches,nectarines and Plums adorn the table. On 16 September 1848 My spouse and I gardening nearlyall day. The total number of fruit trees pruned by us was 154.

In October 1843, as a result of financial setbacks, Spark was declared insolvent. Fears of such an evententered his diary on 7 December 1842. A bill for 500 returned from London on me. Verymiserable and full of horrible forebodings. His financial wellbeing was never to return. He chased

business opportunities, many of which did not pay. Some income was derived by selling fruit he and hiswife picked in their orchard at Tempe. Honey sales too may have generated some income.

Alexander Brodie Spark at age 44, 1836

For 15 August 1843 More rain, still remained at home, if such it may be called. Walked with myMaria in the garden, now teeming with the promise of spring, from which we are soon to be

53 Isaac Hopkins (1886) recommended that for a freshly captured swarm a sheet thrown around it will usually prevent the bees absconding. p.19954 Abbott, Graham & Little, Geoffrey (1976) The Respectable Sydney Merchant, A. B. Spark of Tempe , SydneyUniversity Press. p.19455 held 185156 Abbott, Graham & Little, Geoffrey (1976) The Respectable Sydney Merchant, A. B. Spark of Tempe , SydneyUniversity Press. p.1


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driven. Two days later Still kept in the horror of suspence (sic.) respecting my fate. On 20 Augusthe knew It was appointed that I should be driven from the sunshine of liberal affluence, into theobscurity of lean poverty, but thou hast brought me low so gradually as to prepare my mind in onedegree of humiliation to meet another, without inflicting that awfully sudden wrench which mighthave unseated reason from her throne .

The gift of a valuable hive of bees to Cotton around three weeks previously, then a time of impendingfinancial ruin, made this donation all the more significant. For gift it must have been: Cotton wrote in his1848 A Manual for New Zealand Bee Keepers Get a swarm from a friend early in the season inorder that your stock may be well established before the swarming season is over, by which timeyou ought to have several hives in your bee house. ... he must be a stingy bee master indeed who willnot freely give out of this his abundance In many parts of England no man would think of doingsuch a thing as paying money for a hive. He would hold it unlucky, and say that bought bees nevercome to good;

Tempe, Cooks River

Regarding Spark, from Freda MacDonnells Before Kings Cross (1967) Both as a man and as one of theleaders of his time in commerce he set an example of moderate living; and when the tide turned againsthim, he faced his difficulties with courage and stability. His financial decline eventually reversed aroundJanuary 1846. He might be gathering apricots and other fruit for the markets; he would never again be

really wealthy, or lead a social life, but he had retained the respect of the city and he was beginning to build again.

A Promise Fulfilled I couldnt locate any mention of a visit by Cotton in Sparks diary during April or May 1842.Unfortunately, Sparks entries between May 6th and 17th are missing, this twelve-day gap concluding buttwo days before Cotton departed Sydney for Auckland. However, Cottons New Zealand journal entry for Thursday August 10th 1843 took boat to the Busbys (Buzz Bee) found his hive alive and doingwell whilst I was sadly off. In one of mine, a very heavy one, the combs had all broken down & theBees were drowned in the honey. The other, a very large straw one from Mrs Sparke, had still a fewbees in it alive, not above a cupful, but the combs had all fallen, and the navvies had made free withthe honey. Did not think they had a chance of living, as they flew about in a tumultuous way - sorryfor it.


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Frances Maria Spark

Mournfully, Cotton believed both his hives had failed. Friday August 11th 1843. About 1 oclock MrBurrows put me across to Mr Busbys with a Maori whom I had hired to pick up the poor remainsof my Bees, found they had all flown away, a poverty swarm, soon after I left them yesterday, sorryfor it. One month later Cotton still had hopes of bees arriving from his Sydney friends. SaturdaySeptember 9th 1843. ... off to Keri keri after dinner, as I heard a ship had arrived from Sydney, andI hoped she might have brought me a hive or two - no Bees . More disappointment !

Near the end of the month on Friday September 29th 1843. ... over to Mr Busbys. Took a comb outof their hive ... I am to have the first swarm. My Bees to my astonishment alive. The Bees, and theirlittle combs which they had made, occupied about the space of a tea cup. There was honey in thecells, and brood. Had I turned them down at once, and fastened them to their stand they might havedone well, but I yielded to my wish to see the Queen, so I tipped-tap tap on the inverted hive.

Cottons exuberance again came into play. With, I suspect, the same overactive eagerness that earned himtwo bee stings in John Campbells apiary. Bee hives which could have been left to prosper if undisturbedoffered too great a temptation. He could have added If I had but left them alone. James Robinson wrotein his 1889 (2 nd ed.) British Bee-Farming, its Profits and Pleasures An apiary in which experimentsare being constantly performed will never prove successful. The late Rev. W. C. Cotton at one timepurchased fourteen good stocks the same year, and lost them all by experiments. 57

Cotton, a man of many temperaments, had a different impact in 1864 on John Cumming, The TimesBeemaster, who wrote in praise of Cottons view on the positive contribution drones make to a hiveduring the Queens egg laying season as no mean authority (p.101); Cumming wrote in admiration of The Reverend Charles Cotton, while he lived the prince of bee-masters (p.91); and Mr. Cotton, themost affectionate of bee-masters while he lived (p.71)

Cotton diarized on 29 September 1843 The Bees, about a pint - marched all up the sides of the hivein a few minutes, and I had the pleasure of showing Mrs Busby, and handling myself for the firsttime a Queen in N.Z. After some time I put her back, and great was the buzz of gratulation. (sic.)

57 Robinson, James (1889) p.132. Cotton was sympathetic with and committed to observation and experimentationin his search for knowledge of bees. At the end of Robert Sydserffs 1792 Treatise on Bees, part of which Cottonreproduced in his 1842 My Bee Book Hoping I have satisfied my readers, for which I have exerted the utmost of myslender abilities, and communicated every observation and experiment worth mentioning, I have only to requesttheir candour and indulgence; and if this Treatise shall be instrumental, in any respect, to benefit and profit myfellow-creatures, I shall be amply rewarded for the labour and pains I have taken for that purpose. (p.232)


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Terrible bad weather came on soon after and this parcel of Bees soon dwindled away, or flew awayas a poverty swarm. Their hive was a great deal too large more than three times the size of those wehave in England. I should have been very glad had this hive done better as its ups & downs in lifewd have been unprecedented in Bee annals.

My Sydney friends made the mistake of picking out for me some of their heaviest hives, whereas the

lightest wd have been best. The storified Hives too, like that which Mr Busby brought down forhimself are best suited for the voyage - in them the combs are more broken up into smaller portions,& have more support. But to return to this lot of mine. The day I first saw them, they swarmedaway, so that when I returned August the 11th the hive was empty. In the even Mr Busbys man ...found them all clustering together on the ground, near the hive, the greater part of them having gotinto an old glass bottle. He put the hive over them. For several days following wet & cold theyswarmed out, and went crawling about the walls, in a half torpid state. ... and at last got them tostop in the hive where they began to work - but as I have said did not ultimately come to anything....

Waspish criticismHere is an entertaining diversion - the vitriolic reaction of Rev. T. Clark in his Prefaces and particularly

the footnotes to the 1845 Sixth Edition of Thomas Nutts Humanity to Bees. Clark vilified both the personof William Cotton and My Bee Book. He also disparagingly inverted the accolade of this elegantvolume by the anonymous reviewer in The Quarterly Review (Dec. 1842) into an italicized insult.(p.195) Clark disparagingly footnotes one of the many specimens of the ridiculous to be met with inthe elegant volume.

More offence is taken and ridicule piled upon Cotton for his legitimate generic use of the term he whenreferring to an instance of bees or any fauna of either sex. When Cotton describes his fortune in not beingstung after swallowing a bee I prepared myself for a run to the Doctors, had I felt its sting in mythroat but the Bee passed so rapidly down, that he had not time to sting; when he got to his

journeys end, no doubt not a little surprised at the path he had traveled, he resigned himself to hisfate, like a good Bee, and did not avenge himself by stinging me. Clark retorted He Bees have no

stings: and from the hes in the tale it is evident that he (Cotton) swallowed a drone Bee. I wasexpecting, observed a person in whose hearing this passage was lately read, the conclusion wouldhave been, that he passed so rapidly on as soon to make his exit through Cottons postern, 58 andthat he then flew away like a good Bee (p.197)

More bile is directed at part of Cottons work as incomprehensible and a rigmarole enunciation; scornis again directed at the The Quarterly Review for the elegant volume, audaciously extolled Fie,Cotton ! Fie Quarterly ! (p.224) Another footnote all but accuses Cotton or some friend of the

getting up of the article in the Quarterly - a supposition neither impossible nor improbable. (p.172)Of this same footnote British Bee Books, A Bibliography 1500-1976 observes Nutt complains in the 6 th

ed. that Cotton had silently and surreptitiously taken the sketch (of the apiary at Delabere Park theseat of one of Nutts patrons and reproduced it as his own in My Bee Book . In fact, the accusation wasnot made by Nutt but by Clark, as editor, who clearly states in the Preface For the Notes now

introduced, he (the editor) begs to state, that he alone is responsible: Mr. Nutt has had no hand inthem . Yet more castigation follows. Was there ever or since so much fury exhibited by one upon another bee book author ?

And yet, one with a kinder heart resided within this books pages: following the original Preface, dated1832, penned by Nutt, there is repeated his Preface to the Second Edition. Herein he glowinglyacknowledges the contribution wherein whole pages of new matter have been introducedinterspersedly by my most respected friend the Rev. T. Clark of Gedney-Hill, who has revised,

58 A crude reference to Cottons backside


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corrected, and re-arranged the whole; and who has not only bestowed much time and pains uponthe improvement of my work, but in the kindest and most disinterested manner has, insuperintending this and the former edition through the press, actually traveled upwards of eight hundred miles. The friendly performer of services so generous, so laborious, and so perseveringlyattended to, without any stipulation for fee or reward, merits from me, and has from me, everyexpression of my gratitude, and, were it in my power, should have one expression more . (pp.xviii-xix)The Quarterly Review s appraisal of Nutts work is not one sided, although when on the receiving end of criticism it can seem more negative than intended. A selection To enter into all the advantages anddisadvantages of these plans (supering/storifying, nadiring and collateral / side boxes) would be towrite a volume; we must therefore content ourselves with Dr. Bevans general rule, which we think experience fully bears out, that old stocks should be supered and swarms be nadired . Side-boxes arethe leading feature of Mr. Nutts plan, about which so much has been written and lectured but thatthere is nothing new in this The object of Mr. Nutts system is to prevent swarming, which heseems to consider an unnatural process, and forced upon the bees by the narrowness and heat of thehive, caused by an overgrown population. To this we altogether demur Moreover, with all hiscontrivances, Mr. Nutt, or at least his followers, cannot wholly prevent swarming But great

praise is due to him for the attention which he has called to the ventilation of the hive. Mr. Nuttsbook is worth reading for this part of the subject alone:- but our experience, backed byinnumerable other instances within our knowledge, is unfavourable to the use of his boxes; andeven those beekeepers who continue them, as partially successful, have not yet got over thedisappointment caused by his exaggerated statements of the produce. (p.13)

I suspect Clarks indignation was due to his belief that he was more the author of Humanity to Bees thatwas Nutt. Cotton, however, was positive in his comments upon Nutts 1835 third edition., wherein hedescribed Nutts improvement of ventilation upon collateral boxes as the grand thing . Did Cotton,during the latter part of his 1842-47 New Zealand residency, become aware of Clarks heated sentimentsof 1845? Or was that shock waiting for him on his return ?

The anonymous reviewer in The Quarterly Review was aware of vitriolic reaction towards Cottonsviews. In a discussion on the relocation of hives to take advantage of near or distant bee pasturage areas:a late writer, who has shown rather a waspish disposition in his attacks on Mr. Cottons system,seems to question not only the advantage, but the practicability of the transportation of hivesaltogether. But the fact is, that in the north of England and in Scotland, where there are large tractsof heather-land apart from any habitation, nothing is more common than for the bee-masters of thetowns and villages to submit their hives during the honey season to the care of the shepherd of thedistrict. The reviewer frequently referred to Cottons book, mostly on favourable terms. Someextracts:

One of the most dangerous services, as may well be imagined, is that of taking their honey, when this isattempted without suffocating or stupefying, or any of those other methods which leave the hive free. The common barbarous plan is to suffocate the whole stock with sulphur, and then, as dead men tell notales, and dead bees do not use theirs, it is very easy to cut out the comb at your leisure. But is any case

Mr. Cottons plan is far preferable. Instead of suffocating, he stupefies them. This plan of fumigation we consider as the most valuable of the practical part of Mr. Cottons book. The rest of his system,with which we own ourselves to have been a little puzzled, is too near an approximation to Nutts torequire further explanation or trial. (p.16, col.a) the present form of his book is now sent forth in one of the most elegant volumes that ever graceda library table. (p.16, col.b)


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Mr. Cottons book, though not quite as successful as we could wish, is very far indeed from partakingof the worst defects of this class. Indeed he has so nearly reached the point at which he has aimed, that wefeel continually annoyed that he just falls short of it.... taking the work as it comes to us in its present form, with its exquisite woodcuts, perfection of dress,

prelude of mottoes, list of bee books (which, though imperfect, particularly as to foreign works, is thefirst of the kind) - appendices - reprints - extracts &c ., we hardly know of a book of the kind that has

pleased us more. ... professing no sort of arrangement, it is the perfection of a scrapbook for thegentleman or lady bee-keeper.

Clarks Advertisement (Preface) to the 6 th ed. is difficult to read with a straight face. Its pretentiousnessand lack of generosity bestows no credit on the scribe Were the author, alias the proprietor of thefollowing work, to attempt to write another preface (there being no fewer than three already,understood to be authors Prefaces) the substance of it would probably be to express in glowinglanguage his gratitude to his patrons particularly, and to the public generally, for theencouragement he has met with, and for having purchased every copy of all the preceding editions;and modestly to announce the superiority of the sixth to all former editions. But, to spare theostensible author the disagreeable task of puffing, the editor in propria persona takes theopportunity here afforded him of informing the reader that the materials for the following work

were originally put into his hands in an unconnected and well-nigh unintelligible state, - they wereliterally a rudis indigestaque moles, which required considerable labour and persevering industryin order to their being gradually moulded into the form in which they now appear; - and that hehas again been prevailed upon to bestow more than a little labour upon the revision, enlargement,and, he thinks, improvement of the work. Such an astounding diatribe upon the ostensible authoris, at the very least, an embarrassment to all who have, and will in future, come across these ill-humouredcomments

Thomas Birkby: gardener, beekeeper Sparks some time gardener, also likely doubling as beekeeper during his service of three years to 1838, wasidentified in his diary for 3 March that year. My gardener, Thomas Birkby, with his wife and family took his departure from Tempe, where they have lived for three years Birkby had previously sailed from

London with his wife and children mid July 1834 and after an eventful voyage arrived in Sydney on 24October 1834. In his letter 59 dated 31 May 1836 to his family in England, Birkby gave details of his voyageout, subsequent employment and observations of life in the colony. Amongst descriptions of convicts andtheir treatment, his opinions on aborigines and their situation, he gave details of native animal and bird life,

prices for stock, wages, and in sympathy with his vocation, the varieties and availability of fruit andvegetables. He was not impressed by the large flies whose maggots quickly turned even cooked meatinedible.

Birkby so noticed the predominance of yellow in the native flora he avidly requested as many flower seeds of certain kinds be sent as could be obtained. I was also pleased to find this passing observation The nativehoney bee is a small insect no bigger than a black ant, but very productive in honey.

Soon after arrival he worked for the Surveyor General for nine weeks, then as Overseer for five weeks on

the Surveyor Generals property on the Catarack 60

and Nepean Rivers. Then followed a longer term position as Overseer for Spark. I came down to Sydney and engaged with my present master to beOverseer at his farm at Tempe Cooks River, at which place I have been about 14 months and Ibelieve he is one of the Gentlemen of the Colony. He makes gardening his Hobby. Our farmconsists of 250 acres most of it pretty good, but we have none of it under cultivation excepting (the)

59 Dixson Collection, State Library of New South Wales60 ie., Cataract River


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new garden that I am making about ten acres, for working which I have thirteen convictlabourers.

Who supplied Campbells hive ?John Campbells letter to John Cumming advised my father procured our original stock fromTasmania, in the common straw hive, a bit of pierced tin fastened over the entrance . Who thensupplied this hive? It could not have been Alexander Macleay, a co-member of the Legislative Councilwith the elder Campbell, whose hive was personally delivered by Thomas Braidwood Wilson in August1832. Its a mystery why swarms from Macleays daughters Elizabeth Bay hive were not supplied toCampbell. Swarms should have been available in Tasmania some reasonable time after January 1831when Thomas Braidwood Wilson successfully introduced bees there. Robinson (1889) states regardingWilsons hive It arrived in safety, and the bees swarmed several times the first year; (p.140)

There is a clue. Wilson documented the care of his hive during its October 1830 - January 1831 voyagefrom England to Hobart-town 61 in his circa 1834 correspondence with John Lawrence. In part Shortlyafter we passed the torrid zone, I thought it advisable to confine the bees to their hive; I thereforeplaced a piece of perforated sheet-lead against the aperture; 62 Note the use of perforated metal over the entrance to confine the bees. The use of a punctured metal (either lead, tin or zinc) entrance cover

appears to have been a common technique.A prime candidate is Mr. Davidson, Superintendent of the public garden at the time of Wilsons arrival inHobart on 27 January 1831. Davidson subsequently acted on behalf of the Governor in the distribution of swarms. Wilson recounted the presentation of his hive to the Governor His Excellency LieutenantGovernor Arthur was pleased to accept them, on the part of the Government; and promised, shouldthey succeed, to distribute the swarm to any of the colonists, who might apply for them. The hivewas placed in the public garden, under the special care of Mr. Davidson the superintendent (sic),and as his Excellency had commanded that the greatest attention should be bestowed on them, theysoon began to thrive and increase. In the space of one year there were seventeen swarms. On myrevisiting Van Diemans (sic) Land, in August, 1832, I carried the original hive I had brought fromEngland to Sydney, and presented it to Alexander Maclean, (sic) Esq. colonial secretary.

Davidson, first superintendent of the Botanic Garden, given responsibility for the well-being of Wilsonsoriginal hive of bees, proved more than capable in his duty In 1832 tribute was paid to Davidson forhis successful management of a hive of bees introduced by Dr T. B. Wilson R. N., These bees multiplied sufficiently in the Gardens for Governor Arthur to send a hive to Governor Bourke 63 inSydney. 64 Robert Campbell too was a most likely recipient of one of Davidsons swarms.

An equally plausible candidate is a Mr Clayton, whose apiary at OBriens Bridge, Glenorchy, producedeighteen swarms 65 from one hive alone in February 1835. Robinsons 1889 British Bee-farming (p.140) doesnot specifically name Clayton, however the reference is obvious in the True Colonist (a Hobart Townnewspaper) of Feb. 14 th , 1835, it is stated that a hive descended from Dr. Wilsons, belonging to agentleman in the neighbourhood of Hobart Town, had already swarmed eighteen times.

61

Correspondence contained in: Moubray, Bonington. pseudo (Lawrence, John) (1834) A Practical Treatise onbreeding, rearing, and fattening all kinds of domestic poultry, pheasants, pigeons, and rabbits; also the management of swine, milch cows, and bees; with instructions for the private brewery, on cider, and british wine making. Sherwood,Gilbert, and Piper, London.62 For a first person account of the travails of this hive, see The Immigrant Bees, 1788 to 1898, Volume II , Peter Barrett, Springwood, 1999.63 Bourke, eighth Governor of New South Wales, 1831 to 183764 Hurburgh, Marcus (1986) The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, 1818-1986, a History in Stone, Sail &Superintendents , Sandy Bay, 1986. p.1365 True Colonist , 14 February 1835


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The Sydney Morning Herald 66 for 25 May 1837 reported A gentleman, named Clayton, has justimported from Hobart Town, about fifty or sixty Hives of healthy Bees, which are well worthinspection. Some of the Hives contain, at least, five thousand of these little industrious tenants. Theimporter has already established the rearing of bees in Van Diemens Land and wishes to introducethem here, without regard to profiting by the speculation. The Bees may be seen as peradvertisement. Had merchant Campbell acquired one of these hives, located but a short walk from hisown wharf on the same Sydney Cove ? Alexander Berry may also have obtained his bees from Claytonsstock for it was in 1837 that Berry had got some . 67

The Sydney Morning Herald of 25 May 1837

A Spark Berry Link Given Alexander Berrys extensive business, political and social contacts, he could have obtained his hives of

bees from many prominent apiarian sources, such as Alexander Macleay or John Campbell. Another possibility is that Berry acquired his bees from Alexander Spark some little time prior to October 1837. 68 As previously evidenced, the latters diary depicts active beekeeping at his Tempe apiary in March 1837 Wascalled from my morning studies to see a swarm of Bees that had just emigrated from the parent Hive

Spark maintained an ongoing commercial relationship with Berry and social contact with both Berry and hiswife at their home at Crows Nest, Sydney eg., on Saturday 4 February 1837, Spark Crossed over with MrMcLaren in his boat to his residence on the North Shore The next day In the forenoon wecrossed the bay in front of Mr McLarens house, and climbing up the opposite rock, took a straightdirection to Mr Millers. There we found him and Mr Berry, and remained for some time enjoyingthe panoramic view from his house. Mr Berry had brought his gig, and he and I proceeded onwardto the Crows Nest, the others walking. Found Mrs Berry as usual all kindness. Lunched on the finefruit she set before us and afterwards walked in the Garden. Many of the fruit trees were burned black from the great fire which had lately raged in that district, apples and peaches hanging half roasted onthe trees. ...

After hunting for links between Spark and Berry, all became clear when I found John Manning Wards book titled James Macarthur, 69 Colonial Conservative 1798 1867. Although this book is a political studycovering seventy years of the colonial period, it clearly shows the political, family and social links between

many of the beekeepers Ive concentrated on, and hence opportunities for beekeeping relationships: c1842, Hannibal Macarthur and Robert Campbell were political allies (p.121)

66 p.2e67 Refer the chapter Alexander and David Berry, 1837 on page 25.68 See the story on Frances and Alexander Spark on page 1669 Campbell, Keith (2002) In 1821, John MacArthur wrote to his brother James from London, that he understoodthat he had acquired English bees, and wanted to know how they were doing. The MacArthurs were first to do withlivestock in Australia: perhaps this was another.


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James Bowman (I believe the brother of William Bowman of Richmond) was James Macarthurs brother-in-law (p.123)

Thomas Icely, then of Bathurst, was a friend of James (p.126) Alexander Macleay, another James Macarthur family friend (p.126) James Macarthur, it appears, may have had English bees in 1821. Refer footnote 69 on page. 24 (This

predates Wallaces 1822 introduction !) Hannibal Macarthur was cousin to James Macarthur (p.126)

Alexander and David Berry, 1837 Another parallel the Sparks, like Berry, used straw skeps: In August 1843, Mrs Spark provided a populatedskep a very large straw one 70 to James Busby for William Cotton during Busbys visit to Sydney from theBay of Islands. In late 1837 Berry requested sheaves of the threshed rye to make bee hives as I have gotsome from his brother John 71 at Coolangatta , their Shoalhaven River property. 72

Keith Campbell, a New South Wales South Coast historian, observed in his 2002 73 ABC radio OckhamsRazor interview Berry was experimenting in the construction of bee hives from wheat sheaves at leastas early as 1837. More than just experimenting Berry was exercising his skill in the basic constructionmethod for making straw beehives known as skeps. Robinson (1889) wrote skeps are not difficult tomake, and are very simple in their construction. The annexed illustration will, at a glance,explain how to make them; only two articles are necessary, straw, and either a few long bramblestems, or, what is far better, a few long canes, which may easily be procured The straw should bewheat straw, and as long as possible. We have always found hand-threshed straw superior for thispurpose to machine-threshed, because the latter is bruised and broken, so as frequently to beworthless. The cane should be split up carefully into thin strips.

Many makers use a cows horn to work the straw through in plaiting the hive, but a circular bit of tin soldered so as to keep the straw of an even thickness in the plaits is more convenient and useful;the tin should be a little wider at one end than the other. At first great care must be taken inpreparing the first round or plait to make it very firm and strong, because on this depends in agreat degree the quality of the hive, and all the weight rests upon this. If this is performed

satisfactorily the greatest difficulty is overcome, and the remainder is comparatively easy work.Much may be learned by first taking in pieces an old hive, and observing the fastenings of the caneas well as the mode of its working. The hive entrance is cut out after the hive is completed. (pp.43-44)

70 Cottons diary entry for 10 August 184371 after years of persistent invitation Berry in 1836 brought from Scotland his three brothers John, William andDavid and two of his three sisters, Janet and Nancy, all of whom settled at Coolangatta (Bayley, 1965, p.31)72 For more on Alexander and David Berry, see also the chapters Large Scale Beekeeping, 1849 on page and ASettler at Illawarra, c1861 on page73 Broadcast 29 Dec. 2002


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Skep Making, from British Bee Farming, Robinson (1889)

Meg Swords (1978) in Alexander Berry and Elizabeth Wollstonecraft provides some fascinating background to Alexanders seemingly straightforward request for this raw material to make bee hives. Aswell, reference to meade at Coolangatta provides additional evidence of the presence of bee hives and

productive use of by-products of the honey harvest: Directions of all kinds went to his brothers andsisters, who were certainly not youngsters. During a period of severe floods he wrote, For Gods sake,dont sit around in your wet clothes . He gave instructions, with a diagram, as to how to purifywater for drinking and suggested cures for their ills. His criticism and advice were hard to counter, for attimes his knowledge seemed all-embracing. He obviously did not worry his sisters, who were very fondof him and loved him to visit Coolangatta , where he was pressed to drink their home-made mead andwine and where, as he said, he was sadly over-fed. (p.25)

David took over management of the Shoalhaven estate, but had to suffer a constant stream of directionsfrom Alexander, who found fault with him, saying he was too soft, indecisive and easily taken in. Hewrote scornfully of Williams laziness and once demanded that William bestir himself from his quarter-century sleep and go out and measure Humes farm, which had been added to the property. Alexander

never seemed to praise anything his family did, yet each one of them answered his letters respectfully,even affectionately. A few brief quotations from letters to his brothers may give some idea of Alexanders dominance over his family: The butter you sent was rancid. Not enough milk was beatout. No reputable butcher would buy the meat you sent up. The horses from Coolangatta were the worst broken-in to reach the market. Shoalhaven maize was too full of weevils to sendto New Zealand. The wheat is infested with rust, because the slovenly tenants ploughing is tooshallow. Even if they are poor agriculturalists they should be Christians and know the parable of the sower. You are spending too much of the rents on improvements. I am in debt to the Bank. (p.24)

Keith Campbell (2000) has located a similarly fascinating stream of Alexander Berrys directives targetedat bees, beekeeping and honey on the Shoalhaven estate: For a few years at the beginning of the 1850s,Berry put much time and effort into the export of honey and its use in other ways. He sent books on

beekeeping to his brother and farm manager, David, to improve beekeeping practices. He instructedDavid to put all honey to be sent to California or New Zealand in good kegs. He advocated the use of

bottles in place of jars, to overcome the problem of leakage and fermentation. He adopted the principle of only exporting the best produce. He told David to experiment with honey in the manufacture of beer andwine, but he always seemed to find that the wine had a burnt smell, and tasted too sweet, like a liqueur. 74

Also discovered by Keith Campbell A small amount of honey was sold to a doctor in Sydney for medicinal purposes for 6d a pound, but not enough to make an impression on the supply. For there were74 Keiths research continues so he has decided to reserve the original sources at this time.


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logistic and marketing problems. His warehouse in Sydney became overstocked with honey, and hecouldnt make sales locally. Consignments had to be returned to the Shoalhaven. Late in 1851, his beesfailed to swarm properly, and he lost many as they drowned trying to fly across the Shoalhaven River. 75

And there were other worries, too. David was most concerned that bees were impoverishing the pasturage by taking honey from the clover and flowers of the field, that the European bees were bleeding bothintroduced and indigenous plants to death.

What a fascinating wealth of detail Campbell has presented on the beekeeping Berry brothers, includingthe export of honey to California and New Zealand. Again from Campbell in 1850, Berry supplied 2tons of the 12 tons exported from New South Wales. The returns were financially rewarding. Townsend(1849) said that settlers could produce a ton of honey from 100 hives. One south coast producer, perhapsBerry, exported 7 hundredweight of honey for 21-pounds. After all expenses, received over 16-pounds, aterrific return.

From Shoalhaven, History of the Shire of Shoalhaven 76 Products were shipped from Ulladulla, beingtaken from the beach by small boats to sailing ships and steamers waiting in the bay harbour. In 1858

people organized an appeal for the building of a jetty, exports being wheat, maize, potatoes, onions, kegsof butter, bacon, cheese, fowls, honey and pigs. (p.58) Its possible that honey from Coolangatta wasconsigned through Ulladulla further south, though its more likely Berrys cargoes were shipped from

Greenwell Point on the Crookhaven River. From early times, Greenwell Point became a shipping pointfor Shoalhaven produce because the canal 77 and Shoalhaven were too

William Charles Cotton and Robert Campbell 1842

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Transcript of William Charles Cotton and Robert Campbell 1842