It was sweet success for Glen Martin bee keeper John Bradshaw at the Sydney Royal Easter Show with his honey crowned the best
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Mr Bradshaw's honey won the Supreme Champion award, Best in Show and the Royal Agricultural Show Medal of Excellence.
The success follows awards at the Newcastle, Maitland, Gresford, Stroud, Central Coast and Sunshine Coast agricultural shows.
Despite his past success, Mr Bradshaw thought news of his win was a joke. "When I found out my hands started shaking," he said.
When I found out my hands started shaking.
- John Bradshaw
"I'm only a small producer but the honey is pretty good, it's almost like water you can see right through it.
"There's guys and girls doing this for 30 years that don't get that far so for me getting it my second try, it's a little bit embarrassing really."
Starting his beekeeping journey in 2016, at his height Mr Bradshaw had up to 20 hives. However this all changed with the outbreak of the varroa mite in NSW.
When the outbreak began in 2022, Mr Bradshaw had to destroy 17 of his hives under Department of Primary Industries guidelines.
"A lot of beekeepers get really attached to their hives, they're like pets because you spend a fair bit of time and effort with the hive," Mr Bradshaw said.
"A lot of guys who had hives for a long time were pretty upset because they were just gone, no question asked.
"It was pretty disheartening but you've got to do the stuff for the common good. If you don't, you're just spreading the disease further and quicker than it needs to."
Now that much of the Hunter Valley has been classified as a management zone instead of an eradication zone, allowing bees to be moved into the area but not out, Mr Bradshaw has begun rebuilding his hives.
However, this has meant that the honey that Mr Bradshaw submitted to the Royal Easter Show was made by bees that had already been killed by the time he knew he had won.
"The honey that won the show was from last year's bees. It was a bit weird to have Australia's best honey come from dead bees. It's a weird feeling," Mr Bradshaw said.
"If you ride horses you don't often get awards for a dead horse. So it's a bit strange. Normally if you win an award you go and see the bees and say 'well done girls'. You can't go and thank dead bees for their efforts."
Mr Bradshaw hopes to encourage more people to get into hobby beekeeping. He sees it as not only a fun hobby but beneficial for the environment as well.
He hopes that by winning these awards that he will inspire people to pick up the hobby that he's fallen in love with.
"If you don't get involved in the community then the community suffers. I go to schools and help set up their hives. They might become involved in agriculture," Mr Bradshaw said.
