Our Story

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McDonald Honey is a family owned beekeeping business based in Castlemaine, Central Victoria.  It is owned and run by Peter & Michelle McDonald, who are the 5th generation of beekeepers continuing this family business.

 

​When John & Ellen McKendry settled in Castemaine in the heady days of the gold rush, little did they realise that it would be the local liquid gold that would become a continuous thread through the future generations.

 

With the honeybees starting firstly as a source of food for the family, it soon evolved to also become a tool to provide pollination of the crops grown to sustain the market gardens that the McKendry family ran.

 

After Eileen McKendry joined forces with the next door neighbour, a full time beekeeper, Bob McDonald, it became a full time beekeeping obsession.  No time for market gardens now, honey was the prize to be won.

 

Peter and Michelle continue this tradition in beekeeping, sourcing different varieties of honey from local Castlemaine trees and throughout Victoria's regions.  Providing the bees for pollination is still an essential part of the business, though for other peoples crops, not our own any more.

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In 2020 Matthew joined the business in order to help manage the large business and sustain the growth.  He will ensure the future of beekeeping in Castlemaine that will keep it going for another generation.

 

It seems that once honey is in your veins it is hard to get out.