1921
In an open letter to beekeepers in January, Mr CF Ryland, the General Manager of the HPA, warned that the 1921 crop might provide 1,500,000 pounds of honey above that required for local consumption. He called for continued co-operation and support for the HPA.
The February issue of the journal announced the voluntary liquidation of the Bristol and Dominions Producers’ Association Ltd. The Editor claimed it would not affect the HPA shareholders much as “practically no honey was forwarded to them last year to enable them to clear up the stocks that had accumulated since the Armistice was declared.”
Mr CF Ryland for the HPA provided a lengthy statement, saying that he did not expect the liquidation to affected dramatically, with a firm demand for New Zealand honey in England. He did say that a number of shipments had been held up in dock for several months and they had heavy leakage and fermentation. He could not say if there would be loss from those shipments, or whether there would be further realisations collectable from the B & D.
The 1920 crop had been marketed mostly to New Zealand, the United States and Canada, possible only because of a bad crop there. Seeing the possibility of New Zealand honeys finding such favour there, the Americans and Canadians immediately enforced a 3 cents per pound import duty to stifle the trade.
By finding these other markets and doing the business on a ‘cash’ basis further loss had been averted. The 1918 and 1919 honey, however, would not be expected to provide any further return to producers above the advances already paid out. Approximately £30,000 of Imperial Bee honey had been sold in New Zealand in 1920, an increase over the previous year of £15,000. The return to beekeeper reached the figure of 7 ¾ d and pro rata.
The total honey handled in 1920 by the HPA was 500 tons, with turnover of £75,000. Shareholders had increased from 500 to 700, and the subscribed capital had doubled. The beekeeping supplies portion of the HPA grew from £6,000 to £17,000 turnover.
Within months, beekeepers were recognising that the export market had fallen to pieces, and were trying to address the problem of what to do with all the honey. The local market, over which some control could be exerted, was being wrecked “by foolishness, or we will say selfishness”. With reports that HPA shareholders were selling their crops locally, the Editor commented “So the rot has set in badly!”
The 1921 Conference was held in Auckland, and beekeepers were welcomed by the venerable Mr Isaac Hopkins (then 85 years of age), President of the Auckland Bee Club, a branch of the National. The Conference was held at the Chamber of Commerce on 8 to 10 June.
The ‘hardy annuals’ of calling for a Chief Apiarist to be appointed, more inspectors and higher penalties for breaches of the Apiaries Act, and a reaffirmation of support for the Apiaries Tax were topics of discussion. In a practical demonstration, Mr D Franke of Turakina displayed his appliance for extracting thick honey from the combs without breaking. The device was a brush 9 inches by 3½ inches, but with 1½ inch fine nails instead of bristles. The nails were inserted into the cells and ‘stirred’ briefly. The demonstration was successful and impressive to those beekeepers who had “put tons and tons into the river” as being unextractable.
Mr TW Kirk (Wellington) was elected President. Mr Kirk had been the Director of the Horticulture Division of the Department of Agriculture until his retirement shortly before Conference. It was the first instance when the Vice President had not been elected as the new President – he was nominated by Mr Sage who would have presumed to move into the President’s role. Mr TE Clark (Hobsonville) was elected Vice President. Mr WE Barker (Rangitata), Mr L Irwin (Woodlands), Mr AR Bates (Kaponga) and Mr RS Hutchinson (kerepuhi) were elected to the Executive.
In October the Poverty Bay branch, with Mr James Adams as Secretary, wrote to the NBA announcing its resignation as a branch of the NBA. The reasons given related to the branch’s opposition to an Apiaries Tax.
After only six months as NBA President, Mr TW Kirk resigned in December. He had been having “a rocky time for several months” but had withheld the resignation as long as possible. From comments made, it appeared to be a general stress related disease which it had been hoped would have been improved by the resignation from the Department of Agriculture job, but this did not improve matters. The Vice President Mr TE Clark assumed the role.