Did you ever wonder how New Zealand came to have honey bees? Or did you presume, (like I did!) that the honey bee was always here?

Well, turns out after a little investigation that a lady by the name of Mary Bumby brought 2 hives of colonised honey bees to our shores - from across the ditch in Sydney, Australia in 1839!

We haven't been able to track down any photos of Mary online, so if you have any or know where to find some, we'd love to hear from you.

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/mary-bumby-brings-the-first-honey-bees-in-new-Zealand

http://www.coastalobserver.co.nz/2014/07/honey-bee-speak-to-me-miss-bumby.html