HISTORY OF HAMILTON APIARIES
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My great-grandfather Robert Hamilton came to Canada in 1910 from Scotland. He had been raised in a generational beekeeping family and was a 5th generation beekeeper, so it was only natural that he would be interested in beekeeping in Saskatchewan. He originally settled in the Qu'Appelle Valley which had an abundance of wildflowers for the bees to forage. In the spring of 1911 he purchased two colonies.
The bees did very well over the years averaging about 120 to 160 pounds per colony. In the good wolf willow years the bees averaged close to 180 pounds per colony. |
In the early years the bees would be over-wintered in the root cellar under the house. They were transported on hay wagons and had to be wrapped very well to prevent bees from escaping. It was not unheard of for horses to be killed when a hive tipped over.
In 1923 Tom Mack, John Hubbard, and Robert Hamilton organized the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association, assisted by Hedley Auld who was then Deputy Minister of Agriculture. The first meeting was in a tent at the Regina Fair in August 1923. Between 1923 and 1926 Robert did inspection work for the Department of Agriculture in the Abernethy and Balcarres districts. In the 1930s due to the Great Depression drought in southern Saskatchewan he moved to Aylsham where he ran an 800 hive operation. With the help of his family, he ran a packing line, packaging Northern Blossom Honey.
In 1923 Tom Mack, John Hubbard, and Robert Hamilton organized the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association, assisted by Hedley Auld who was then Deputy Minister of Agriculture. The first meeting was in a tent at the Regina Fair in August 1923. Between 1923 and 1926 Robert did inspection work for the Department of Agriculture in the Abernethy and Balcarres districts. In the 1930s due to the Great Depression drought in southern Saskatchewan he moved to Aylsham where he ran an 800 hive operation. With the help of his family, he ran a packing line, packaging Northern Blossom Honey.
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My grandfather William I. Hamilton and his wife Kath started in Nipawin, SK in the 1950s when he bought out Nipawin Apiaries from Don Sarkissian. Later he renamed it to Hamilton's Bee Ranch and relocated it to a farm at Codette, SK in 1970. Together with their four sons (Robert, Jack, Scott, and Cameron) they operated 1400 hives in what was one of Saskatchewan's most advanced extracting plants.
My father W. Robert Hamilton went to Guelph University in Ontario to take the beekeeping course there. That’s where he met my mother, and together they started beekeeping at a farm west of Codette. He currently operates around 200 hives. When I was two, my mother sent me out to the bee yard with my father in an attempt to keep me from hurting my baby brother. My father put me to work smoking the hives. If I got stung I would smoke the bees harder. It is a miracle I never killed all my fathers bees from smoke inhalation. |
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I spent most of my summers growing up working for my grandparents at their commercial beekeeping operation. After completing college I moved to Regina and in 2008 I bought my first hive. Over the next couple of years I raised more hives and expanded. In 2013, I purchased a farm 10 minutes north of Regina. In 2014, Hamilton Apiaries was established and a new honey house was built. Since then the apiary has grown and operates around 400 colonies. Our apiary offers training classes, bee hives, bee products, bee related services, and beekeeper equipment to Regina and the surrounding area.