Collins Honey

At the age of 10, Norm and his dad lived in the Yarra Valley in Gladesdale Victoria. His first 2 hives were purchased from “Old Spicer” a local man that didn’t want them anymore as there wasn’t a lot of honey in the area. These first hives we pretty simple, and by that we mean they were boxes covered in hessian, a piece of tin and a brick for which Norm paid just 10 shillings.

Watching the bees was one of young Norm’s favourite pastimes. He was fascinated by the way they methodically collected and carried pollen, zooming in and out of the hives. It didn’t take long before his obsession with bees became more than just a hobby.

Norm persevered with his newfound passion, purchasing another 6 hives from Dargo in Gippsland Victoria and slowly building up his hives over the next five years until he had over fifty.

By the time Norm turned 18, he had established a flourishing farm of 300 hives in the Yarra Valley and his love, dedication and fascination of bees had turned into a successful family business – not bad for a self-taught beekeeper!

Collins Honey is now three generations strong with Norm’s youngest son Richard taking up the Collins Honey family business. Being a chef by trade, Richard is always looking for new and innovative ideas to showcase honey.

Richard and his partner Sharnelle pack, label and distribute all their own honey, everything is done in-house including attending regional farmers markets and getting to know their customers!