Leatherwood honey is produced only
in Tasmania and mostly from forests of leatherwood trees in the wilderness
areas of western Tasmania. While Tasmania shares many plants and animals with
Australia, it has unique species, like the leatherwood tree, that evolved separately
after the land mass (Godwana) separated into Australia and Tasmania 10,000
years ago.
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| Tasmania showing the World Heritage Site where leatherwood forests are |
Tasmania is a southern Pacific island located 150 miles off
the southern coast of the Australian mainland. Its forests are considered to be
some of the oldest forests in the world and to recognize how unique this
habitat is the forests of the western coast of Tasmania have been designated as
a World Heritage Site.
Leatherwood (Eucryphia
lucida, major source, and Eucryphia
milliganii, minor source) is a tree (some call it a large shrub) that is
endemic to the forests of western Tasmania, but also found in the northwest and
through the southwest wilderness of Tasmania. It is an ancient tree that is
thought to have originated 65 million years ago. It is classified as “a cool temperature
rainforest tree” and likes moist conditions.
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| Leatherwood forest |
The leatherwood typically grows to about 30
feet in height and produces beautiful masses of white, sweetly scented flowers-
that look a little like simple roses - that have an abundance of nectar. The
presence of leatherwood forests and the amount of nectar produced make leatherwood
honey possible. Blossoms appear in spring and summer, and flowers mature into
leathery capsules in the fall. The name “leatherwood” is thought to refer to
this leathery capsule, as well as the toughness of the tree’s wood. Of
interest, leatherwood trees under 75 years of age generally don’t flower and the
most prolific flowerers are 100-200 years old.
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| Leatherwood tree blossoms |
Leatherwood honey has been harvested for over 100 years in
Tasmania. However, given where leatherwood trees grow -deep in the forests of
Tasmania’s west coast- they are notoriously difficult to access. There are no
roads. Of note: given their remote locale, leatherwood forests are thought to
be entirely free from insecticides and artificial fertilizers. In the early
days hardy beekeepers brought in their hives and took out honey by horse via
rough bush tracks, camping in the forest for the duration of the honey
collecting season. Unfortunately, these tracks were blocked when the Apt
Wilderness Railway was built (1897) creating a crisis of sorts for leatherwood
apiarists. One early apiarist family, the Stephens’ family, arrived at a
creative solution. They petitioned the State Government to gain access to the
area via the railway. The government agreed, and they then designed a special
flatbed rail carriage to transport beekeepers’ trucks with their hives, allowing
them access in and out of the area.
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| Honey truck railway flatbed |
The Stephens family is one of many multi-generational
beekeeping families. The Stephens’ Apiary (known as the R. Stephens Golden Bee
Honey Factory) was established by R. (Robert) Stephens (1896-1977) in 1920. It was the first commercial honey factory
established in Tasmania. R. Stephens started as a weekender beekeeper with a
few hives but gradually expanded to become an impressive commercial endeavor
that now has 2,400 hives. For a full account of this family’s fascinating
history in the honey making business visit their website http://www.leatherwoodhoney.com.au/
The Stephens’ family business is now into its third generation, with Ian
Stephens currently at the helm and his three sons, Ewan, Neal and Kenneth, by
his side.
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| R. Stephens Golden Bee Honey Factory |
In addition to being a beekeeping trailblazer, R. Stephens,
the Stephens that commercialized their honey making business, was a gifted
researcher. He developed ways to detect pollen varieties from honey samples, he
studied the types and effects of floral enzymes and acids on honey qualities, and bred queens to optimize bee
attributes, including wing span. Larger wing spans allow bees to forage more
widely and carry more nectar, resulting in higher honey yields. The Italian
ligustica honey bee, a subspecies of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), was introduced to
Tasmania in 1884 and thrived in local conditions. R. Stephens imported Golden Italian
queens, began a bee breeding program (1925) and is credited with improving the
bee stock in Tasmania. He kept meticulous records and, incredibly, these
records are still used today by the Stephens family in making decisions about bee
matings and which hives to use. To recognize the historic significance of R.
Stephens work and records, the Stephens’ Honey Factory is listed on the
Tasmanian Heritage Register, a first for any beekeeping operation.
The R. Stephens Golden Bee Honey Factory currently produces clover,
blackberry, and ground flora, and leatherwood honey, and their production
accounts for about 35% of all Tasmanian honey – which is a HUGE amount and gives
you an idea of how large their operation is. Their leatherwood honey production
began in 1934 when they first placed hives in the Franklin River basin of the
wilds of the west coast. Because of poor transportation infrastructure, however,
they suspended honey collection there, and only resumed it in 1951. Now, about 70%
of all the honey produced on Tasmania (about 1,000 tons per year) is
leatherwood honey.
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| Leatherwood honey |
My leatherwood honey is a creamy yellow and starting to
crystallize from the bottom up. It has a heady, sweet, summer smell that
reminds me a little of cut grass. It is
a relatively thick honey and spools easily on a toothpick. It has a creamy
texture and a musky first taste with a very interesting citrus (grapefruit-y)
after taste. Unusual and very tasty! Others have written that “it tastes like
the wilderness.” This makes me, a city person, want to go out and experience
firsthand the wild west coast of Tasmania. Thank you Stephens family and all
the other apiarist families on Tasmania that harvest this incredible honey!
You
can buy leatherwood honey online- or, in the US at Whole Foods (where
I got mine). The Stephens Family website http://www.leatherwoodhoney.com.au/
also lists distributors to locate it in other places.
