Moutere beekeeping
About Us
Hector Urquhart grew up on a farm in Northern KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. When Hector was 12 his father William gave him the 7 hives on the family farm to manage.
By the time he had finished University, these 7 hives increased to 400.
The hives were managed as a hobby as Hector started his career as an agricultural advisor. Repeated vandalism and theft of the hives and honey together with political instability, prompted Hector to look to New Zealand for a future. In 2002 he uprooted his young family which included his two young sons (William 5 and Graham 2)and traveled to New Zealand, sight unseen, to start work for a beekeeping company in Nelson.
Five years later in 2007 with borrowed capital from a very trusting sister and brother in law he started his own bee business of 500 hives, Moutere Beekeeping, located near the Upper Moutere village. It is here where he settled with his wife Lauren and an enlarged family with the addition of two daughters Kellyanne and Rose
Good fortune has favored Moutere Beekeeping. All borrowed capital was paid off, and the business grew to a 2600 hive unit by 2017.
The family feels blessed to be part of such a special community and surrounded by the wonderful kiwis who make this amazing country New Zealand such a wonderful place to live.
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Our Team
The success of a business depends on the quality of the people who work in it.
We are fortunate to have passionate, dedicated beekeepers who nurture bees. Moutere Beekeeping has two production units of 800 hives each managed by highly competent beekeepers. Each unit is named after its geographic location
Golden Bay
Moutere Hills
We also have a queen raising unit of 400 hives
Our Vision
Our vision is to work alongside nature to raise healthy, productive, gentle bees to sustain all life through pollination of our crops, pastures, and wild flora and to produce a unique taste of New Zealand through the honey we harvest.
