It was in the year 1924 that the Beekeepers of Western Australia banded together to collectively market their locally produced honey.
The W.A. Beekeepers Association formed a committee to investigate the possibilities of selling their own honey because up to that period all honey was packed and marketed by the wholesale merchants under their own brands.
During 1925, an attempt was made by the Beekeepers to form the “Beekeepers Trading Company” with the object of selling the produce of apiarists and also the purchasing of apiarists supplies. It is believed that owing to the lack of finance this marketing attempt failed.
It wasn’t until the golden year of 1926 when two New South Welshmen attended the Western Australian beekeepers’ conference. Their names were W.S. Pender and G.G. Phillips and at this conference, marketing of honey in Western Australia was the most important item on the agenda.
Negotiations had been going on with Westralian Farmers Co-operative Ltd., to formulate a co-operative honey pool and it was at this conference that the Beekeepers were to discuss the “Co-Operative Scheme.” Mr Pender and Mr Phillips were quick to see the golden opportunity that had been offered to the Beekeepers of this State. Mr Pender announced he would back such a project, and so the West Australian Honey Pool was born.
Mr W. Arnott, the Assistant General Manager of Westralian Farmers Co-Op Ltd, called a meeting of all Beekeepers interested in a voluntary honey pool and formulated plans. The original Board of Trustees included, Mr W. Arnott, Mr Charles Cook, Mr Arthur Cook, Mr L. J Skipper and Mr C.G. Rees. Mr E. Wilson was elected at a later date.
Following the construction of a processing plant, at Westralian Farmers building in Stuart Street, a competition to obtain a suitable name to “brand” the honey was run in the newspaper. The winning entry was sent in by the late Mr A. C. Kessell of Westfarmers and the name was coined from the words West Australian Co-Operative Beekeepers.
For almost a century, Wescobee has remained one of Australia’s oldest honey brands. Many local family-run beekeeping businesses choose to supply their pure Western Australian honey to us that we proudly pack for our loyal fans to enjoy. Our range boasts multiple awards, including our most recent Champion Honey award from the 2020 Perth Royal Food Awards, following our wins in the 2019 Easter Show and the 2019 Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia’s Food Awards.
We’re proud, after 95 years, to still be Australian owned and grown, employing just under 20 people at our site located in Bayswater. We are especially proud of all of the wonderful, hardworking Aussie beekeepers who continue to supply us with the purest honey on the planet!
