As one of Australia’s foremost bee experts, Lindsay gets a lot of questions, which he’s more than happy to share his knowledge on. Here are some of the most common ones.
Q:
Where does the name ‘Warral’ come from?
Lindsay:
In 1967, my mum and dad found the word ‘warral’ in a book called “Aboriginal Place Names and Their Meanings” while at the National Library on their honeymoon in Canberra, which said it meant honey or honeybee.
We’ve done some further research more recently and we’re pretty sure the actual language and nation it’s from is Gamilaraay, from the region around Tamworth, NSW where ‘warrul’ means worker bee, bee’s nest or honey.
For me it’s an honor to be part of the land and the matrix of the elements, environment and hard work. My dad and I have a deep respect for First Nations People and the land we work our bees on.
Q:
What makes honey different colours?
Lindsay:
All honey is a different shade of color ranging from clear to very dark: it’s the source of the nectar that defines the color and taste. We may be in a forest of five different eucalyptus trees but more than likely only one will be flowering.
There are many unique and interesting floral sources we work; desert banksia is very strong and hard to produce due to the sand hills (but that doesn’t stop us), Kamarooka Mallee is a rare eucalyptus that grows on favorable soils in central Victoria and the honey is phenomenal. I could go on and on but I don’t want to tell you all my secrets!