About Us
Honey West is a family run business from the Peel region in Western Australia. Dave Christensen is a professional beekeeper and he and his family are producers of pure honey in the unique forest areas and bushlands of WA.
Honey is sourced from a variety of nectar sources from native trees and shrubs all over WA, from Dongara in the north, Walpole in the south and out on the desert fringe in the Goldfields.
Honey West produces 100% natural honey which is extracted straight from the hive, without blending or heat treating.
Honey West Journey
Honey West was first established in 2014 by Dave and his wife Gaynor, under the mentorship of Gaynor’s Dad Peter, who was a commercial beekeeper for 20+ years from 1978-2001. Peter has continued to be involved in honey research and production of anti-microbial leptospermum subtenue (manuka) honey. Peter was the discoverer of the leptospermum subtenue plant in the Goldfields area of WA which produces the antimicrobial honey. He is also a holder of the intellectual properties relating to this variety of honey, and together with Dave continues to progress further properties of this honey. Clinical trials have proven this variety of honey has cured previously incurable ulcers.
Dave is providing ongoing exploration, and continues to produce honey from this unique area.
Honey West Commitment
Honey West is about more than just harvesting honey- we’re about awareness of the importance of bees in our environment and the impact bees have on agriculture. We want to promote the fantastic work beekeepers like us are doing for our community, maintaining up to 300 hives of approximately 50,000 bees in each hive and working to help them thrive and produce quantities of honey and pollen, as well as pollinating thousands of species of native plants, trees and agricultural crops.
The bee is the world’s most important pollinator of food crops. It is estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination by insects but mainly by bees.
At Honey West we are involved in pollination of crops such as avocados and various fruit trees, which increases the amount of agricultural produce, improves the quality and shelf life of the produce and enhances plants’ resistance to pests. This in turn, provides an important source of income for farmers.
In fact, the annual global production of food that depends directly on pollination is worth between $235 and $577 billion (2016, Intergovernmental Science-Policy platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem services).
Bees are also vital for the preservation of ecological balance and biodiversity in nature. As pollinators, the bees protect and maintain ecosystems of plant and animal species, and they contribute to genetic and biotic diversity.
Healthy bee populations indicate a healthy environment. By observing the population numbers and the health of bees, we can detect changes in the environment and take appropriate action if required.
WA Beekeeping
The Western Australian apiculture industry produces about $9 million worth of honey each year. The industry has access to native forests and coastal wildflowers to create delicious and unique honey varietals, not found anywhere else in the world.
Western Australia is very fortunate to have the healthiest bee population in the world. Having beekeepers like Dave at Honey West continuing to be proactive in keeping healthy bee populations, the West Australian honey industry will continue to grow and flourish. WA is free of major bee diseases and pests such as varroa mite, which is present overseas, providing WA beekeepers with a distinct trading advantage.
This freedom has enabled bees from WA to be exported to the UK, Solomon Islands, and Canada, thus improving bee populations worldwide. It also means WA’s honey and hive products can be exported both interstate and overseas without needing to be heat treated or processed in any way.
