From the Maitland Mercury report:
Like the bees the Pender brothers used to breed, some of their beekeeping tools have come home to visit.
The bees were bred on the top floor of the Pender hardware store as far back as the 1800s and would come and go through an open window. If that seems incredible, consider this: it was common at the time to post live queen bees around the country in a timber box, about the size of a cigarette carton.
A range of the tools that Pender Brothers used to use and sell will be on display this weekend at Brough House as part of Heritage Week celebrations.
Items on loan from the Sydney Powerhouse Museum – for the first time since 1931 – include a set of bellows and a hot knife, for harvesting the honey.
Full article by Sam Norris available at Maitland Mercury, 20 Apr, 2012.
