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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, NOVEMBER 2016
STANLEY STEWART MCAUSLAN: 27 AUGUST 1926–7 SEPTEMBER 2016 OBITUARY
Jane McAuslan
Following is an obituary for Stanley (Stan) McAuslan, written by his daughter. Stan was a well-known commercial beekeeper in the Central Otago area for many years and often worked as a highly regarded apiary inspector. Our condolences go to Stan’s family, along with our thanks to Jane McAuslan for writing Stan’s obituary and to Dr David Woodward, a family friend, for forwarding it for publication.
Photo supplied by Jane McAuslan.
Born in Balclutha on 27 August 1926, Stan was the sixth of seven children and the last surviving sibling. Stan attended Balclutha primary school and South Otago High School, where he was a school prefect and excelled in athletics. Stan was the athletics champion for a number of years. When he broke the record for the ‘hop, step and jump’ (the triple jump) he jumped right over the end of the pit and damaged his knee, thus putting paid to his athletics career. While at high school Stan owned a few beehives—his first interest in bees. Before full-time beekeeping, Stan was involved in many occupations including deer culling, fencing, shearing, working at Finegand freezing works and at Irvine’s skin store in Dunedin, where he met Nancy. He also attended teachers’ college and spent one year as a primary teacher in Nelson. Stan and Nancy married in 1952 and lived at Finegand, Balclutha, where Stan worked as a freezing worker. During this period a friend, Del Jenkins, lived with them. Del kept some beehives down the back of the section. Seeing Del work the bees just in shorts and boots rekindled Stan’s love of bees. Not long after, Nancy and Stan moved to Southland and spent 18 months working for a commercial apiarist. In 1961 they moved to Ophir, after purchasing two small apiaries, and the family lived in the police house. Stan’s honey house was the old Ophir courthouse (now a holiday home). Stan’s beekeeping operation covered the Manuherikia Valley, Matakanui, Drybread, St Bathans, Hawkdun Ranges, Ida Valley and Ophir. There were 1300 hives spread over a number of apiaries, the hives at each apiary being dependent on the amount of clover available for the bees. As the business expanded, a number of buildings were collected in Ophir—the old drapery, the old butcher’s shop, an old bus for the express use of ‘rearing queens’ or going on holidays. Neither the queen rearing, nor the use of the bus for holidays, ever happened! After seven years in Ophir, Nancy and Stan bought a house in Omakau and remained there for 25 years before moving to Alexandra. At this time Stan was not fully retired and commuted from Alexandra to his beekeeping stamping ground. With change in legislation in a number of industries, beekeeping did not escape and soon enough Stan found himself between a rock and a hard place, as the Historic Places Trust would not allow any alterations
to the courthouse and the Department of Health demanded that it be upgraded. In the end, a new honey house was built in Omakau and Stan operated from there until he retired in 1993. For many years Stan was employed as an apiary inspector—a worthy tribute to his skill and knowledge of bees and the industry. He attended many national beekeeper meetings throughout New Zealand and he and Nancy hosted numerous beekeeping field days. Stan often said that ‘beekeeping was made for him and he was made for beekeeping’. He loved the outdoors, being in all types of weather and the feeling of not being hemmed in. Stan is survived by his wife Nancy, two sons, Lee (a hobbyist beekeeper), Martin and daughter Jane. At 90, Stan was laid to rest at the Drybread cemetery, Omakau, near an old apiary site.
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