On 3 March, the regular Chapel Service was held by Rev’d Sr Jan Crombie for the SSA Society. She sighted bees buzzing around her near the Hermitage. She took notice as she is allergic to bee stings.

St Margaret’s Facilities was advised of the presence of the European Honeybees and quickly engaged a professional apiarist, who on 13 March discovered a large feral hive within the internal walls of the SSA Chapel, located between the Ante Room North and the Sanctuary. A thermal camera was used to discover the large hive as the camera could see through the walls and the bees create heat.

The situation was further complicated by a movement control order issued by the Commonwealth of Australia and Biosecurity Queensland on 26 February, aimed at regulating the transportation of bees, hives, bee products and beekeeping equipment throughout Queensland. The reason for this was that on 19 February a single Varroa Mite (Varroa Jacobson) was found in a sentinel beehive at the Port of Brisbane.

After consulting with Biosecurity Queensland, which involved a site visit and laboratory testing of bee samples, it was concluded that extermination would compromise the Chapel’s architectural integrity and lead to the risk of pest infestation due to the honey residues. In light of this, Biosecurity Queensland and the apiarist recommended a relocation strategy that would allow the bees to naturally extract the honey from the walls.

Endorsed by SSA Operations Manager Joseph Vayo, this method was anticipated to preserve the Chapel’s structural and aesthetic values while addressing the bee infestation in an ecologically sustainable manner. The entire process, including the hive’s relocation and the subsequent removal of honey by the bees, was expected to take approximately 16 weeks.

The school awaited  further instructions from Biosecurity Queensland to grant the school permission to proceed. Upon receiving approval, the apiarist outlined a detailed methodology for the relocation process. Both Biosecurity Queensland and the apiarist had successfully employed this method in the past and advised of its effectiveness and reliability. Everyone’s aim was for a seamless and successful resolution of removing the feral beehive.

A contractor was employed to advise on removing the panels and masking tape outlined the beehive on the wall. It was quite large, and this was done by the contractor to work out how the hive would be accessed. It was decided that the non-invasive method was not viable. However, in the interest of protecting the cultural heritage value of the SSA Chapel, it was imperative that the work be completed in a systematic order ensuring all care was taken.

Biosecurity authorised the removal and/or destruction of the hive. The contractor removed the dressed timber panelling.

On 16 May, the apiarist, Scott Whitaker from Hinterland Bees, came to remove the bees, under the supervision of the QLD Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Biosecurity and St Margaret’s Facilities. In New Zealand, they call them Bee Whisperers. The apiarist had on a short sleeve shirt and seemed to be unaware of being stung. He vacuumed up the bees and made sure he obtained the Queen Bee.

It was quite a journey leading up to 16 May with the Movement Control Order in place. The colony was removed to the Port of Brisbane where tests were carried out by Biosecurity to see if the bees carried the virus. The Asian Honeybee is the natural host of the virus.

A week later the contractor reinstated the panelled walls. The order was partially lifted by the Biosecurity on 31 May and some of the banned honey could now be tasted. After 16 weeks, the Sisters’ Chapel was cleared of harbouring the Varroa Mite.

Please note:

On the first Sunday of each month, the SSA hold a Eucharist service in the Sisters’ Chapel. All are welcome, and of course it is lovely to see Old Girls of both St Margaret’s and St Aidan’s.

By Norma Tucker (‘66)