Our Story

Golden Grove Apiaries was established in 1974 in the basement of a town house in sunny Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty New Zealand with the help of friends and family.

Bruce and wife, Win Stanley, had started what would become a very successful queen bee breeding operation renowned for their quality line of Italian queens that were exported to Japan, Israel and Iran.  All this success was achieved while bringing up three young children who were immersed in the trade by default.

From the early 80's, the thriving kiwifruit industry provided a more secure income for Golden Grove Apiaries who became leaders in the pollination industry providing quality hives throughout the Bay of Plenty.

Producing honey was always a passion and in 1992 an opportunity arose to trial cropping Manuka honey on the East Cape. This was to prove itself as a reliable honey crop and when the unique antibacterial properties of Manuka honey were discovered, Golden Grove had already established a solid presence and some good relationships.

With the value of this honey rising, the decision was easy to start providing landowners with a return. A figure was set and some friends in the beekeeping industry were lost, but respect was gained from our landowners. All this from a resource that for years had been regarded as a weed.

Golden Grove is now operated by youngest son Jason and his wife Lorraine. They uphold the very same morals that were installed into them by Jason's Father, and continue to nurture and develop relationships on the East Cape.