Angus Mackay (1835-1910) of the Queenslander

A prominent namesake, Victoria’s Angus MackayAngus Mackay of the Queenslander newspaper should not be confused with his namesake (1824-1886): journalist (as reporter for the Empire newspaper 1 between 1851 and 1853), newspaper proprietor and politician. He wrote The great gold field: a pedestrian tour through the first discovered gold district of New South Wales, in the months of October and November, 1852; 2 and A visit to Sydney and the Cudgegong diamond mines, which saw publication in 1870. His story, centred on the colony of Victoria, may be found in the online Australian Dictionary of Biography. 3

A QueenslanderQueensland’s Angus Mackay (1835-1910), born in Scotland, 4 lived near Brisbane from at least 1866 and certainly his employment as a farmer and later at the Brisbane Courier pre-dates that year. My interest in him was generated by my desire to document prominent 19 th

century Australian beekeeping personalities. Mackay’s omission from an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography is regrettable.

Farmer, 5 newspaper journalist and editor, exhibition commissioner, politician, lecturer and prolific author on agricultural matters, he bequeathed a considerable legacy in printed output generated in the colonies of Queensland and New South Wales. Today, his books fetch healthy prices on the retail second hand market. I located his 1895 Bee Keeping as a Business in Australia, now extremely rare, for $200; The Semi-Tropical Agriculturist and Colonist's Guide, 1875, $150 to $600; The Sugar Cane in Australia, 1883, $300; other works such as Elements of Australian Agriculture, 1885, may be bought for considerably less.

The National Library of Australia’s web site Australian Newspapers 6 states “the Queenslander was [originally] the weekly summary and literary edition of the Brisbane Courier (now The Courier-Mail), since the 1850s the leading journal in the colony, and later, the federal state of Queensland. The Queenslander was launched by the Brisbane Newspaper Company in 1866 …” Mackay worked as its editor 7 from its inception, and continued in that role until 1878. Ferguson’s Bibliography of Australia, 1851-1900, (p.539), entry no. 12013, lists The Cotton Plant in Queensland, cultivation and preparation for market, published 1867, noting Mackay as agricultural editor of the Queenslander. In the Brisbane Courier, 23 February 1878 “… Angus Mackay, that practical man who so largely contributed to build up the reputation of the older "Queenslander" among selectors and farmers, was unquestionably the author of the article "How the 'Queenslander' is Printed," and of that which follows, "What We Ought to Learn in Philadelphia." 8 The great American International Exhibition at Philadelphia was at the time in preparation, and Mr. Mackay was, successfully as it turned out, addressing himself towards securing appointment to proceed thither as representative of

1 The Maitland Mercury, 9 February 1853, p.22 Catalogued  DSM/042/P18, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales3 http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050192b.htm4 The Brisbane Courier, 20 February 1877, p.35 Maitland Mercury, 22 March 1890, p.3s6 http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/title/427 The Brisbane Courier, 23 February 1878, p.6. The catalogue of the State Library of NSW states this journal was published between 3 February 1866 and 22 February 1939.8 Details of Mackay’s venture to North America may be found in my Immigrant Bees, Volume IV, pp. 357-367; Volume III, p.92;

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the colony. Mr. Mackay subsequently sat for a session or two in our Assembly, and is now a lecturer on agricultural subjects attached to the Technical College in Sydney.” (p.6)

Early records of Angus Mackay are difficult to locate, however, he was certainly a Queensland resident by 1864 9 and in 1867 he was agricultural editor of the Queenslander. 10 In 1877 he was a member of the council of the Queensland Acclimatisation Society. 11 At the 1877 Exhibition in Brisbane, 12 Mackay, as recent Philadelphia Commissioner on behalf of the Queensland Government, displayed agricultural implements he’d acquired at the Philadelphia Exhibition in the United States. These included a writing machine from the Reamington Rifle Company; in the scientific instruments category – a blow pipe, by mechanical action; and Italian bees from California.

While in North America Mackay had acquired a “very excellent collection of valuable works of reference” which he presented to the library of the National Association in January 1880. The library contained “a really well-selected stock of books of reference on agricultural, pastoral; and technological subjects generally” which were “free to all, whether members of the society or not.” 13

Commissioner to the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition, 1876

Angus Mackay, late Queensland commissioner at Philadelphiafrom the Australasian Sketcher, 9 June 1877 (p.36.)

On his return from the 1876 Exhibition a reception was given for Mackay at the Creek street School of Arts. A long report appeared in the Brisbane Courier, 28 February 1877. A “hearty welcome” in appreciation of his services was supported by a band, long speeches and 9 The Brisbane Courier, 31 December 1864, p.5. At the summer exhibition of the Queensland Horticultural and Agricultural Society: “Some white maize flour, exhibited by Mr. Angus Mackay, was carefully examined, and very highly spoken of by competent judges.” That year he was a committee member of the Society, see Brisbane Courier, 17 December 1864, p.310 The Brisbane Courier, 5 June 1867, p.111 The Brisbane Courier, 23 February 1878, p.6. See also 12 The Queenslander, 20 August 1887 (p.309) identified this Brisbane event, in 1887 being the Twelfth Annual Exhibition of the Queensland National Association13 The Brisbane Courier, 22 January 1880, p.2

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refreshments. His recently completed American tour combined with his grand welcome home may well have been the high points of his public career. “There were about 200 persons present in all, including a large proportion of ladies and gentlemen from Ipswich, Toowoomba, and various Other parts of the colony. Among those present we noticed … M.L.A.'s, the Mayor of Ipswich, numbers of our prominent citizens, including his Worship the Mayor, and several of the aldermen. … his Excellency the Governor delivered the address prepared for that purpose, expressing his conviction that this colony ‘had been very fortunate in securing the services of the gentleman in whose honour they had that evening assembled.’ … His Excellency went on to state the satisfaction he had felt when the Ministry of the day brought up Mr. Mackay's name as a leading member of the commission at the Centennial Exhibition. … His Excellency and the gentlemen who had drawn up the address just presented had been very complimentary, and he (Mr. Mackay) had received many congratulations since he returned. … His Excellency then handed to Mr. Mackay's the following address, neatly engrossed on vellum and illuminated. …” (p.3)

The Brisbane Courier, 28 February 1877, covered some of Mackay’s time at the Exhibition. While there he “made the acquaintance of Sir William Thornton, the British ambassador, and through him he gained an introduction to President Grant. Both these gentlemen had taken a warm interest in the Queensland Court.” (p.3) For more details of Mackay’s overseas mission as Queensland’s Exhibition Commissioner refer Appendix I below – being an extract from The Immigrant Bees, Vol V.

A city railway enthusiastOne example 14 of many of Mackay’s continuing interest in city railways is demonstrated in the Queenslander, 31 August 1878: “The large room of the School of Arts was well filled on the evening of Friday, August 23, in response to an announcement that Mr. A. Mackay would describe the low-cost railway system, and its adaptability for connecting South Brisbane with the southern coast. … Dr. Emmelhainz briefly alluded to the past labours of the residents of South Brisbane in the endeavour to get the railway brought into their midst, congratulating them upon the fact that they had now gained the assistance of Mr. Mackay, a gentleman who he had every reason to believe would prove of the utmost value to their cause. …” (p.685)

In Ferguson's Bibliography there is listed a publication (item 12028) titled "Street Traffic on Rails" being a paper read at the General Meeting of the Engineering Association of New South Wales, held at the Society's Rooms, on the 10th July, 1884." Within, Mackay was identified as a member of the Franklin Institute. Wikipedia states: "The Franklin Institute (named after the noted American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin) is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest and premier centres of science education and development in the United States." Mackay's interest was inspired as a result of his 1876 visit to Philadelphia, 15 where horse drawn railways were extensively, effectively and economically used about the city. On more than one occasion his observations were viewed as those of a journalist rather than as a practicing engineer. 16

The move to Sydney, 1881Mackay announced his retirement as sitting member for South Brisbane in the Legislative of Assembly, as reported in a short note in the Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March 1880 (p.5). The Brisbane Courier, 17 April 1880 added his resignation was “consequent on his having to

14 The Brisbane Courier, 30 June 1877, p.515 The Brisbane Courier, 24 November 1876, p.316 The Queenslander, 27 November 1880, pp. 688-689

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proceed to England in search of health.” (p.6) 17 His remove to Sydney appears to have commenced around March 1881 - the Queenslander, 26 March, reported in its telegraphic news section: “We understand that Mr. Angus Mackay, late one of the members for South Brisbane, has obtained the appointment of editor of the Town and Country Journal, in Sydney.” He maintained this editorship into mid 1886. 18

In the Brisbane Courier, 9 August 1883: “Germane to the subject of art is that of technical education, which the Government has taken up in a business like manner, a board having been appointed to prepare a scheme for general adoption. This board comprises about twenty gentlemen, peculiarly well qualified for the work thrown upon them. Mr Combes is the president, and among the other names is that of Mr Angus Mackay, formerly of Brisbane, who has been selected for his technical knowledge of mechanics and of agriculture.” (p.5)

Mackay’s Brisbane property was for sale. In the Brisbane Courier, 11 August 1883 “Mr. John Cameron advertises for sale on Monday, at his Mart, Town Hall, a property on the main road just past the residence of A. C. Gregory, Esq., which, we are informed, is well worthy the attention of all persons on the look-out for either investment or speculation. It is the farm known as "Lizzie Lee" and is the property of Mr. Angus Mackay, formerly the well-known Queenslander agricultural editor. It is a really nice piece of property, and from its proximity to the city must become exceedingly valuable, and is worth inspection, as it is the only property of any size winch is in the market just now within so short a distance of Queen-street.” (p.4)

The advertisement on 12 April 1884 stated colourfully: “It would be simply impossible for the auctioneer to overrate this charming property, around which there is an historical "ring" from the fact that it was from this spot Mr. A. Mackay made his raids wholly mounted upon his horse with his blanket strapped before the saddle upon the farmers in every direction for many miles, gathering information for and soliciting interest in a certain newspaper then about to be started under the title of the Queenslander. It is doubtful if Mackay or any of those associated with him at that time dreamt of such success attending the efforts they then put forth in launching their literary infant. The Queenslander has proved one of the most successful weeklies in Australia, and I believe the success in a great measure was owing to the untiring exertions of Mr. Mackay, and there is no doubt he was enabled to endure a good deal, both of the mental and physical labour he underwent and with comparative ease by the aid of the pure air and bracing climate of his happy home at LIZZY LEE, which, although so near to the centre of Brisbane, is perfectly free from the disagreeable smells and the racket of city life.” The name Lizzie Lee must have held some emotional value for he carried this name to his new home in the Sydney suburb of Balmain.

The epitome of practical knowledgeA review of the new edition of Mackay’s The Australian Agriculturist and Colonists' Guide appeared in the Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, 22 March 1890. It provides insight into Mackay’s background and breadth of experience. “This is a second edition of a work by Mr. Mackay, which we noticed some years ago in these columns. … The original book was a statement of every-day colonial experience and observation, and was an epitome of practical knowledge. Mr. Mackay had been himself a farmer before he became a writer on agriculture, and had thus qualified himself to teach and to guide others. The work is divided into chapters, dealing with the land, fencing, draining, cultivating, various crops 17 The Brisbane Courier, 1 February 1879 (p.4) notes him as a current M.L.A. The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 April 1904 (p.12) stated Mackay: “who for years was a member of the Queensland Parliament”18 The Queenslander, 7 August 1886, p.230; 24 July 1886, p.150

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suitable for Australia, rotation of crops, manures, harvesting and other machinery, live stock, indigenous grasses and fodder plants, timber trees, medicinal plants, siloing, the horse, the pig, the poultry yard, the home garden, insects and other pests, diseases of animals, preparation of bread and meat, preserving fruits, seed farming water storage, medical help in emergencies, weather and other reminders. … Mr. Mackay writes in a clear simple style, which every one can understand, and the special value of the book lies in the fact that it is thoroughly adapted to Australian conditions. …” (p.3s)

Agricultural Lecturer and AuthorIn 1885 the Brisbane Courier for 1 May 1885 reported Mackay, then agricultural editor of The Town and Country Journal, 19 and author of The Sugar-cane in Australia, had awarded a prize for an essay on “Clarifying of Cane Juices” at the Clarence [River] Pastoral and Agricultural Association. The Courier for 1 October 1885 gave a review of his book Elements of Australian Agriculture and described him as “well known as a writer upon all topics connected with agriculture in these colonies.” This book contained a 28 page section titled “The Honey Bee in Australia” Ten years later his Bee Keeping as a Business in Australia extended to 65 pages. i

In the Brisbane Courier, 7 August 1886: “The department of Agriculture is under the chief instruction of Mr. Angus Mackay, lately connected with the Town and Country Journal, and previously with the Queenslander. One popular lecture will be given each week by the Agricultural Instructor (Mr. Mackay), in the Technical College Hall, Sydney, admission free; and arrangements are also made for delivering similar instructive lectures in the chief centres of the country districts, but not more than two lectures will be given in one place during the first session.” (p.6) Subjects he pronounced upon while touring county districts included fruit growing; tobacco diseases, potato, maize, sugar cane and its diseases; 20 grazing, farm and garden soils; 21 irrigation; 22 bee-keeping; 23 butter testing; 24 dairying and 25 milk analysis; flower gardening and poultry farming. 26 His speaking engagements took him to country and suburban areas such as Grafton, 27 Chatsworth on the Clarence River, 28 Murrurundi, 29 West Maitland, Dungog, Gunnedah, Albury, Nowra, Bowral, Hornsby, Ryde, Canterbury and Granville, to name but a few. On 15 January 1887 The Queenslander described him as an “instructor in agriculture from the New South Wales Board of Technical Education.” His interests did not end with agriculture. He was a member of the Engineering Association. He delivered speeches and commented to the press upon railways and bridges, 30 capitalising on his observations made on his American tour. 31

19 The catalogue of the State Library of NSW states this journal was published between 8 January 1870 and 25 June 191920 The Brisbane Courier, 14 January 1893, p.621 The Brisbane Courier... Monday 25 June 1888, p.722 The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 1886, p.623 The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 November 1888, p.1624 The Brisbane Courier, Monday 14 August 1894, p.425 Melbourne Argus, 11 May 1897, p.726 The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 April 1888, p.427 The Brisbane Courier, 16 December 1886, p.228 The Brisbane Courier, 30 November 1892, p.3 29 The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 November 1896, p.530 The Brisbane Courier, 5 April 1877, p.3; Sydney Morning Herald, 25 August 1884, p.931 The Brisbane Courier, 21 January 1880, p.3: an example of one of many; Sydney Morning Herald, 13 March 1876, p.5

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He continued to provide instruction in agriculture to the technical branch of the Department of Agriculture into 1892, 32 from his position as instructor with the Sydney Technical College. 33 The Brisbane Courier, 17 May 1892, reported “The Sydney Daily Telegraph of 9th

instant states that after an absence of nine months from the colony on leave, Mr. Angus Mackay, F.C.S., lecturer in agriculture at the Sydney Technical College, returned on Saturday from Europe.” (p.5) He was still demand for lectures in 1895, on one occasion to the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science. 34 In early 1897 Mackay resigned his position at the Sydney Technical College. 35

An Experienced BeekeeperMackay must have learned much on beekeeping from Queensland beemaster, James Carroll. In 1885 he described his friend as “amongst the first practical bee masters in the colonies”. It was to Carroll that Mackay organised the dispatch from America of two 36 consignments of Ligurian bees, the last of which he accompanied on his return to Queensland in early 1877 on the steamer City of New York. Carroll’s Lizzy Lee apiary was located on Mackay’s former Queensland property. The bee farm carried on the name Mackay had given his home at Enoggera near Brisbane. In the field of bee behaviour and beekeeping, Mackay was experienced, but he did not have a flawless knowledge. He received praise as an expert on the subject eg., in mid December 1884 he delivered a lecture titled Life in the Beehive, "which is to be illustrated with pictures of the most advanced appliances used in Australian bee-keeping, in which Mr. Mackay is an expert.” 37 Even a practicing beekeeper with extensive experience lacks perfect knowledge and makes errors – as in those I’ve highlighted in his letter below to the Maitland Mercury. I can forgive his sometimes inaccuracies for he was clearly a most intelligent and practical agricultural scientist. 38

Mackay associated closely with professional beekeepers – in the Sydney Mail, 3 December 1887: "At one of the recent meetings ... of the New South Wales Beekeepers' Association ... an interesting and instructive paper was read by Mr. Abrams, the manager of the Italian Bee Farm, Parramatta, and other papers on subjects of interest to apiarians will follow. The association will be represented at the forthcoming Centennial Intercolonial Exhibition. The president, Mr. Angus Mackay, instructor in agriculture, is a beekeeper of extensive experience, and we notice amongst the list of officers the names of some energetic workers. ..." (p.3) Another: the Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, 12 March 1891, reported: “The Minister of Mines and Agriculture has received from Rev. John Ayling, 39 Messrs Angus Mackay, and T. F. Bradley, their report as judges of bee farms, entered for the National Prize Competition, and has approved of the awards of prizes therein recommended and also of the issue of highly commended certificates. The first prize, £15, has been awarded to Mr. Geo. Green, of the Clarence district, and the second prize, £10, was awarded to Mr. Wm. Abram, of Beecroft; 40 while Messrs. A. J. Lurcock, of Gosford, J. F.

32 The Brisbane Courier, 15 December 1892, p.533 The Brisbane Courier, 17 May 1892, p.534 The Brisbane Courier, 18 January 1895, p.535 The Brisbane Courier, 15 April 1897, p.436 See my Immigrant Bees, Volume V and III37 The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 December 1884, p.638 I’ve paid particular interest to matters beekeeping as I became aware of Mackay through his close association with the introduction of the Ligurian bee into Queensland in 1877. I hope anyone critiquing my books in 120 years time as I am now of Mackay’s bee books is equally forgiving.39 In 1893 Ayling was Vice-President of the NSW Bee-keepers’ Union40 A well known queen bee breeder since 1882, originally at the Italian Bee Farm, Parramatta, and later at Beecroft

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Munday, of Woodville, and P. Riddel, of Gordon will receive certificates that their establishments called forth the high commendation of the judges.” (p.3)

Mackay’s letter to the Maitland Mercury, 1891In a Saturday Supplement to the Maitland Mercury, 1 August 1891, a short and unattributed article on bee keeping was printed. From my 15 years of beekeeping experience and reference to my extensive apiarian library, all that follows appears correct in every way. “Since the introduction of moveable comb hives, honey extractors, and comb foundation, bee-keeping has been systematized. The bee-keeper of the present controls every part of the hive or colony. He knows that a swarm is at the expense of his honey crop, prevents all such desires of the bees, and makes his swarm just about the time harvest is over. He does not believe that natural swarms are the best, because he can give his artificial swarms all the young bees they need as well as all the honey pollen, combs, and a healthy queen. Young bees are the nurses and comb builders. Without them no swarm can prosper, and it is herein a good many err. Bees over ten days old are foragers, and detest home work so much that they absolutely refuse to accept a new queen when their own is lost, and their nurse bees have become foragers in the meanwhile. They make, however, a desperate effort at self-preservation and lay (the workers) an abundance of eggs, not as the queen does in her own regular manner, depositing an egg in a cell, but irregularly dispersed over the combs. Their eggs being unfertilized, produce drones only. It is said of such a colony that it has a fertile worker, although very many workers were laying the eggs. The only way to save one of these colonies is to give it a few combs of hatching brood and adhering young bees of another stand, when they will readily accept a queen or hatch out a queen cell given them.” (p.8)

Mackay took exception to what he’d read and wrote to the Editor of the Maitland Mercury. His letter, which contains inaccuracies and inconsistencies, appeared on 20 August 1891: “Sir, - In a recent issue of your paper, under the heading of the "Farm and Garden," I noticed an item on bee-keeping. The writer of same is very far astray in his remarks: as when it is stated that ‘the young bees are the nurses and comb-builders.’ 41 And again, ‘the hive having lost its queen, the workers make a desperate effort at self-preservation and lay an abundance of eggs; not as the queen does in her own regular manner - depositing an egg in a cell - but irregularly dispersed over the combs. Their eggs being unfertilised, produce drones only.’ This is all very misleading. 42

1st. Bees as soon as hatched do not nurse, but go straight to work as "foragers" or honey gatherers, filling up the cells in the hive from which they have emerged. 43 The nurses are bees whose wings have been damaged when out foraging, 44 and the duty of nursing is put on

41 Unfortunately, Mackay is wrong to object.42 Unfortunately, Mackay is again incorrect. Experienced hands-on beekeeper should have observed the doings in a queenless hive where the possibility of the bees rearing an emergency queen is lost. Worker bees commence to lay, and as they can only lay unfertilized eggs the larvae necessarily develop into dwarf drones, as the larvae have been reared, not in drone cells but in smaller worker cells. The hive will necessarily dwindle and die out. In Hooper, Ted (1883) Guide to Bees and Honey: “Laying workers … lay in a haphazard way, with bunches of cells here and there and not an oval or discrete solid area.” (p.183)43 This is not correct, current bee literature agrees that young bees are nurse bees. Mackay had forgotten what he wrote in “The Honey Bee in Australia” chapter in his 1885 Elements of Australian Agriculture.44 Not correct, foragers are older bees, those whose nursing and housekeeping duties are over. Here Mackay has contradicted himself, for in his “The Honey Bee in Australia” (p.152) he states “For two weeks after the young worker is hatched it is engaged within the hive; afterwards it assists in gathering stores.”

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them as they cannot fly long distances well. They also build the combs, prepare food for the young, 45 carry water, obtain bee glue to close up crevices and flaws about the hive, mount guard to keep out thieves, etc, for the defence of their treasures.

2nd. The queen only lays eggs, 46 as the following quotation from Professor Angus Mackay's work on bee-keeping shows: ii "Loss of queen - when a queen is lost or removed from a stock, which has eggs in the hive, the workers at once commence to raise another queen; but should she be lost in her flight to meet the drones, which she does on the second or third day, the stock will be left "without means to rear another, as the eggs left by the old queen at her departure with the first swarm are too old to be used for that purpose, consequently the stock will dwindle and completely die off unless means are given them to raise another queen, which is no easy matter unless we have moveable comb hives. With their aid a queenless colony may always be put in possession of means to raise one, by simply giving them a sheet of comb from another stock containing eggs and young larvae. Or a queen cell may he given them cut out of a comb in another hive. Great care is necessary in making such a transfer that the young imprisoned queen is not injured. In time she will emerge from the cell, and, when mated, will become the mother of the hive." 47

Queens are also made by workers taking from one of the cells an egg, and placing it in a prepared cell of the great length and shape of a queen bee. The larvae when hatched is fed on a substance the bees obtain from the grass, 48 until it is as large as the cell, which is then sealed up. Changes then take place, and in time the matured queen emerges from the cell. The workers usually make five or six queens in this manner, in case the first is lost in her flight, and a jealous guard is mounted over them. The first hatched queen after flight is allowed her own way. She rushes to the cells of her sisters and stings them to death. 49

Beekeeping is such an interesting study and work, and has been entered into so extensively in this colony, that it is only right that exact information should be given out, 50 and such is the reason that I have troubled you with these remarks. Yours faithfully, Angus Mackay, June. Darling-street, Balmain, Aug. 17, 1891.” (p.3)

A NSW PoliticianIn mid 1891, Mackay, believing “that Parliamentary affairs have been lowered into a slovenly extravagant, and reckless channel, comes forward as a candidate [in the seat of Balmain] to

45 I don’t believe Mackay understood what “nursing” bees were about. They produce a bee “milk” or chyle from glands in the head – this food is commonly known as royal jelly. In his chapter “The Honey Bee in Australia” (p.152), among the many duties performed by worker bees he includes the non specific “prepare food to nurse the young.” A more complete description of royal jelly may be found in: Morse, Roger A, and Hooper, Ted (1985) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping, p.34546 This is incorrect: worker bees will lay eggs when left queenless as explained above. 47 All this is correct and tracks closely with the words in his “The Honey Bee in Australia” chapter. However, his knowledge is deficient in the event laying workers result on the catastrophic loss of their queen.48 This is incorrect as previously explained: worker nurse bees produce a food - from glands located in head – popularly known as royal jelly. It is fed to all young larvae – its constituents in different proportions depending whether the larvae is to be a drone, worker or queen bee - for a period, then exclusively to larvae resident in queen cells. Mackay wrote a Royal Society prize winning essay c1875 titled The Native Grasses. Larvae food is NOT sourced by bees from any exudations that may be produced by grass. I think Mackay was ignorant of this area of bee biology.49 This is correct and agrees with his “The Honey Bee in Australia” chapter.50 Mackay’s knowledge of bee biology and behaviour is, in some cases, inaccurate. Other areas of his knowledge are correct.

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alter this condition of things.” 51 His candidature was not successful. 52 The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 April 1904 announced Mackay’s next attempt at political candidature. “As in many other electorates, there is a plethora of candidates offering for the Balmain seat … and [he] has signified his intention of going to the poll against all comers.” (p.12) A contentious meeting of the Liberal Reform Party held at the Oddfellows’ Hall on 5 May, declared Mackay its selected candidate. 53 However, even though Walter Anderson had withdrawn his nomination, subsequent unknown events resulted in Anderson’s election.

The end of a useful lifeIt appears that around the age of 69 Mackay decided to retire from public life as further references to him in the SMH during his remaining years are not to be found. There were others to take on the lecturing load on horticulture and apiculture, particularly one of Mackay’s contemporaries, Albert Gale, also of the Sydney Technical College. 54 Mackay’s brief death notice appeared in the Brisbane Courier, 16 March 1910 “DEATH OF MR. A. MACKAY. A WELL KNOWN JOURNALIST. SYDNEY, March 15. News has been received in Sydney of the death of Mr. Angus Mackay, at Portobello, Scotland, on February 8 last. Mr. Mackay, who was 75 years of age, was well known in Australian journalism …” (p.5) Mackay was a family man and fondly remembered. A memorial note appeared on 8 February 1913: “Mackay, Angus. East Balmain. In loving memory and esteem.” 55

Peter Barrett, Caloundra, Queensland, April 2010

51 The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 June 1891, p.8; also 11 June 1891, p.6; 22 September 1891, p.652 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_district_of_Balmain53 The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May 1904, p.554 Brisbane Courier, 8 February 1895, p.4. Gale, interestingly, was aware of bee milk / royal jelly, but, like Mackay, was unaware of laying worker bees. Gale wrote: “Sometimes eggs that have not been feminized [ie., fertilized] are laid in worker-cells; such eggs always produce drones. They are known by their cappings being much elongated. Worker bees do not appear to discover the queen’s error till too late, or they are satisfied to ‘leave well alone’.” See Australian Bee Lore and Bee Culture, 1912, pp.28-29: this was a revised collection of insightful articles which had previously appeared in the NSW Agricultural Gazette. See its review in the Sydney Morning Herald, 6 December 1912, p.6

55 The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 February 1913, p.20.

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Appendix I

Angus Mackay1860s & 1870s

Several circumstances came together to background Mackay’s custodianship of the first hive of Italian bees to reach Queensland in 1877. 56

Firstly, several failures by Carroll to import Italian bees – a reputed attempt from the USA in 1866, another from California, that in 1872, and yet another from Neighbour and Sons, London, in December 1873;

Mackay’s ongoing interest in beekeeping – as evidenced by his chapter The Honey Bee in Australia in his 1885 book The Elements of Australian Agriculture;

In 1876 Mackay 57 visited the USA and West Indies islands 58 as Agricultural Commissioner for the Queensland Government. He attended the 1876 59 United States Centennial Exposition 60 in Philadelphia, the first major World’s Fair to be held in the United States. 61 His main task was to investigate sugar production methods. After his return to Australia via California he presented a nine page Report upon Sugar Factories, Etc. 62 on his findings to the Queensland Parliament in 1877. From its Preface “I endeavoured, whenever opportunity offered during the time I was Commissioner to America, to obtain all available information concerning the manufacture of sugar in the United States and the West India Islands.”

While in California Mackay obtained a hive of bees from Harbison of the Santa Clara Valley. He accompanied them aboard the Pacific Mail Steam Ship Company’s City of New York 63 via Honolulu 64 and Sydney.

From The Mountains of California (1894) 65 in the chapter titled The Bee-Pastures: “According to Mr. J. T. Gordon, President of the Los Angeles County Bee-keepers’ Association … Fifteen hives of Italian bees were introduced into Los Angeles County in 1855, and in 1876 they had increased to 500. The marked superiority claimed for them over the common species is now attracting considerable attention. … In 1876 it was estimated that there were between 15,000 and 20,000 hives in the county, producing an annual yield of about 100 pounds to the hive - in some exceptional cases, a much greater yield.” If the

56 Despite contemporary reports by Mackay, it’s possible this attempt also failed, based upon Fullwood’s later attempts to source Italian bees from Liverpool, England, a consignment he personally accompanied to Brisbane in 1880.57 See also publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9900820055.htm which advertises a pay for use CSIRO historical report in which some of Mackay’s activities as a Commissioner are documented.58 Located in the Caribbean, including the islands of Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados.59 Philadelphia is the largest city in the State of Pennsylvania, north-eastern USA.60 Officially known as the "International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine"61 For more details on the 1876 Exhibition, refer library.phila.gov/CenCol/exhibitionfax.htm62 nine foolscap pages with twelve plates of diagrams, published by the Government Printer, Brisbane. In Nov. ’07 I located a copy for $83.63 Refer my Vol.1 for the full story.64 Auckland was also a possible intermediate port.65 by John Muir. The full chapter may be viewed at yosemite.ca.us/john_muir_writings/the_mountains_of_california/chapter_16.htmlThis article also appeared in the Century Magazine, July 1882 (Vol.24, Iss. 3) New York, p.393. See web site http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/

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number of Italian hives in other Californian counties were then of a similar ratio, the proportion of Italian hives to other types of honeybee was around 3%. Mackay must have paid a premium for his Santa Clara Valley sourced hive.

Mackay’s letter to Editor of the New York published National Agriculturist and Bee Journal (May 1873) paid high praise to the recipient of the Ligurian bees. “Queensland, although the youngest of the group of colonies, has taken the lead in apiculture, as she has led, for some years, in cotton culture and the production of sugar. For her advance in bees, we are indebted to the energy of one man – Mr. J. Carroll of Milton. … has driven in the reform wedge, by introducing the bar-frame, or Woodbury hive, with such modifications as to him seemed necessary for this climate. He wrote on the subject, visited bee-keepers, bought bees, sold them, &c, and is in the midst of a regular bee reformation, now. He can not supply the demand for bees and hives. He has sent to America for Italian bees, and we hope soon to have them in our stocks. …”

Among the many treasures of the Mitchell Library, Sydney, I count a small 175 page book by Angus Mackay titled Elements of Australian Agriculture. 66 But all treasures are not necessarily of the 24 carat gold kind. Published in 1885, it contains chapters on various agricultural pursuits including soil analysis, irrigation, manures, dairying, pruning, the use of steam on the farm, and finally twenty-seven pages on “The Honey bee in Australia”. Supporting the text are numerous illustrations, all of which I originally assumed to be of Australian origin. At this time Mackay was an agricultural lecturer at the Sydney Technical College and a member of the Engineering Association of NSW.

My chance discovery in May 2007 of the April 23, 1881 weekly issue of the American magazine Harpers Weekly, disclosed an article titled “A California Bee Farm”. Of its collage of eleven beekeeping related illustrations, at least four were borrowed and re-engraved for Mackay’s publication. The first engraving titled “A Modern Bee Farm” is signed by (Charles Edward) Winston. It marginally differs from the Harper’s Weekly version in that the beekeeper’s stance before his row of hives has been advanced. I was unable to locate the engraver’s mark within the other four illustrations.

As well, still more surprisingly before me was the final Harper’s illustration, the very one I’d chosen to be the cover illustration of my Immigrant Bees, Volume III, discovered the same week I was finalizing its limited edition printing. With many slight variations, the illustration depicts a frock-coated and veiled beekeeper inspecting a frame of bees before an open-lidded moveable frame hive. Mackay had borrowed this illustration for the cover of his 1885 two shilling, thirty-two page pamphlet The Honey Bee in Australia.

A web page by the Light Railway Research Society of Australia gives a history of the Australian sugar industry. In part it states “In 1883 a Sydney engineer, Angus Mackay, had reported to the Queensland Government on the working of central sugar mills overseas. 67 Mackay highlighted the efficient central mill system in the West Indies and noted that in times of difficulty, large plantations would be cut up into farms of 50 acres rented by white or black farmers. The idea lay dormant for several years …” 68

66 More biographical detail on Angus Mackay and his publications may be found in my An Australian beekeeping Bibliography 67 G.C. Bolton, A Thousand Miles Away: a history of North Queensland to 1920, ANU Press, 1972, p. 146-768 lrrsa.org.au/LRR_SGRa.htm#Early%20History

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Some time prior to Mackay’s return to Australia via California aboard the City of New York, he’d acquired a hive 69 of Italian bees from Santa Clara Valley bee-master Harbison. His personal supervision of them on the voyage, I believe, was performed on behalf of bee-master Jas Carroll of Brisbane. ”What a delighted man was Jas Carroll to get the first lot of Ligurian bees …” wrote Angus Mackay on delivery of the Harbison hive in Brisbane. 70 Mackay was not just interested in bees. He authored many other technical works. See the list in Appendix VII.

Special Commissioner from Queensland to Philadelphia, 1876

By chance in early 2008 I discovered the very useful web site - “Papers Past” - run by the National Library of New Zealand. Therein I located a report in the Otago Witness for 25 March 1876. 71 Without mentioning him by name the subject can only have been Angus Mackay: “The Special Commissioner from Queensland to Philadelphia is pounding a very loud trumpet as he goes. We have heard from him at San Francisco, where he has blandly, and apparently without demur, allowed himself to be dubbed "The Honourable," although when this prophet is in his own country he is not entitled to that distinction.

He is interviewing and being interviewed, and some of the agricultural papers literally overflow with him. This being the case, it is some satisfaction to us to feel that he has hitherto had a character for blunt truthfulness, so that unless he be spoilt by the unexpected ovation which he is receiving, and begins to exaggerate, his blowing of the capabilities of our soil and the richness of our mineral resources will do no harm, and it is, in fact, what I suppose he is paid for. He is presenting right and left to public institutions samples, taken with him for the purpose, of a number of our productions, and has made several engagements, of which we shall hear more in time, to address agricultural, educational, and other associations. He has, besides this, a commission to buy implements, &c, &c, which he will from time to time send to the Colony without waiting till he returns; and this part of his work he has already begun by sending by the last mail some agricultural seeds and some hives of Italian bees.”

Mackay reported his progress as Special Commissioner. His first appeared in the BrisbaneCourier on Saturday 19 February 1876. He wrote as “A Queenslander in America” from the Palace Hotel, 72 San Francisco, on 5 January 1876. He closed his first letter from America “With the mail carrying this, two swarms of Italian bees are forwarded; and trusting they will arrive safely - two previous consignments perished.”

69 “about 20 inches square at sides and about 3 ½ feet high” Weatherhead, T (1986) From Boxes to Bar Hives, p.1170 From Weatherhead (1986), p.12, extracted from the Australian Bee Bulletin, 23 Sept. 189371 Otago Witness, Issue 1269, 25 March 1876, Page 472 Image thanks to cprr.org/Museum/Palace_Hotel_SF/#ralston

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Success in 1877 ?

It was not until 1877 (refer also my Immigrant Bees, Volumes II & III) that Mackay accompanied the first successful introduction of these sought after Italian bees into Brisbane. The Brisbane Courier for Monday 5 February 1877 iii reported “Such of our readers as take an interest in the management of bees will be greatly pleased to learn that Mr. Angus Mackay, who has arrived in Sydney, has succeeded in bringing from California a colony of Italian bees. The attempt to introduce this much-prized species of bees has been made before on several occasions, but hitherto has always failed. The Italian is said to be a quieter and a better honey-gathering bee than the English, and if some effectual means of getting rid of the bee moth could now be devised, our apiarians might have a good time before them yet.” (p.2)

A short report appeared in the “Odds & Ends” section in the Otago Witness for 10 March 1877, extracted from Australian newspapers, “Mr Angus Mackay brings with him, from America, for Queensland, a horsepower centrifugal seed-sowing machine that sows 60 acres per day; also a huge hive of Italian bees.” Via submarine telegraph through Australian Associated press, a similar report appeared in the Brisbane Courier for Tuesday 6 February 1877 “Sydney, February 5. Mr. Angus Mackay, the Commissioner for Queensland at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, arrived here from San Francisco on Friday night. He brings several specimens of agricultural machinery and a hive of Italian bees for Queensland.” (p.2

The Brisbane Courier for Tuesday 27 March 1877 reported “The commissioners appointed to collect exhibits in this colony for the inter-colonial exhibition to be held in Sydney next month have been energetically at work, and their labors will probably result in a large display of Queensland products, excepting minerals. Among the articles most prominently represented will be fibres, grain, flour, and manufactured articles showing the practical utility of Queensland timbers; there will also be a good display of wines, sugars, and an exhibit of honey from Italian bees. …” (p.2)

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Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876 73

The following article by Jas Carroll of Lizzielee Apiary, titled “The Italians at Last,” celebrates this fourth attempt. From the Otago Witness for 7 April 1877 74: “The colony of Italian bees brought over from America by Mr Mackay, Queensland Commissioner, arrived in Brisbane on the 13th ultimo, in splendid condition; in fact, I was surprised to find them in such fine order. Fancy a huge hive, 13 ¾ in. x 13 ¾ in. and 26 in. high, inside measure, filled perfectly full with bees, comb, and honey, they arriving at Lizzielee Apiary without a single comb being broken. It is a very perfect success, after the many failures we have had, and too much credit cannot be given to Mr Mackay for the care he has bestowed on these bees; in fact, no one but a true lover of the honey bee could have succeeded so well. My first attempt to import Italian bees to Australia was 1871, from M. Quenby, 75 of Mohawk Valley, New York; the next attempt was from Neighbour and Sons, London ; and the third attempt was from Dadant and Son, Illinois; all of which proved complete failures. And I firmly believe that had it not been for Mr Mackay, Queensland would have had to wait for the Italians until some one like him took the task in hand.

There is not a doubt as to the superiority or these bees over the black bee, common in Australia. The veriest novice would be able to tell at a glance, from their actions and movements, that the yellow bands are superior to the black bees. These Italian bees are by no means new to us. They were in our apiary in England in 1869. The unanimous opinion of all bee keepers competent to judge is, that the Italians are vastly superior to the common or black bee. J. Carroll.”

73 bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/1876/1876_12.jpg74 Otago Witness, Issue 1323, 7 April 1877, Page 18.75 “Quenby” is in error, should read “Quinby”

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On the same page as the above report, there also appeared in the “The Apiary” section, a supporting article 76 titled “Italian Bees in Australia”. Extracted from an un-named Queensland paper is the following: “At last, Mr Carroll, our bee-master, is able to announce that he is in possession of Italian bees. Having seen the bitter disappointment of Mr Carroll when previous consignments reached him and every bee dead, we can realise his joy when this splendid stock reached his apiary. We have been to see them since then, and they certainly are fine insects, being much more beautiful than the ordinary bee. They are also larger and. stronger, live in larger communities, and are much more vigilant. We will now soon learn whether they excel as honey-makers in this country. Both in Europe and America they have an immense reputation, and we know of no reason why they should not be successful here. They came at a good time, for the black bee has almost suffered elimination from grubs and other enemies. Little as they are in themselves, it is no small matter that Queensland is the first to have Italian bees in this country.”

In the August 1878 issue of the American Bee Journal under the title Italian Bees in Australia. “In a California paper we notice a letter from Queensland, Australia, from the Hon. Angus Mackay, concerning the successful introduction of Italian bees into that section of Australia. The editor remarks: For many years past, efforts have been made to introduce them, but they failed to ‘cross the waters’ alive, when Mr. Mackay was with us here, as Queensland’s Commissioner, he desired us to prepare one of our best stocked hives, that he might take them on with him. We, therefore, selected one of our largest and best colonies, having ample brood comb and a full stock of honey; we prepared it with a fine wire cage on top with holes for the bees to pass up for air, and made all the needed fixtures to have it go on safely; but, however careful our work may have been done, we accord to our honored friend's continued care of the bees on the voyage their final grand success. Mr. Mackay took them into his state-room and had them lashed to the side safely, and on pleasant and calm sea days rolled them out on deck to give them air. Mr. Mackay watched his ‘pets’ with great care and kindness - he did his work with the bees as he had performed all his duties as the Commissioner, faithfully and splendidly, and hence the success.” (p.269)

76 Otago Witness, Issue 1323, 7 April 1877, Page 18

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Endnotes

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i The Sydney Mail, 20 July 1895, announced the publication of Bee Keeping as a Business in Australia, first published 1882. “re-printed by Messrs. Batson and Co., Limited. The author, Mr. Angus Mackay, F.C.S., has brought his subject up to date, and presented a topic, most interesting in itself, in simple language. The text is, moreover, illustrated with many woodcuts of bees and comb, hives and appliances. Beekeeping should be a fascinating pursuit with young persons, and this little work is calculated to arrest their attention and lead to the enlargement of one of the minor industries of agriculture.” Refer news.google.com

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1302&dat=18950720&id=PGEQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GJUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3714,777774

Ferguson’s Bibliography of Australia, entry no. 12028 (p.543), lists a copy at the Mitchell Library. Inexplicably, it is not now to be found in the catalogue of the State Library of NSW. I know of only two copies of Mackay’s 1895 Bee Keeping but no holdings of the 1882 edition. One copy of the former is held at the library of the University of Melbourne (catlg. 638.10994 MACK). Both, then, must be considered as extremely rare.

The Mitchell Library also has an 1885 copy of The Honey Bee in Australia (call no. DSM/ 042/ P401) “signed, 'D.S. Mitchell', bound with other pamphlets.” Ferguson’s Bibliography of Australia, 1851-1900, published between 1941 and 1969, lists the same ML copy, his no. 12021. The Honey Bee in Australia also appeared as a 28 page chapter in Mackay’s 1885 Elements of Australian Agriculture. Unfortunately, the catalogue entry confuses the author with another Angus Mackay, 1824-1886, an essentially Victorian resident.ii Here lies a little mystery - Mackay appears to be referring to another person, a Professor, who, like himself, and with the same name, also wrote a book on beekeeping. Mackay was always referred to in his books and in newspapers as “Mr.”, never Professor. A “Prof. Angus Mackay” was mentioned in Reports of the United States Commissioners to the Centennial International Exhibition at Melbourne, 1888 (1889) by F. M. Webster, Special Agent, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Hon. Frank McCoppin, U. S. Commissioner. “… The statistical matter contained in the foregoing report has been largely drawn from the following documents ... public documents published under the direction of Sir James Hector, of Wellington, New Zealand, and the works of Baron von Mueller, Prof. Angus MacKay, and Messrs. Fraser S. Crawford and J. G. O. Tepper. Respectfully submitted.” With the link to an international exhibition, the “Prof.” reference appears to point back inexplicably to Mackay himself. (Digitised page n365, actual 339) Refer

http://www.archive.org/stream/reportsunitedst00statgoog#page/n365/mode/1up/search/mackay

The letters “F.C.S.” after his name most likely signify him as a Fellow of the Chemical Society. From Wikipedia on one of many meanings of “F.C.S.”: Fellow of the Chemical Society (of London), formed in 1841, recognized by Royal Charter in 1847 “which added to its role in the advancement of science, the development of chemical applications in industry.” In 1894 Mackay wrote Helpful Chemistry for Agriculturists; and Analyses of Grazing, Farm and Garden Soils,1887. British Bee Books – A Bibliography, 1500-1976, mentions no Mackay in its author index. Could it be that the 1882 precursor to his 1895 work on bees was written by a different Mackay?iii In the Sydney Morning Herald, 5 February 1877: “From California [Angus Mackay] brings ... a huge hive of Italian bees. They are alive, and look in first class order. This is the fourth or fifth effort made from Queensland to introduce these insects - the best of the bee tribe, we believe. The bees will be sent on to Queensland at once, and, we trust, will soon become common all over the country. Mr Mackay speaks highly of the courtesy of the captain, first officer, and indeed all hands on the City of New York, who did all in their power to aid him in bringing over the bees alive - a by no means easy task during a long voyage at sea.” (p.4) Far more detail on Mackay’s voyage may be found in my Volume I.