On a cool morning in Central Victoria, Lindsay, fourth-generation beekeeper and steward of Warral Maldon, remembers the sting and sweetness of his first encounters with bees. “The stings and tears are hard to forget!” he says, laughing. “A very young Lindsay memory is being with my Dad as we drove through the night in his old Bedford truck from Bendigo to Adelaide… I was sitting up in the cab, eating a juicy pear, watching my Dad and others load the truck. The whole thing was pure joy.”

Founded in 1896 by Eduard Teague Penglase Senior, Warral Maldon has grown through generations of adaptation, grit, and invention. “There has been constant evolution,” Lindsay says. “His son, Ed, moved hives by horse and cart... then train... then truck. My grandparents went on long-distance honey flows – that’s what we call it when treetops are in bloom, skies are blue and bees are buzzing.”

Lindsay’s own parents, Roger and Edna, modernised the operation with marketing innovations and bush forklifts built from old Land Rovers. Today, Lindsay oversees a business that blends history with global standards. “Over the past 33 years, I’ve maintained my love and care for bees while also focusing on world-class systems – from facilities and training to branding and global food safety standards.”

That spirit of innovation buzzes strongest in their Goat Track range. “The name is a tribute to the rugged, wild, remote landscapes where only goats—and our beehives—seem to go,” Lindsay explains. “It captures the raw, untamed spirit of that stunning wilderness country.”

But this is no gentle stroll in the garden. “In peak season, days blur into nights,” Lindsay says. “We chase the honey flows – a mix of risk, instinct, and adventure. When we hit it right, we’re hauling hundreds of boxes full of honey through flood-prone, fire-prone landscapes... working alongside nature and our bees.”

Their home range is within 400 kilometres of Maldon, and each new hive site is a puzzle of instinct and environmental reading. “It’s part science, part intuition… looking at eucalyptus bud sets, recent rainfall, the feel of the landscape, and past honey flow success,” he says. “The environment shapes the flavour of the honey and the yield of every harvest – from treetop to tabletop.”

Even the bees themselves are carefully nurtured. “We run our research and development under the name SYZYGY – a term Dad loved. It means the alignment of two or more heavenly bodies.

It represents ‘working in sync’.” Their queen breeding and insemination programs are at the forefront of fighting threats like the Varroa mite. “We’re creating stronger, more productive hives. It’s about long-term sustainability.”

This deep care is more than business – it’s philosophy. “ ‘Bees love Warral, we love bees’ is our Warral Maldon mantra,” Lindsay says. “Bee health is the cornerstone of food security around the world.”

And as for what lies ahead? “I want Warral Maldon to keep leading,” Lindsay says, eyes set on a future where apiculture and agriculture are not just aligned - but inseparable. “A strong beekeeping industry isn’t optional. It’s essential.