The Beekeeper - Peter Gatehouse
Born and raised in Melbourne, I decided to move to the countryside at age 26 with my wife, Margaret. I have always gravitated towards more 'earthy' interests and hobbies, even though I have been working as a Medical Laboratory Scientist in various Hospitals and medical facilities for the past 30 years.
My interest in beekeeping has been a fascinating and rewarding hobby for the past few years, however a recent workplace restructure found me being retrenched after 22 years with the same company. Rather than despair, I saw this as an opportunity to create the lifestyle I have always yearned for, so I founded Hill Top Hives in the Spring of 2016.
My qualifications and experience as a medical scientist have actually helped develop my skills to work as a beekeeper. In particular, being able to inspect hives for pests and diseases is not all that different to scanning different samples in a pathology laboratory. Once you have a good grasp of what is normal and healthy the abnormal and diseased is easier to spot.
Working hives is an absolute joy. Bees are fascinating insects to watch. They don't work for their individual needs, instead working together as one 'organism' which is the colony or the hive. We could all learn a thing or two from the ways that bees live their lives.
In recent times apart from my own beekeeping operation, I have been working for Agriculture Victoria and NSW DPI in Varroa mite surveillance and educating commercial and recreational beekeepers in Varroa mite monitoring and management.
Qualifications
BAppSc “Medical Laboratory Science” RMIT -1991
Pests and Diseases of the Honeybee , TOCAL College, NSW 2017
President - South Gippsland Beekeepers Inc. 2016 - 2018
Vice President - South Gippsland Beekeepers Inc 2018 - 2024
Vice President - Gippsland Apiarists Association (GAA) 2023 - Present
Educator/Instructor- Beginners beekeeping course, South Gippsland Beekeepers Inc
State Quarantine Response Team member (SQRT) , Agriculture Victoria - Current
Varroa Development Officer(VDO) - Agriculture Victoria 2024-
National Varroa mite management trainer (Victoria) - NSW DPI - 2024-2025