It was a honey swap among friends that had two budding beekeepers in their element.
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NSW Governor David Hurley gave Tocal College a jar of honey his bees produced and they returned the favour with a jar of the finest Tocal honey.
He dropped into the college on Thursday as part of a tour of the Lower Hunter so he could speak face to face with rural communities.
Governor Hurley, a very passionate beekeeper, was keen to learn about the college’s beekeeping program and chat to trainer Danielle Lloyd-Prichard about the courses Tocal offers to train bee enthusiasts.
“As a beekeeper we had a good chat and compared notes, and I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong at the moment,” he said.
“He’s very enthusiastic, it’s so nice to hear that support coming from the governor,” Ms Lloyd-Prichard added.
“He is a beekeeper himself, so the discussion was more about his bees and how they’re going, how we deliver training here … and of course he was very interested in looking at all of the resources we developed.”
College students gave Governor Hurley a taste of how motorbikes and quad bikes were safely used on the land with a demonstration around a short course.
He also met one of the college’s most friendly steers before a tour of Tocal Homestead.
He praised the college for paving the way for students to train in agriculture roles.
“I think this is an indispensable type of facility, it’s taking kids from all walks of life who want to be engaged in the rural economy and lovely lifestyle,” Governor Hurley said.
“It’s giving them skills – it’s giving them safety on the farm as well as being productive on the farm, and from what I can see, there’s a very high quality of staff here.”
Governor Hurley hoped the Hunter could balance urban demands with the need for agriculture into the future.
“If you can keep the mix I think that would be great, there’s a question of balance in all of these sorts of things, and there’s pressure on urban areas, but we need our rural areas as well for productivity, lifestyle, all those sorts of things,” he said.
“I think it helps us all to look for the right balance, the right mixture.”
Governor Hurley also visited the NSW SES Hunter Region Command on Thursday where he thanked staff and volunteers for their commitment and service.
On Friday he will visit Mount View High School, which is involved with the White Ribbon ‘Breaking the Silence’ schools program and will also meet Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network representatives who are working on regional programs.
Governor Hurley said the monthly rural visits allowed him to thank communities for their contribution.
“I use it as a way of getting out to the people of NSW, supporting what’s going on, acknowledging what’s going on and actually telling them about the good work they’re doing because they don’t often hear it,” he said.
“I think it’s an important thing the government can do, and the governor general, and the other governors in other states to really be prompting the great work that goes on in our community.”