Australia’s Manuka

Our family business began in 1996 as Tyagarah Apiaries and has grown to become Australia’s Manuka Pty Ltd.

It was an unforgettable encounter that inspired the name change from Tyagarah Apiaries to Australia’s Manuka. Katrina and Michael were bushwalking near one of their apiaries, looking for bush medicine with their lifelong friend and Māori elder, Cheryl Livingstone.

Cheryl saw one of the flowering trees that the bees were collecting nectar from and exclaimed happily “I’ve found some Manuka”.

“That’s Jellybush”, Michael replied. Her response was immediate and decisive. “ It’s Manuka” she said in her no-nonsense way.

The flowers Cheryl had identified were Leptospermum plants that are close cousins of the variety she was familiar with from New Zealand. Upon early testing in independent laboratories the bioactive honey proved to be even more potent in the medicinal properties than their New Zealand counterparts. Thus, the Australia’s Manuka brand was born.