Pilgrims: a selection of personal stories from members of St Philip's

David Gowty's Bee-autiful legacy lives on

This story comes from the Anglican Board of Mission and from Dimitri Markotsis who took over some beehives belonging to David Gowty, a former ABM Board Member, who died in 2013. The parishes mentioned are in the Diocese of Brisbane. Both Dmitri and David were formerly at St Philip's

Our actions and words reach further than we can imagine. I have a dear friend (David Gowty 1946-2013) who had a wicked sense of humour and lived a life filled with love, mercy and the pursuit of human dignity.
	David's life-work was in international development, which took him and his family on assignment to Africa, Asia and the Pacific. David used to keep bees at his home and would sell the honey to raise money for ABM and this is where the ABeeM label came from.
After his sudden death in 2013 I was reminded of David's works in social justice, international development and his bee keeping. So I approached Beryl (David’s widow) with my desire to utilise some of David's hives in the continuation of ABeeM.
	I have since restored two hives, one for St Luke's Ekibin and one for St Luke's Collingwood Park. Recently I presented the bee boxes to these communities where they were blessed. I have since put these in place in their respective Parishes. These should produce their first honey for harvest and sale in early 2015.