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Story: Communes and communities

Beeville

A resident picks apples at Beeville, near Morrinsville, in a 1970s photo by Ans Westra. Founded in 1933, the anarchist community of Beeville grew out of the extended family of Ray Hansen. Honey production provided a major part of the community's income – hence the name Beeville.

Listen to Beeville founder Ray Hansen talk about the community's ethos of responsible individual freedom, which sometimes led it into conflict with authority, particularly over military service and taxes.

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: O.008998

by Ans Westra

Sound file from Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Any re-use of this audio is a breach of copyright. To request a copy of the recording, contact Ngā Taonga (Beeville/Reference number 292763).

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Caren Wilton, Communes and communities – Early communities, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/speech/28106/beeville (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Caren Wilton, published 31 March 2011.

Comments

David Frank Carter Muir
16 July 2020
Seifert rd, in Whitikau, & are very interested to obtain the original plans & all details of land, buildings, water reticulation, electrical distribution plans in order 2 solve a few problems we are experiencing relative 2 our adventurist new purchase. We have 2 date made many modifications towards improvements & Love the property, & would find any assistance valuable as in above. Best Regards David Muir, Jul. 16th, 11:22 am 2020.
Harriet
30 May 2018
Hi John, you can share this using the URL: https://teara.govt.nz/en/speech/28106/beeville. Thank you.
John
20 November 2017
I stayed on this commune in 1974 for 9 months and visited it again last weekend for the first time in 45 years! In fact, my girlfriend and I at the time changed our name by deed poll to "Hansen" to cement our relationship. Wow- the nostalgia & the memories!! Amazing memories which I would have liked to share with various people- including my children and someone doing a family history, etc. etc.. but.. I'm again baffled about how to accomplish this as this doesn't seem to be "emailable" and I can't see how to, or the point of using Pinterest/ Twitter or Facebook?? Any chance of putting a link on here as they do on YouTube so it could be more easily shared using Outlook or other standard email processes?? Thanks
Mathew
18 September 2015
Ray Hansen is my grandfather and, the young man on the thumbnail is my father now known as Nigel Sanders. Formally as Nigel Hansen