Hi Peter, I am in south east of Melbourne. Can you please tell me from your experience that in Melbourne do I need second brood box or single. Thanks 
I’m from adelaide- and I never run double brood hives. I would much rather have two single brood hives than one double. So much easier to manage. I am not completely familiar with the Melbourne climate but my guess is you do not need a double brood. I know a beekeeper here in Adelaide who says that you "MUST’ have a double brood. He consistently gets less honey than I do- and has to work almost twice as hard- with nearly double the investment in equipment…
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Hi from Canberra. I am a newbie to this forum and to keeping bees in a cooler climate. I would like some advise on keeping hives in Canberra. I installed a 5 frame nuc from a local bee keeper about 3 and a half weeks ago and the hive is thriving. The italian bees have built new comb on the 3 new foundationless frames and are currently filling them. I was wondering whether I should put another brood box on or the flow honey super? I realise that I have had a very late start to the season and I think I will need to put one or the other on going into winter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance 
@KSJ, @Peter48 would be the person to advise you on doing that. But if you still haven’t done so, it might be a bit late now. Maybe you could add a spacer (about 2-3cms high) in between the brood box and the timber lid, Then put Sugar Syrup 2:1 in a feeder, and also some pollen blocks in the spacer, which may need checking on about half way through winter. That will help your hive get through this coming winter, with you only having a single brood box, then look at a 2nd brood box, once winter has pass. Also some external insulation over the hive would help the bees keep the hive warm, and hence they should use less of their precious stores. Also reduce any drafts, eg reduce the entrance to just 1/3 it’s original size, and any vents close them up completely. Keep the hive dry, eg a steel frame with a tarpaulin over the frame.
I added a 2nd brood box about a month ago, and I live just south of Wagga Wagga, and I have also bought a 12V radiating heating pad, low powered that I will position in under the hive, to provide extra warmth for my bees.