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In-depth

New Zealand

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Introduction

New Zealand, known for Ruby,  kiwi fruit, sheep and a ‘love hate’ relationship with Australians, is also a great centre of hashing.  There are around 40 kennels and hashing is amazingly well organized, for example:

·        There is an all New Zealand website at http://www.nzhhh.co.nz

·        New Zeland stage of the oldest Nash Hash in the world.

·        They elect an ‘All New Zealand’ GM.  

·        Rotorua hosted a hugely successful InterHash in 1994.

History

Hashing first came to New Zealand when Roy 'Fiveskin' Skinner and Bill 'Great White Hunter' Holden began Auckland H3 on August 24^th 1970 by setting a run from the Exchange Towers.  By the mid seventies the hash had become almost a running club and even placed a competitive team in the Round the Bays race.  It took the arrival of ‘Fartin’ Martin and Ken Floyd (both ex Kota Kinabalu) to direct the group towards a more hash-like philosophy. 

Wellington H3 was founded at the Midland Hotel in 1976 by a group of recently returned Mother hashers, including Bret Betsic, John ‘Jim Jim’ Mills, David Innes and Tremaine.  It was Wellington's 1^st anniversary run that laid the foundations of NZ’s 1^st Nash Hash (see New Zealand Nash Hash).  1978 was a growth year for hashing with the formation of Rotorua H3, while the wives of Wellington and Auckland Hashers formed the first Harriettes kennels.

Hashing by areas:

Auckland Hash Planner

North Island - Auckland

In addition to the original Auckland men's hash, the city now boasts another 5 kennels which meet weekly.  Auckland Hash House Hussies was formed in early 1978 by wives banned from the men’s Hash.  Later the same year South Shore H3 was formed as a breakaway group which wanted to avoid returning over the bridge after Hash drinks.

Manukau H3 was the first mixed hash and more recently the city gained the West of Everywhere Full Moon Runners H3 (Woeful Runners H3).  ‘Our runs will be targeted at the fitter end of the hashing spectrum’ and the Splash Hash, a kayaking hash that attracts 20-25 paddlers each week.

Wellington

Wellington H3 is still going strong on a Monday night with over 1600 runs to their credit.  ‘We are also proud of being one of very few men-only hashes in New Zealand, and in the world for that matter’.  The men’s only policy has been discussed over the years and usually results in procrastination.  

In the summer they usually meet in the bush with a BBQ and keg, while in the winter they tend to run more on streets finishing with a keg in a suitable pub.  ‘Visitors are welcome, even female (but don't let it become a habit)’.

 In February 1981 Mad Max formed Capital H3 as a breakaway group from Wellington.  Their first run was from the Thorndon Tavern in Molesworth Street. Today they usually run in central Wellington and its immediate environs.  The kennel collapsed in November 1981 but was resuscitated in September 1983.  They have a small core of members and count on visitors to bring the pack up to around 15.  

Wellington Ladies dates from November 1978. They have the distinction of providing three New Zealand GM’s.  

Ditch H3 is a hash called on the Cook Straits ferry (between North and South Islands) whenever 3 or more hashers are making the crossing.

Wellington Hash Planner

BlueMoon

Occasional

Rotorua

It was Auckland’s Tony Evans who took hashing to Rotorua in 1978.  Legends of Rotorua Hashing include the night the hares took a short cut across a runway in the path of a plane ‘We did our drinking that night in the men’s public loo, in Holden’s Bay hidden from a patrol car that had been sighted nearby’. 

The town also has Rotorua HAGS H3, which stands for ‘Hussies Aging Gracefully but Slowly’ and they are, as you might have guessed from the name, a walking hash.  

A TGIF mountain bike hash meets Thursday and Sundays.  As mentioned previously, InterHash was hosted in Rotorua in 1994.

Elsewhere on North Island

The Bay of Plenty region is another centre of hashing, with four weekly hashes, the oldest being Opotiki H3 (founded 1982).  Hamilton has the Mooloo H3 dating from 1988, and Napier the Pania Plodders H3.

The Plodders dates from July 1984, when they were founded by (the much-travelled) Robbie ‘Likka’ McNaught, ‘Portnoy’ and ‘Schnapps’.  They are a mixed hash ‘with a small and non-athletic pack.’   

Taranaki is home to the Energy H3 founded in 1988 by Rod ‘Rewd’ Jones.

South Island

Wellington men took hashing across the straits in 1979, and founded Christchurch H3.They now have a hard core of 20-25 walkers, runners, dogs and others that gather each Mondays.  Garden City was formed as a second pack in July 1984.

During the nineties Marlborough H3, at the top of the island, built up a reputation of ‘out-singing-out-drinking-out joking-out-grossing and out-running’ any other hash.  This reputation was developed at InterHash and New Zealand Nash Hash where they were regular boat racing champions.  For much of this period Dagy Guest ‘The Horrid Hobbit’’ was GM.  

Dunedin H3 is a mixed hash with mostly walkers.  It should be noted that the city is hillier than San Francisco, so ‘short runs’ do not always mean ‘easy runs’.  Sadly Marlborough H3 might be in recession at the moment while Central Otago Hash was only running ‘occasionally’ by the mid nineties.  Further south Invercargill H3 still meets on a Monday.