In the Spotlight - New Zealand
Hazukashii
In the Spotlight – New Zealand
By Ed “Hazukashii” Howell
25 Feb 2024
New Zealand is an island nation in the South Pacific with a population of just over 5 million. It consists of approx. 600 islands, of which only a half dozen or so are inhabited, but more than ninety-nine percent live on the two main islands, North and South, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. One of the major stories currently making the news about New Zealand is the discovery that it is actually a sunken continent, which occurred around 40 million years ago when plate tectonics related to the ring of fire, caused a mass submergence in the region. There is currently a debate as to whether it should be designated as the 8th geopolitical continent.
Also in the news, New Zealand is about to host the major biennial Hash House Harriers event called INTERHASH for the second time, the first one they held was in Rotorua in 1994, which had over 4000 registered to attend. Queenstown will host their second effort from 8-10 March, and there are approx. 1800 anticipated to attend.
Different than other countries, New Zealand has a national organization for their hash clubs, where they elect a national GM. According to their website:
New Zealand has a position called the NZ Grand Master/Mistress, which is a 2 year term from one Nash Hash to the next. There is a special meeting on the Sunday morning of Nash Hash where interested parties meet to farewell the outgoing and elect the incoming NZGM. The NZGM’s duties include travelling throughout NZ visiting clubs and generally promoting hashing in NZ. Newsletters to clubs are also part of the duties.
Historically, the first hash to form in New Zealand was the Auckland H3, founded on 24 Aug 1970 by Bill 'Great White Hunter' Holden who had been hashing in Sydney, Australia prior to that. He was assisted by Roy 'Fiveskin' Skinner, who in 1987 was asked about the history of the Auckland H3, he simply stated “It’s still a f*ck up, nothing’s changed.” More descriptive, according to an old Auckland H3 hash trash dated 15 Oct 1990, the first trail started . . .
. . . from the Exchange Hotel in Parnell Auckland. Bill Holden was the hare and he had somehow conned 9 men to be the pack. After this initial run there were some doubts, and the hash went into recess until Jan 1973, at which stage it was kicked off again and this time with a modicum of success.
After the Auckland H3, according to the HHH Genealogy, other hash clubs to form in New Zealand in the 1970s were:
- Wellington H3 15 Feb 1976
- Auckland HH Hussies 1 Jan 1978
- Rotorua H3 20 Feb 1978
- North Shore H3 21 Aug 1978
- Ohakea H3 13 Nov 1978
- Wellington Ladies H3 28 Nov 1978
- Christchurch H3 12 Nov 1979
- Hamilton H3 30 Nov 1979
In all, there have 77 hash clubs to form in New Zealand, of which 37 are still active. The most recent hash club to form was the Matarangi H3 in Nov 2021. Even if you cannot attend INTERHASH next month, you will certainly be able to track down and run with one of the many clubs, should you get the opportunity to visit this amazing island nation.
For many more articles like this on the history of hashing, check out . . . http://gotothehash.net/history/inthespotlight.html