30 Years of History
HASH HOUSE HARRIERS
|
The HASH HOUSE HARRIERS began in 1938 when a casual group of British colonial officials and expatriates would meet after work on Friday evenings to run, following a paper trail, through the environs of Kuala Lumpur. It was registered as such on the 9th February 1951, when societies were required to register with the Registrar of Societies in Kuala Lumpur, in the then Malaya. This original chapter is also commonly known as the MOTHER HASH. It is now an international non-competitive running and social club, with chapters all over the world.
The philosophy as stated in the OBJECTS CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION is as follows:
|
The Original Hash House (Kuala Lumpur) Circa 1938 known locally as the Hash House, because of its monotonous food (hash, being an old army slang for food)
|
The organisation of the Hash House Harriers is decentralised, with each chapter (also called Kennels) locally managed and with no higher-level organisational hierarchy or central controlling organisation There are now close to 2000 kennels with at least one in most major cities in the world. Yet, rules and practices are mostly similar. Local, regional and international events are being organised and held in large numbers and many with a large number of participants. Most, if not all kennels have their own newsletters and websites, and directories are published at some of the Interhash events.
(Adapted from Mother Hash Website)
(Adapted from Mother Hash Website)
HASHING IN VIETNAM
|
Most but not all Hash kennels are named after their country, city or town for ease of identification. In Vietnam, the first recorded official* Hash was Saigon (“SH3”) in August 1990, then Hanoi (“Hanoi H3” or “H4”) in 1991, and Vung Tau City (“VTH3”) in 1992. Other chapters have come and gone along the way, with records indicating Danang, Can Tho, Hoi An and, most recently and still active: Nha Trang (“NTH3”).
*Hanoi H3 founder Terry “Testicles” Tsikleas confirms an attempt to start a Hash in the early 1980s was scuppered by the VN gov’t reminding ambassadors and company leaders that it was illegal to congregate in groups without permission. |
Hashes in Vietnam
|
Hasher ‘Bluejeans’ (now with KL Mother Hash), remembers that “about half” the early Hashers in H4 were Australian embassy staff, with others from Norway, Germany and several British companies. It was very much a ‘mixed bag’ as Đổi Mới (“Renewal”) in 1986 opened the Vietnam market to foreign companies competing for contracts.
He also recalls an amusing tale from those early days linking Hanoi H3, SH3 and VTH3: A group of Hanoi Hashers visited Vung Tau to run with VTH3 during a brief visit to Saigon (HCMC) for the express purpose of reclaiming the Hash mug that had somehow disappeared after an earlier visit to Hanoi by SH3 Hashers! The mug was duly reclaimed(!), and whenever anyone from SH3 visited Hanoi H3 for future runs, they could see the Hash mug securely fastened to the Religious Advisor’s chain of office!
He also recalls an amusing tale from those early days linking Hanoi H3, SH3 and VTH3: A group of Hanoi Hashers visited Vung Tau to run with VTH3 during a brief visit to Saigon (HCMC) for the express purpose of reclaiming the Hash mug that had somehow disappeared after an earlier visit to Hanoi by SH3 Hashers! The mug was duly reclaimed(!), and whenever anyone from SH3 visited Hanoi H3 for future runs, they could see the Hash mug securely fastened to the Religious Advisor’s chain of office!
VUNG TAU HASH (VTH3)
Vung Tau City Hash House Harriers ("VTH3") was founded in 1992 by Captain John 'Anchor' Murt, a master mariner who had spent some time in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and ran with SH3 - according to an entry in the global Hash House Harriers “Global Trash” directory: http://www.gthhh.com/
|
Early Hashers say Murt was Country Manager Vietnam for Ocean Inchcape Limited (“OIL”) which provided the supply boats used by BP, Shell and other companies prospecting for oil & gas offshore Vietnam. He was transferred to Vung Tau for work, staying at the Sea Breeze Hotel, which was popular with many offshore oil & gas workers at the time.
In much the same way as the global Hash began so many years earlier, Murt convinced a group of bar patrons to join him for some exercise with a jog around town. The date was 27 December 1992 – and Vung Tau City Hash House Harriers (“VTH3”) was born! |
Seabreeze Hotel. Now demolished
|
The Sea Breeze patrons’ enthusiasm quickly caught on and a second Hash run toward the end of January 1993 saw a much larger turnout. They then collectively decided to do the same thing every other Saturday because it would allow them to have a good Down Down on Saturday nights and still leave Sundays free for the beach. The rest, as they say, is history!
|
The original VTH3 logo - designer unknown but thought to be Kevin Ritchie - began appearing in photos taken at events from mid-1993.
Sponsorship including beer and t-shirts was no problem in the early days because Vung Tau was filling quickly with new businesses, bars, restaurants, etc catering to the burgeoning oil & gas industry, and were always looking for brand exposure. Initially, the Hash runs would finish after the ‘Down Down’. But occasionally, a company would sponsor a meal or the Hash provided one for a fee. Hash flyers were distributed before every fortnightly run to identify the meeting place/starting point as nominated by the Hare/s; there was no permanent "Hash kennel" and assets such as ice boxes, etc were stored at individual Hashers' homes or residences and collected and returned before and after each run. |
Original VTH3 Logo - circa 1993
|
After just one year of operation, the Hash was extremely popular with recently arrived foreign companies vying for brand recognition (the Vietnam-Russia joint venture VietSovPetro was established in June 1981, then 'Đổi Mới' - renewal - was mandated by the VN gov't in December 1986 and soon heralded an influx of other foreign companies eager to exploit new markets).
1994 NEW YEARS DAY HASH
|
To help further build on VTH3’s growing popularity, a "New Year's Day 1994 Hash" was held. As well as the usual suspects, attendees included:
The Russian Consul General in Vung Tau and his wife. The VietSovPetro Russian liaison officer / translator and a couple of VSP employees. Several Shell Vung Tau employees and their European wives (mainly Brits, but also French, Dutch and Swiss). BP’s Vung Tau logistics office manager. Expat staff from several oilfield service companies in Vung Tau including International Drilling Fluids and Anchor Drilling Fluids. Several Vietnamese staff from various bars, mainly VFB. |
Historical note 1: Firecrackers can be heard in the video; they were officially banned nationwide a year later, on 1 January 1995.
Historical note 2: Hash fees in the early 1990s were often paid in US dollars (1 USD: 10,343 VND in Jan 1993 and similar rates for several years). |
In the mid-1990's, the international Shell oil company withdrew from Vietnam so Hash numbers began dropping somewhat. The advent of a new venue for "expat leisure activity" - the golf course - also played its part in reducing Hash numbers.
An English supply boat captain John "Get around" Fawcett became Grand Master in 1996 when Captain Murt's job moved him away from Vietnam. Fawcett left VTH3 about a year later when weekend golf had become a very popular pastime for many expats and a growing number of locals.
By the late-1990’s, the Hash fee included a meal after every run and part of setting a Hash trail would be selecting a restaurant which could be out of town if the Hash was returning on the bus from an 'away' run.
Restaurants were always keen to promote themselves, so the Hash dined at a variety of establishments: some excellent and some not so much. The budget was approx. VND70k per head for a multi-course meal and included in the Hash fee.
An English supply boat captain John "Get around" Fawcett became Grand Master in 1996 when Captain Murt's job moved him away from Vietnam. Fawcett left VTH3 about a year later when weekend golf had become a very popular pastime for many expats and a growing number of locals.
By the late-1990’s, the Hash fee included a meal after every run and part of setting a Hash trail would be selecting a restaurant which could be out of town if the Hash was returning on the bus from an 'away' run.
Restaurants were always keen to promote themselves, so the Hash dined at a variety of establishments: some excellent and some not so much. The budget was approx. VND70k per head for a multi-course meal and included in the Hash fee.
|
Jim "Sx O Tatties" Grant was Grand Master until leaving VTH3 in 2007. He revisited many years later, on 12 October 2014 (run 650), and again on 31 July 2016 (run 744), being thanked profusely on each occasion for helping to arrange the San Miguel sponsorship all those years earlier!
|
Jim "Sx O Tatties" Grant (Yellow T-Shirt)
|
|
On 2 Feb 2008, the 399th run donated funds to help old and handicapped people at An Ngai Village Camp (23 km NE of Vung Tau City).
|
|
|
Two weeks later, the 400th run collected funds to help purchase a battery operated bike for “Penguin”, a 33yo female lottery ticket seller with severely deformed limbs. A record 160 runners attended the event, which was broadcast on local TV News: Hare was Gary "Hung Low" Cooper and GM Ray "Golden Finger" Haveron.
|
GM Ray "Golden Finger" Haveron.
|
Golden Finger relocated to Ho Chi Minh City in 2010 and the subsequent lack of an effective mismanagement committee led to ongoing disagreements about various organisational aspects including the all-important setting of trails. Finally, a decision to discontinue the different after-Hash meal venues in favour of the same "host" restaurant after every run convinced many to stop attending. By April 2011, VTH3 had ceased to operate.
But Hashers never die - they just find new trails - and so it was in Vung Tau when new arrivals helped to restart ("re-Hash") VTH3 just a few months later.
But Hashers never die - they just find new trails - and so it was in Vung Tau when new arrivals helped to restart ("re-Hash") VTH3 just a few months later.
VTH3 "REHASHED"
Martin "Uncle" Ratia (ex-Nowra H3) and Linh "Anti" Nguyen (ex-SH3) had recently relocated to Vung Tau from Nha Trang. A chance meeting with former VTH3 On Sec Gary “Hung Low” Cooper in the Russian beach club led to drinks with Damien “Faulty Brakes” Moran and unanimous agreement to resurrect the Hash in Vung Tau City.
FB reclaimed the “blue bucket” holding precious remaining Hash assets including climbing rope, Hash horn, the Grand Master’s ‘4-leaf clover’ hat and ‘chain of office’; while HL provided email contacts for Uncle to spread the word that VTH3 was about to be re-Hashed!
FB reclaimed the “blue bucket” holding precious remaining Hash assets including climbing rope, Hash horn, the Grand Master’s ‘4-leaf clover’ hat and ‘chain of office’; while HL provided email contacts for Uncle to spread the word that VTH3 was about to be re-Hashed!
Rehash Invitation
Re-Hash run #1 (VTH3 run #482) took place on 9 July 2011 with a symbolic trail to the statue of Jesus on Small Mountain ("symbolic" because the statue of ‘Jesus with outstretched arms’ overlooking the East Sea is arguably the most well-known landmark in Vung Tau). This was coincidentally also a “joint VTH3/SH3” Hash, courtesy of Lost Our Seoul and his partner who joined on the day from Ho Chi Minh City.
|
After that auspicious start it was “On On” with a vengeance: Beermeister FB had already prevailed upon Les Dalton (co-owner Offshore Bar & Grill, later Offshore 1) for use of the premises as a meeting and storage place (“Hash Kennel”). FB also resurrected the former San Miguel sponsorship pending re-negotiation of terms; HL identified various trails in the area (and helped set them when not working offshore); Uncle and Anti set most of the trails and Down Down venues for the first 10-12 months using a combination of info from former Hashers, woodcutters in the mountain forests and café owners and other locals; with Uncle also taking photos and emailing run notifications and reports to anyone who might be interested; Anti also managed bus hire and food.
|
One of the early ads
|
|
VTH3 membership gradually increased, thanks at least partly to word of mouth (social media was not yet widespread in 2011!) and the efforts of mainly expat Hashers posting colourful VTH3 ads in their hotels and apartment buildings and leaving trilingual business cards in the bars and restaurants!
|
Trilingual business card
|
|
A series of changes were proposed, trialled and adopted in those early months: the inherited spot colour circular logo was augmented with the country identifier “VIETNAM” to add a more ‘global’ flavour; Saturday runs were changed to Sundays (recognising local VN culture), and fortnightly runs became weekly (to stop people having to ask “Is this a Hash week?”).
|
Updated Logo
|
There was no real committee to guide the re-Hashed VTH3, with most decisions made over beers at the end of each run(!). But Vung Tau’s oil and gas workers were gradually becoming less available due to industry rule changes restricting the amount of time they could spend onshore between shifts on the rigs, so the recruitment focus gradually switched onto locals and the growing influx of expat teachers – and volunteers were invited to form the re-Hashed VTH3’s first MMC.
It was also decided to standardise the “Hashing boundaries” according to pre-set bus fares, to make life easier for Hash Cash. So while the Hares “strayed” occasionally (with MMC approval) to Phu My, Hon Tram, Can Gio and even further afield, the primary area for trails looked like this:
RSS Feed