The Original Hash House (Kuala Lumpur) Circa 1938
The Hash House
The 'Hash House' was the mildly derogative nickname given (for its unimaginative, monotonous food) to the Selangor Club Chambers, by the British Civil Servants and businessman who lived and dined there. Originally, the ground floor housed the main Selangor Club dining room, and between the two World Wars it became a social center of the times, used regularly for lunch time meals by the members who worked in the immediate vicinity.
Situated close to and behind the present Selangor Club, it's function changed after independence and it became a key office for the local Water Board, as it was the place where all Kuala Lumpur (K.L.) residents came to pay their water bills. Sadly, it gave way to the relentless march of time around 1964, being bulldozed to the ground under the north-bound lane Jalan Kuching. The buildings housing the original stables and servants quarters are still in existence.
Ancient Harriers
The idea of Harriers chasing paper was not new to Malaya in 1938, as there had been such clubs before in Kuala Lumpur and Johore Bahru, and there were clubs in existence in Malacca and Ipoh (the Kinta Harriers) at the time. "Horse" Thomson (one of the KLH3 founding fathers) recalled being invited on a run, shortly after his arrival in Johore Bahru in 1932, which chased a paper trail and followed basic Hash rules every week but was so magically organized that it had no name. The club flourished in the early 1930's but is believed to have died out around 1935.
The other branch of our ancestry comes from Malacca, where A. S. ('G') Gispert was posted in 1937 and joined a club called the Springgit Harriers, who also operated weekly under Hash rules and are believed to have been formed in 1935. Some months later, 'Torch' Bennett visited him and came as a guest on a few runs.
Hash House Harriers
By 1938, Thomson, Lee, and Gispert had all moved to K.L. and founded their own club, following the rules they had learnt elsewhere. The principal original members were:
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