The History Of The H.G.P.A.

Since Neil seems to have the reporting of current H.G.P.A. events covered, I thought I, as the current association archivist, would take on the responsibility of publishing some information about the long and storied history of the H.G.P.A.

Obviously there are hundreds of important stories and anecdotes in the records, but I guess we should begin at the beginning.

Here are some frequent questions about the early days of the H.G.P.A. with their answers.

1. When was the Association founded?

This is actually a tricky question to answer, because it depends on how you define 'the Association'. While there was no formal Association under the name H.G.P.A. until 1836 when Joseph Howe officially chartered the club (see below), there was certainly a regular gathering of like-minded men for friendly gaming that far pre-dated that. There definite evidence of the club as early as the mid-1820s, and indeed there is a persistent rumour that Howe's purchase of the Novascotian in 1827 was funded with winnings from a particularly successful series of meetings of this informal group. While documentary evidence is lacking, there is anecdotal evidence that suggests the Association can be traced back to a gaming society originally formed by officers onboard the sloop Sphinx in 1749, including Edward Cornwallis himself.


In any case, the formal H.G.P.A. was born in 1836 when Howe, just elected as representative for Halifax country, chartered the association and was responsible (with significant funding from charter members, notably including brewing magnate Alexander Keith, for whom the investment paid off--shortly after formal charter of the club Keith was sudden a director of several major corporations including the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Fire Insurance Company, all apparently resulting from meetings over cards) for the acquisition of a building on Hollis street to operate as the club's center. Time and time again it has been suggested that Howe took this step in order to make his "friendly gambling" into something more socially acceptable for someone with political ambitions, i.e. membership in an exclusive gentlemen's club where gaming occurred was seen as much more appropriate to his social class than attending back room games in dockside ale houses, but there is no documentary evidence of this.

(Incidentally, the Association continued to operate out of that building until 1862 when a schism within the Association lead to a split, with one faction departing the Hollis street location and keeping the H.G.P.A. name, and the other faction maintaining the location under a slightly shorter name.)

2. I didn't think poker as a game was that old?

That's not really a question, but I'll answer it anyway--the game was certainly known in some variant, even in the early days of the association. While a 20-card variant was apparently popular among sailors and military men in the 1820s, our records only date from the formal founding of the club and they clearly show that the full 52-card deck was in use in 1836. There is also a record of a highly empassioned debate on whether or not to adopt the flush recorded in the minutes of the1843 general meeting (it was finally adopted). Amusingly, the exact details of how to rank the flush in three card poker were not formally worked out until more than 160 years later.

The exact details of the games played before the formal chartering of the club, are lost to history.

3. What's up with the crest?

The HGPA crest was designed for Howe by his political compatriot, lawyer James Uniacke. Uniacke was an important man politically (he later became premiere of Nova Scotia in 1848) who was well known for his love of gambling and sport. Contemporary writers described him thus: “in a heavy-eating, hard-drinking age, [he] made no bones about his intimate friendship with John Berleycorn as he raced his stable of fast horses on the Halifax Commons. He had a great thirst for companionship and conviviality.”

It's also well known that Howe and Uniacke were often loudly at odds in parliament, exchanging scathing rejoinders and debating the question of responsible government. During the early years of the H.G.P.A., the two men were often publicly in great disputes and rivalries, but club records show that despite this they still managed to play civil games of poker with each other, although perhaps taking special joy in those hands where they could best each other particularly. Of course in time the two men were key in forming the reform government, which saw Uniacke made premiere, with Howe functioning as an eminence grise. Association records hint that much of the political manuevering required to make this happen occured over friendly games of cards.

What is less well-known about Uniacke is that he had an abiding interest in heraldry, and thus was the one who supplied Howe with a crest for the newly chartered organization. The crest has been in continuous use since 1836, and is registered with the College of Arms.



The notes on the design of the crest are as follows:

Motto: “Neutiquam erro” is Latin for “I am not lost”. This represents the club members' firm determination to never give up no matter how deep in they are getting, and to constantly assert that they know what they are doing.

St. Andrew’s Cross, or Saltire: This is the blue background with the white cross, and it represents resolution. This ties into the basic club theme of sticking with it, even if you are bleeding money onto the table. The saltire also represents Scotland in these colours, and by extension Nova Scotia.

Wolf: Reward from perseverance in long sieges and/or hard industry. This represents how resolution can bring you back from under by persevering and playing right.

Roundles (Gold or yellow): This is actually a representation of bezants or byzantine coins and indicate someone worthy of trust or treasure. In this case this suggests both the high level of bluffing, and the consistent movement of cash, at club events.

Quatrefoil (Primrose): This is said to represent or brings good tidings. Either meaning is appropriate, either suggesting the ability to represent a good hand, or to wish for news of one.

Lion: Dauntless courage. This refers to what you need to either stone cold bluff a pot, or to follow your instinct into the face of someone who is representing a better hand. Club members pride themselves on their courage, especially in cases where it was expensive.

In addition to a crest, the group also needed a slogan. The story behind the slogan is somewhat amusing. It arose from a veiled insult issued by Charles Tupper (who had, perhaps not incidentally, been denied membership in the H.G.P.A. earlier that year) who referred to "Howe and his pack of reprobates", saying "why the public expects honest service from gamblers I will never understand.". At the next H.G.P.A. meeting this slur was adopted as a mock honour by the assembled members, who voted to make the Association slogan: “We’re as honest as gambling men can be”. (The slogan has since been used in at least one piece of popular music that deals with the subject of gambling.)

Lots more "from the Archives" to come.