Who Actually Opened the Doors Here?
Stone Pier Card Room began with a fisherman, a lease on an empty stone shed, and a deck of cards he'd worn soft on the boats out of Encounter Bay.
What Was Wal Petherick Doing Before This?
Wal Petherick worked boats out of Encounter Bay for the better part of twenty years, most of it on the same crayfishing boat, and he wasn't shy about saying cards got him through more slow trips home than anything else did.
Cribbage belowdecks turned into five hundred on the wharf once the boat was tied up, and by the time his knees gave out, half the crew wanted somewhere to keep playing on dry land.
He found the old stone goods shed near the causeway sitting empty, struck a deal on the lease, and fitted it out with five tables — nothing fancier than what the crew already knew how to play.
Fisherman
Twenty years out of Encounter Bay
First lease
Signed for the empty stone goods shed
Who's Been Running the Floor Since?
Wal ran the floor himself for the first few years, dealing most nights until he trained up others to do it properly.
The room has changed hands more than once since, but nobody's ever rewritten his original rules: a house dealer at every table, chips that never turn into cash, and a seat for whoever walks in.
The stone walls are original; only the tables, the lighting and the faces behind the servery are new.
Original rules
Unchanged since Wal's first night
New faces
Different hands, same house rules