Tiger Balm Gardens

Kwek Hoon Sua, et al.

First placed in Singapore: 1927

Haw Par Villa, off the West Coast Highway

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Patron: The Aw Brothers

Haw Par Villa was built as a public attraction on the grounds of the villa of Aw Boon Par, opening in 1937. The original art remains, much restored, and after having suffered extensive damage in WWII. despite various attempts over the years to upgrade the free public gardens into a theme park. Aside from having a moral education function, many of the works advertise Tiger Balm. The wealth of the Aw brothers who financed the gardens came from Tiger Balm and trading in Southeast Asia. The original artists were from Swatow. The Gardens were largely destroyed in the Japanese Occupation, but rebuilt post-War. I don't know if the artists credited with the original works also did the rebuilding. Additional artists credited include Tan See Hua & Tan Seng Hua. A documentary made in 2018, The Last Apprentice, interviews Teo Veoh Seng, 84 years old, who has been working to maintain the artworks in the gardens since he joined the Gardens as a young apprentice.

Last updated: Dec-5-2020