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Brief Introduction
Haw Par Villa (Chinese: 虎豹別墅) is a Chinese mythological theme park in Singapore, located along Pasir Panjang Road.
The park contains over 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese folklore, legends, history and illustrations of various aspects of Confucianism. The attractions include statues of the Laughing Buddha and the Goddess of Mercy, as well as dioramas of scenes from Journey to the West. The most well-known attraction is the Ten Courts of Hell, with gruesome depictions of hell in Chinese mythology, all set in a 60 meter-long trail of a Dragon.
The park, originally called "Tiger Balm Gardens", was built in 1937 by brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, the developers of Tiger Balm, as a venue for teaching traditional Chinese values. The site was purchased by Aw in 1935.
In 1988, the Singapore Tourism Board took over the running of the Tiger Balm Gardens and re-named it as Haw Par Villa Dragon World. The statues were restored while retaining the original flavour. Plays, acrobatic displays and puppet shows were also organised. However, visitors were charged entrance fees. The high fees discouraged the public and the management incurred a loss of S$31.5 million after 10 years of management. In March 2001, the Singapore Tourism Board re-named it Tiger Balm Gardens and entrance fees dropped.
The Circle Line station, Haw Par Villa MRT Station (CC25), located next to it, will open in 2011 along with the rest of Stage 5 of the Circle Line.
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Brief Introduction
Pre-1945
In the nineteenth century, the island was considered important because it protected the passage into Keppel Harbour. Plans to fortify the island as part of the defence plan for Singapore were drawn up as early as 1827, but few fortifications actually materialised until the 1880s, when the rapid growth of the harbour led to concern over the protection of coal stocks against enemy attack. The forts built on the island were Fort Siloso, Fort Serapong, Fort Connaught and the Mount Imbiah Battery.1945-1972
After the Japanese surrendered in 1945 and the return of Singapore to British rule, the island became the base of the locally enlisted First Singapore Regiment of the Royal Artillery (1st SRRA) in 1947. Other locally enlisted men from Singapore were sent to the island for basic military training before being sent to other units of the British Army in Singapore.Ten years later, the 1st SRRA was disbanded and its guns dismantled. The coast artillery was replaced with Gurkha infantry units, first the 2/7th Duke of Edinburgh's own Gurkha Rifles and later the 2/10th Princess Mary's own Gurkha Rifles. Fort Siloso and Fort Serapong became a Catholic retreat and a Protestant church house respectively. Fort Connaught was left in ruins.
In the 1970s, the government decided to develop the island into a holiday resort for local visitors and tourists.
Present
The Sentosa Monorail system was opened in 1982 to transport visitors to various stations located around the island. On 16 March 2005, the monorail service was discontinued to make way for the new Sentosa Express, which commenced operations on 15 January 2007.An environmental assessment conducted by the government of Singapore concluded that the construction of the resorts on Sentosa would to result in high likelihood of high scale biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, soil erosion and climate change, as well as several other destructive ecological impacts.
In 2009, construction of a new foot bridge began. The S$70 million Sentosa Boardwalk includes themed gardens, shops and eateries. There are covered walkways and travellators along the boardwalk for rainy days. The boardwalk, officially opened by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean on 29 January 2011, will provide visitors an alternative mode of travel to reach the island.
Resorts are also being built on that island along with many other new attractions.
Citation: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentosa#History)
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Brief Description of Labrador Park
Labrador Nature Reserve contains many historical relics from World War II and earlier, left behind by the British. Dating back to the 19th century. It also played a significant role in the history of Singapore.
There was an old British fort, the Fort Pasir Panjang, located on the hill and cliff next to the sea. The cliff’s high vantage point led the British to identify it as a defence site to protect the entrance to the harbours of Singapore. It became one of nine sites in which the British had set up their batteries, and is part of the British overall defense system for Singapore.
The site did not see much action during the war. When the Japanese arrived in Singapore, they, together with their equipment, came from the Northern coast, instead of the Southern coast which the British expected. No Japanese ships passed through the area at all. As a result, much of the equipment at the fort was put to waste.
The job of the fort then was only to provide a place for shelter and ammunition storage for the British troops. It was also near where the Battle of Pasir Panjang took place.
Present
Labrador Beach was also one of the five designated nature reserves established in 1951. This prevented any extensive development which might threaten the flora and fauna, from taking place.
However, in 1973, it was downgraded to that of a nature park. The future of the beach habitat became uncertain, as there were no laws which prevented the destruction of nature parks. It was feared that the area would make way for another industrial site.
There were consistent calls from the public to preserve the rich history and nature of that site, being the last mainland rocky shore and coral reef.
Therefore, on November 2001, it was announced that Labrador Park would be gazetted as a Nature Reserve. The oil refinery’s jetty was renovated and open to the public, together with the rocky shore, while redevelopment and landscaping took place in the reclaimed section of the part, right up to Tanjong Berlayar.
In 2001, two tunnels were also discovered within the park. They were located beneath the old fort, and probably served as a storage of ammunition and supplies, as well as a hideout for British troops. One of the tunnels goes under the sea and leads to Pulau Blakang Mati. Part of the tunnels have now been opened to the public.
