22 January 2022
There seemed to be a few mysteries surrounding the Coney Island: sightings of a cow as well as an elusive villa. I am not so sure about the cow, but I am pretty curious about the elusive villa. The villa is completely hidden from plain sight, and on normal visits to Coney Island you wouldn't know there is a sprawling villa complex right on the small island.
Earlier accounts of the villa mentioned of an old crumbling boardwalk, that crosses a swamp to reach the villa. Knowing that the boardwalk would likely not be holding up anymore, we prepared rubber boots, in the very likely event that we had to waddle or swim through the swamp.
History
From 1930s to 1950s, Pulau Serangoon (now known as Coney Island) was referred to in newspaper articles as 'Haw Par Island' as it was owned by the Haw Par brothers. The Burmese-born brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, were famous for concocting the Tiger Balm ointment and building an empire around it. They also set up the local Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh.
Documents show that the Haw Par brothers called an open tender to build a beach villa in 1937. This building is the only known villa remaining from the Aw family. Haw Par Villa was damaged during WWII and its grounds are currently managed by the Singapore Tourism Board as a tourist attraction. Another villa the brothers owned 'Jade House' at Nassim Road was demolished in 1980s.
The Haw Par Beach Villa has a central hall and an open veranda that surround the house. A separate single-story house served as a service block. The area of the main building is 600 sq m and the service block 100 sq m. Adapted from Nparks Singapore.
Exploring Haw Par Beach Villa
1230 | Enter Coney Island |
1200 | Walking through the abandoned kampong |
1250 | Leaving the old kampong |
1230 | Enter Coney Island
We entered Coney Island via the main gate and walked along the trail towards the beach. The giant steps facing the sea is one of my favourite spots to enjoy views of the calming sea and blue skies.
We took a trail that went into the forest. A while in, we saw signs of a stone pavement that may have marked the entrance to the villa, but there was no boardwalk in sight. I suppose the boardwalk may have disintegrated over the years, or removed due its decaying state. In its place was a faint trail that ran through the swampy area. It was low tide when we entered, so although the grounds were muddy, the water level was low. We put on our rubber boots and trodded along the muddy path.
1315 | Exploring Haw Par Beach Villa
While walking, I stared hard through the thick foliage to spot any signs of a building. Finally, I saw something that stood out, blue tarp draped around something in the forest. The building was cordoned off and there was a moss-covered signboard on the fence that read 'Haw Par Beach Villa' with a detailed description of its history, so we knew we were definitely at the right place (though I doubt there were other villas). The signboard was likely installed some time ago, when there used to be guided tours to the villa.
Though the building looked old and depilated, there was still an aura of grandeur to it, and it was alot bigger than I had imagined. We walked in from the side and explored the many rooms within the sprawling complex. There were debris strewn all over the ground, and some of the rooms have already been completely taken over by nature. We could also hear the loud 'tsk tsk' from bats in some of the rooms, which we avoided. We walked along the side corridor and found the service block, a single-storey building adjoined to the main building. I assumed that was where the servants lived within the house. Round another corner, we reached where I assumed was the main entrance, as it had a wide set of staircase that led into the building.
1345 | Leaving Haw Par Beach Villa
After completing our tour of the villa, we went out through the same swampy area. Although we were only in the villa for 30 mins, the water level had risen significantly and was now midway up our rubber boots. We carefully walked through the flooded grounds of the swamp and back to the beach. If we had stayed in the villa longer, I wonder how much higher the water level would have gone.
My Thoughts
I felt pretty accomplished to have finally found the elusive Coney Island villa, after reading so much about it. It must have been nice to have a private villa and a private beach all to yourself. Maybe one day it will be refurbished into an actual beach villa. Do note that the area is susceptible to flooding due to the rising of tides, and may be hard to enter or exit during high tide, hence it is currently closed off to the public. So I would say, go at your own risk.
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