Breathing Life into Whampoa Gardens
How do you capture a garden you cannot see, smell or touch? Join assistant curator Nikki Sim as she unveils the legendary beauty of Whampoa Gardens.
Ever since we launched the Lepak Landscapes: Life and Leisure in Singapore exhibition at the Central Public Library, our monthly Curator’s Tours have been a highlight — turning exhibition stories into lively conversations. On one such tour, I met a French lady who reignited my fascination with Whampoa Gardens, the private retreat of Hoo Ah Kay (1816–1880), or Whampoa, a prominent merchant and community leader in early Singapore. Her mention of an overlooked French traveler’s journal sent me diving back into more research, eager to uncover more about this mysterious garden once located along Serangoon Road.
Whampoa Gardens is one of three gardens featured in the exhibition’s “Fun in the Sun” section, along with Alkaff Lake Gardens and the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This section celebrates the joy of outdoor spaces amid our ever-evolving urban landscape. After all, what’s a “Garden City” without its greenery?
Of the trio, it was Whampoa Gardens that proved trickiest to pin down. With little visual documentation to guide me, I found myself immersed in a world of journals, piecing together fragments of its existence through written memories. As with all curations, not every account made the cut, but some stories are simply too intriguing to leave untold.
So, let’s dive into the unveiled tales of Whampoa Gardens, as we reimagine its splendour.
Background of Whampoa Gardens
Based on written accounts, stepping into Whampoa Gardens was like entering a realm of enchantment. Established in 1840 by businessman Hoo Ah Kay, or Whampoa, this lush sanctuary boasted an array of peculiar flora and fauna, captivating the imaginations of people living near and far. Yet, access to this private paradise was strictly by invitation only, with the public granted a rare glimpse only during Lunar New Year festivities.
The scarcity of visits meant that firsthand accounts and memoirs about the gardens were rare, especially since not everyone writes about their experiences. Nevertheless, the tales I’ve uncovered speak volumes of Whampoa’s diverse botany collection and legendary hospitality. His lavish garden parties left vivid impressions that live on in detailed descriptions penned by governors, businessmen and military personnel alike. Visitors who stepped foot in his garden were treated to a feast for their eyes, from the humongous Victoria regia (a species of water lily) to his colourful fruit orchard.
Below are two accounts of Whampoa Gardens that surfaced only after the exhibition research had concluded:
1. Whampoa Gardens’ unusual zoo
The French lady on my tour recommended Java, Siam, Canton: Voyage Autour du Monde (Java, Siam, Canton: A Voyage Around the World). The memoir chronicles French explorer and noble Ludovic de Beauvoir’s (1846–1929) journey around the world, including his arrival in Singapore on 20 December 1866, where he provided detailed observations on his invitation to Whampoa Gardens.
Beauvoir’s words cast a fascinating light on Whampoa Gardens, contrasting its allure with that of other leisure spots in Singapore. Referred to as “the only curiosity in Singapore”, his vivid descriptions would transport any reader to the heart of the gardens — imagine “creeping plants, luxuriant and feathery, wreathed together and covered with moss, forming a many-coloured texture through which the birds cut their way as soon as they leave their distorted cages”.
What intrigued me most was Whampoa’s living menagerie, complete with “some splendid specimens of the hog tribe with actual manes, kept by a swineherd who is none other than a fine black monkey”. While I was aware of Whampoa’s penchant for unusual animals, from six-footed turtle to a foxlike Siamese cat, a monkey shepherding a drove of pigs was a delightful new addition to the narrative.
2. The avenue leading to Whampoa Gardens
Charles Carleton Coffin (1823–1896), a retired war correspondent turned world traveler took him on an unforgettable voyage chronicled in his book, Our New Way Round the World. During his stopover in Singapore in the 1860s, Coffin received a tip from a gentleman on the steamer, urging him “[not to] fail to see the Chinaman’s (Whampoa’s) garden”, and visit it he did.
What sets Coffin’s account apart is his focus not just on the garden itself, but on the journey leading to it. As he eloquently puts it, “never rode we through an avenue so beautiful as that leading to the ‘Whampoa Gardens.’”
Coffin paints an unparalleled picture of the path adorned with “feathery bamboos, and trees of unknown name… spreading out their branches overhead, their trunks wreathed with creeping plants”. The air was filled with the intoxicating scents of orchids and wild heliotrope, while the landscape was dotted with an endless variety of shrubs and vines.
To capture this enchanting scene, Coffin produced a woodblock print of his impression. And while they say a picture is worth a thousand words, the scene pressed into his book does not even begin to capture its beauty. This is a reminder of nature’s ineffable allure and the inherent challenge of translating its magnificence into images or even words.
While these two accounts offer a glimpse into the enchanting world of Whampoa Gardens, there is still much more to uncover in the exhibition. Did you know Captain Henry Keppel — yes, the one Keppel Harbour is named after — shared a cheeky tale about Whampoa’s orangutan, “who preferred a bottle of cognac to water”
Though the garden changed hands after Whampoa’s death in 1880, becoming part of merchant Seah Liang Seah’s estate before its redevelopment into the Kallang Basin and Boon Keng estate today, its story doesn’t have to end here.
There are still countless tales about the many leisure spaces in Singapore waiting to be unearthed. Head down to Lepak Landscapes: Life and Leisure in Singapore at the Central Public Library, where we delve deeper into the history of recreational spaces in Singapore and re-imagine the “lepak” lifestyle. Uncover untold stories, explore curated displays and discover your lepak personality through a quiz!
Nikki Sim is an assistant curator at the National Library, Singapore, where her full-time hustle involves curating fun exhibits and spilling the juiciest tea on history.
