'Tiger Car' Garage
On the left side of the garage door:
“1925 Buick Californian Hardtop
This American built touring car was built in 1925 – the first BUICK manufactured cars with 4 wheel brakes. This car was made for the Australian market (right hand drive) where big American cars were popular. The car was kept by a farmer in Ararat, Victoria, Australia for nearly 40 years until he was too old to drive it anymore, when it was purchased by Dr Ivor Thevathasan of Singapore, a well known vintage car enthusiast. It was in running condition but needed a complete restoration, which took two and a half years.
Similar cars were sent round the world on a BUICK WORLD TOUR to show the ruggedness and reliability of the marquee. The Raffles Hotel also owned four of these cars, which were used to transport guests from the port to the hotel and on tours around town. Mr Aw Boon Haw had a similar car dressed up as the “Tiger Car” to advertise his famous medicinal products.”
On the right side of the garage door:
“The Garage
This is the original garage, home to Aw Boon Haw’s famous “Tiger Cars”
Aw Boon Haw bought the site of Haw Par Villa to build a house for his brother Aw Boon Par. The magnificent dome shaped house was situated on the highest point of the hill and it has a panoramic view of the sea. Aw Boon Haw, the flambuoyant marketing genius behind the success of Tiger Balm ointment used to drive through these gardens to visit his brother.
This is the original garage, home to Aw Boon Haw’s famous “Tiger Cars”. The first Tiger Car, a German NSU, was made in 1927. A tiger head covered the radiator, two fangs protruded from the tiger’s jaws and wire whiskers were fashioned onto the tiger’s nose. Two red bulbs were placed in the tiger’s eye socket and the sound the horn produced resembled a tiger’s roar. The second car, a Humber, was built in 1932 with a bigger tiger head on the radiator and gold tiger stripes painted in the body. The number plate, 8989, was a lucky number. The number “8” (paat) in Chinese sounds like the word for “prosper” (faat). The cars were unmistakable and typified Aw Boon Haw’s flair for promoting his Tiger Balm business.”
Located off Pasir Panjang Road, on the Southwestern part of Singapore, Haw Par Villa (虎豹別墅), originally called ‘Tiger Balm Gardens’ is now very accessible unlike in the past, thanks to the construction of Haw Par Villa MRT Station (CC25) right next to it which officially opened in 2011.
