• Completed in 1937, Haw Par Villa was built by Aw Boon Haw, the founder of Tiger Balm for his younger brother, Aw Boon Par. Aw Boon Par moved to Yangon, Myanmar in 1942, and passed away in 1944.
• After the Second World War, Aw Boon Haw returned to Singapore from Hong Kong, and rebuilt the original garden. When Aw Boon Haw passed away in 1954, his nephew Aw Cheng Chye took over the renovation, where sculptures including a Sumo wrestler and a Thai dancer were added. After Aw Cheng Chye’s passing in 1971, the Aw family did not continue to rebuild the garden.
• In 1985, the Singapore Government acquired the villa through the Land Acquisition Act. In 1986, the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (now known as the Singapore Tourism Board, STB) took over the management of Haw Par Villa and leased it to International Theme Parks Ltd (ITP) to develop it as a theme park. It was reopened in 1990.
• In 2015, STB appointed Journeys Pte. Ltd. to operate and manage Haw Par Villa.

To attract more visitors to revisit the park, Haw Par Villa has extended its daily opening hours to 10 pm starting yesterday. The park also holds a two-hour long “Journey to Hell” guided tour at 6.30 pm every Friday, enabling visitors to learn about the philosophical and culture connotations of the sculptures in the park through the tour guide’s vivid explanation. (Lianhe Zaobao, 9/6/2019)

• Haw Par Villa is also known as the “Tiger Balm Gardens” due to its connection with the founder of Tiger Balm, Aw Boon Haw. Haw Par Mansion in Hong Kong was also built by Aw Boon Haw. Unlike Haw Par Villa in Singapore, Haw Par Mansion in Hong Kong was the private mansion of the Aw family, and was not open to the public, except for the Tiger Balm Garden located beside the mansion. However, this garden was demolished thereafter, and was handed over to the local government in 2001.