The landscaped garden was built at a cost of HK$16 million by Aw Boon Haw and his family in 1935. Opened to the public in the early 1950s, it was one of the first theme parks in Hong Kong. In 1961, Aw It Haw, fourth son of late Aw Boon Haw, made an open invitation to the public to buy the land, claiming the land was owned by a family-owned company Haw Par Brothers Limited chaired by Aw Cheng Chye, son of late Aw Boon Par, which Aw It Haw also claimed that he was authorized by Aw Cheng Chye to published the advertisement of that invitation. However, the head of the flagship business of the late Aw Boon Haw in Hong Kong, Sin Poh Amalgamated Limited, the publisher of Sing Tao Daily, was Aw It Haw's half sister Sally Aw. The lawsuit of the heritage of Aw Boon Haw was settled in 1967. In 1978 it was reported that Cheung Kong Holdings was interested to redevelop the area. The purchase price was a reported HK$25 million. Cheung Kong Holdings also purchased the contractual rights that Haw Par Brothers leasing the land to Haw Par Brothers International for 20 years in 1969 for a reported HK$40 million. Cheung Kong Holdings built on the land lease known as Inland Lot No. 5710. It was reported Sally Aw had bought back part of the Tiger Balm Garden and the mansion in 1984, which was known as Inland Lot No. 8972. In 1985, the garden was converted into the "Haw Par Villa" amusement park. Many of the sculptures were replaced by rides at that time, and were later replaced again by the old statues. In 1998 the heir to the property, Sally Aw, sold the entire Garden complex to the land development company Cheung Kong for redevelopment. In 2001, The Hong Kong Government reached an agreement with Cheung Kong that, as part of the land premium payment, the Hong Kong Antiquities and Monuments Office was responsible to preserve and restore the Haw Par Mansion itself together with its private garden as a museum. Cheung Kong only paid HK$943 million as land premium to the government to change the terms in the land lease for redevelopment due to the surrender of the mansion to the government. When the Tiger Balm Garden was demolished for redevelopment in 2004, many of the garden's murals and statues were salvaged by the AMO. The site of the Garden is now occupied by the residential development The Legend at Jardine's Lookout. Occupancy of the residence started in the first quarter of 2007.
Features
The original gardens covered eight acres. A 7-storey Tiger Pagoda was the highlight of the garden. Other tourist attractions included artificial Chinese landscaping dotted with sculptures.
Haw Par Mansion
The 3-storey Haw Par Mansion was the Aw family's residence in Hong Kong. It was built in 1935 in the Chinese Renaissance style. There are more than 500 relics in the Mansion; they underwent restoration and repair. The building became a Grade II historic building in 2000 and was granted Grade I status on 18 December 2009.
