LION CITY HUB • NATIONAL EDUCATION & HERITAGE
Singapore Botanic Gardens Heritage
Explore a living scientific institution that helped shape tropical botany, the rubber industry and public life.
A Garden of Science and Community
Founded at its present site in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Gardens developed as a centre for plant research, conservation and public recreation. Its scientists played an important role in testing and promoting rubber cultivation, which transformed the regional economy. The Gardens also supported orchid research and breeding, including the programme behind Singapore’s national flower.
Historic buildings, designed landscapes and extensive plant collections record more than 160 years of tropical science and public recreation. In 2015, the Gardens became Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The National Orchid Garden showcases Singapore’s orchid-breeding programme, while the story of rubber research explains the Gardens’ regional economic impact. Inside the orchid garden, Burkill Hall, built in 1868, once housed the Gardens’ directors.
Did You Know?
The Gardens was founded at its present Tanglin site in 1859 and became a major centre for tropical plant research.
In 2015, it became Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and the first tropical botanic garden on the list.
What Makes Singapore Botanic Gardens Special
National Orchid Garden
This specialised collection showcases orchid diversity and breeding, including hybrids created through Singapore’s orchid programme.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Inscribed in 2015, the Gardens is Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and is recognised for its historic role in tropical botany, science and public recreation.
Rubber Research
Experiments and propagation work at the Gardens helped establish rubber as a major crop in Southeast Asia.
Burkill Hall
Built in 1868, this conserved Anglo-Malayan plantation house once accommodated Gardens directors and offers a quieter architectural highlight within the National Orchid Garden.
Trail Routes
Route 1 A Garden of Living History
Explore the Gardens’ heritage through an ornamental lake, a familiar national symbol, a performance landmark and a former scientific workplace.
Duration: 60–90 minutes · Distance: 1.0–1.2 km · Stops: 4
1. Swan Lake Gazebo and Lake Edge
Constructed in 1866, Swan Lake is regarded as Singapore’s oldest ornamental water feature. Its name recalls the mute swans that lived here. The lake reflects the Gardens’ development as a designed landscape for recreation, with water, planting and open views shaping the visitor experience.
2. Tembusu Heritage Tree
This Tembusu appears on the reverse of Singapore’s Portrait-series five-dollar note. Its distinctive low lateral branch makes it recognisable, connecting a living garden landmark with an everyday national object and showing how natural heritage becomes part of shared cultural memory.
3. Bandstand
The Bandstand is a longstanding Gardens landmark associated with military-band performances. Its open pavilion connects landscaped recreation with music and public gathering, reflecting the Gardens’ role as a shared social space alongside its scientific and botanical functions.
4. Holttum Hall
Built in 1921 as the Director’s office and laboratory, Holttum Hall now houses the SBG Heritage Museum. Its interpretation connects rubber research and orchid hybridisation with Singapore’s development, while the conserved building preserves part of the Gardens’ scientific working environment.
Route 2 Conserved Houses, Forests and Botanical Art
Discover how conserved residences bring architecture, forest conservation and botanical illustration into the Gardens’ landscape.
Duration: 60–90 minutes · Distance: 0.6–0.8 km · Stops: 3
1. Gallop Gate
The Gallop Extension introduces conserved residences into the Gardens’ landscape of learning. Their adaptation connects historic architecture with forest conservation and botanical illustration, adding a different perspective to the ornamental landscapes and scientific landmarks of the older garden grounds.
2. Atbara
Built in 1898, Atbara now houses the Forest Discovery Centre. Broad eaves, deep verandahs and arches reflect architectural responses to the tropical climate. Its interpretation of Singapore’s forests connects the conservation of a historic building with the protection of natural habitats.
3. Inverturret
Built in 1906, Inverturret later served as the residence of French ambassadors. It now houses the Botanical Art Gallery, where drawings and paintings demonstrate how careful artistic observation contributes to documenting, identifying and understanding plants.
