Free film screenings were held at the park’s open-air theatre, reflecting its role as an accessible community entertainment venue.
The site was originally known as Dunman Green, named after Thomas Dunman, Singapore’s first Superintendent of Police. The exact date the name first came into use remains unclear.
(Roots)
The Straits Chinese Recreation Club was founded and began using Hong Lim Green for cricket, tennis and athletics. It became an important recreational institution for Singapore’s Chinese community.
(Roots)
The Singapore Chinese Recreation Club moved out, allowing the City Council to convert the grounds for general public use.
(NLB)
Ong Eng Guan held the first rally of his Hong Lim by-election campaign. The crowd overflowed into the surrounding streets.
The new Subordinate Courts opened at Havelock Road, changing the legal and institutional landscape surrounding Hong Lim Park.
Hong Lim Park hosted its third annual open-air Chinese opera season, showing that the performances had become a recurring tradition.
(NewspaperSG)_
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Speakers’ Corner would be opened to exhibitions and a broader range of activities
New rules allowing outdoor demonstrations took effect. Placards and banners could also be used, subject to legal restrictions
(NLB).
Repeated protests over losses from Lehman-linked investments drew crowds of more than 500 people to Speakers’ Corner.
The Elections Department announced that events at Speakers’ Corner would require permits during election periods.
A major protest against the Population White Paper drew a large crowd that overflowed into the streets surrounding Hong Lim Park.
(BBC)
The history of Hong Lim Park
The club’s distinctive octagonal pavilion officially opened at the centre of Hong Lim Green. Designed by H. D. Richards, it served as the club’s first permanent clubhouse.
(Roots)
During the Japanese Occupation, Hong Lim Green became a venue for public storytelling, beginning a tradition of spoken performance at the site.
(Roots)
Plans emerged to relocate the recreation club and convert Hong Lim Green into a public playground and park.
A PAP rally at Hong Lim park during the merger referendum campaign was disrupted by a “battle of noise” that drowned out Lee Kuan Yew’s speech.
Speakers’ Corner officially opened at Hong Lim Park, allowing Singapore citizens to make public speeches without a Public Entertainment Licence.
(NLB)
Speakers’ Corner reopened after being closed for almost two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
30 August 1962
A chronicle of Singapore's foremost public space for civic gathering, recreation, and the evolution of public expression, presented in Singapore's four official languages.
2 July 1887
27 May 1980
16 February 2013
31 July 1959
20 March 1961
15 March 1962
22 August 2004
1 September 2008
15 September 1975
1 September 2000
October 2008
15 March 2011
Before 1876
January 1885
1942–1945
25 March 2022
1951
1876
Businessman Cheang Hong Lim funded the conversion of the open space into a public garden. The site was subsequently renamed Hong Lim Green in his honour.
(NLB)
1885
A Police Courts building was established beside the green, placing the park alongside one of colonial Singapore’s major legal and administrative spaces.
(Roots)
1914
The octagonal pavilion was replaced by a larger single-storey clubhouse facing New Bridge Road. The new building cost $12,000 and offered improved facilities
(Roots)
1946
The Straits Chinese Recreation Club was renamed the Singapore Chinese Recreation Club as it sought to broaden its post-war membership.
15 February 1959
The People’s Action Party opened its pre-election campaign with a mass rally at Hong Lim Green.
23 April 1960
Hong Lim Park reopened with a new open-air theatre. Minister for Culture S. Rajaratnam officially opened the redeveloped park.
29 April 1961
The Hong Lim by-election followed weeks of mass rallies that attracted people from across Singapore, not only residents of the constituency.
24 June 1962
The government refused an application by Ong Eng Guan to hold a mass rally at Hong Lim Green under existing parks regulations.
1 July 1965
The PAP and Barisan Sosialis opened their Hong Lim by-election campaigns with rival rallies, including one at Hong Lim Park.
14 April 1978
Regular free Chinese opera performances lined up by the Ministry of Culture began at the park’s open-air theatre, reviving its role as a public cultural venue.
24 July 1984
Plans were approved to expand the nearby Hong Lim Park Community Centre, including improvements to its popular open-air stage.
September 2000
The new Speakers’ Corner attracted international attention.
17 August 2008
The government announced that outdoor demonstrations would be permitted at Speakers’ Corner, with NParks managing an online registration system.
1 September 2008
Hearers of Cries held the first legal outdoor public demonstration under the new Speakers’ Corner rules.
16 May 2009
The first Pink Dot gathering was held at Hong Lim Park, creating a visible public platform for LGBTQ inclusion.
28 August 2011
Regulations were expanded to allow public demonstrations and protests by Singapore citizens at the park without a police permit.
7 June 2014
Thousands gathered for the Return Our CPF rally, where speakers criticised aspects of Singapore’s retirement savings system.
Present
Speakers’ Corner remains Singapore’s designated space for public speech, assembly and demonstration. Governed by current legal conditions, it continues to serve as a living civic space and a site of historical memory.