Kent Ridge Park - The Park Today

The Park Today

Formerly used to house senior British Army officers, the last remaining black and white colonial bungalow at 31K Bukit Chandu has been restored and converted into a World War II war museum called Reflections at Bukit Chandu, commemorating the war and those who fought in it. Originally there were two smaller bungalows below 31K, but they were demolished in 1987 to make way for a public parking lot. There are three life-size statues and a plaque outside the museum, honoring the Malay Regiment and commemorating the lives of those who died.

Kent Ridge Park, Labrador Park, and the war museum, are part of the Pasir Panjang Historic District, which focuses on WWII battlefield events in western Singapore. Together with Fort Siloso at Sentosa and The Battle Box at Fort Canning, they serve as a reminder of an important chapter in Singapore's modern history. Near to the park's children's playground there is a heritage site marker, showing where the 1942 Battle of Pasir Panjang was fought.

The park also has some decommissioned military artillery – two M114 155 mm howitzer guns and an AMX-13 Light Tank on permanent display, donated by the Ministry of Defence, part of its adoption of the park as an Army Green Park in support of the National Parks Board "Adopt-a-Park" scheme to inculcate a greater ownership among the public of local parks and greenery. The park's facilities include fitness corners, look-out points, a nature trail, a multi-purpose court and a canopy walk. The highest point of the park is 61 metres above sea level, from where there is a panoramic view of the coast of Pasir Panjang and some of the Southern Islands, approximately 5 km off the south-western coast of Singapore. Islands such as Pulau Bukom and Pulau Semakau are visible on a clear day.