Gillman Barracks: From Colonial To Contemporary Fun


Ms Sally McHale is the daughter of a British officer who served in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. These days, she provides guided tours of Gillman Barracks as a Friends of the Museums docent.
From the second level of Block 9, she showed participants on a tour the view that her dad had admired. “He absolutely loved seeing so much green. Having such a good view really put him at ease in times of stress,” she recalled.


Colourful History
Dotted among the greenery are black-and-white blocks, now home to bars, restaurants and 12 art galleries from six countries. With its tranquil charm complementing the range of leisure options there, Gillman Barracks often appears in lists of places for hanging out with friends away from the crowds in the city.






On Thursdays, nurses from the nearby dental institute could enter Gillman Barracks and use the pool, said Ms McHale. She added with a wink: “Of course, that meant the pool would be even more crowded, with more army men joining in.”
Nothing remains today to show that the swimming pool existed. Instead, its former spot opposite Block 9 is now covered with trees. The flirting and socialising, however, carries on today with people mingling at the bars nearby. And just as the children of military men learned and played in schools built there in the past, with Playeum, Singapore’s first creative space just for children, Gillman Barracks continues to be a place for all in contemporary times.

- Events to attend
Art After Dark, Gillman Barrack’s signature night time open house event
- What to do
Go for free art or heritage walking tours with docents from Friends of the Museum
- What to see
Check out art galleries like ShanghART and Sundaram Tagore Gallery Singapore, and visit the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, which houses many programmes such as exhibitions, talks and music performances

- What to eat
Go for some quality seafood at The Naked Finn or indulge in handcrafted ice cream at Creamier

- Where to drink
Sing along to covers of top 40 hits at Hopscotch
- For children
Young ones can be creative explorers at Playeum Children's Centre for Creativity

- POSTED ON
Feb 14, 2018
- TEXT BY
Jennifer Dhanaraj
- PHOTOS BY
Norman Ng
- ART DIRECTION BY
Yip Siew Fei
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