Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations Centre, also known as 96 Waterloo Street, is a historic bungalow on Waterloo Street in downtown Singapore. It currently houses the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations.
History
In the 19th century, the building was leased by Salomon & Sons. A Dr. Paul lived in the bungalow in 1885, while a DM Martia lived in the bungalow in 1893. In 1908, it served as the residence of Conrad H. Clarke and his family. It came under the ownership of M. S. Mohamed Kassim Marican, and was among several properties auctioned off following his death in 1927. It was occupied by Mahua Construction Co. from 1945 to 1971, after which it was occupied by EIWA (S) Enterprise and Sey Lian Engineering Works.
In July 1994, the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations announced that it had acquired a 30-year lease of the building from the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The council planned to spend 800,000refurbishingthe"run−down"building,whichwastohousearound20affiliateassociationsinadditiontothecouncilitself.Itwastoserveasa"one−stopcounselling,resource,trainingandnetworkinghubforSingaporewomen."Planswerelatermadebythecounciltospend2.8 million to demolish the bungalow and erect a new four-storey building in its place, which was to house an auditorium named after Nanyang artist Georgette Chen, whose trust fund donated 350,000tothecouncil,aresearchlibrarydedicatedtoJusticeFrederickArthurChua,aFamilyCrisisCentrewhichwastoberunbyboththecouncilandtheSocietyAgainstFamilyViolence,acounsellingandmediationcentreandeightaffiliateassociationswhichdidnothavetheirownpremises,includingtheSingaporeAssociationofWomenLawyers,theSingaporeAssociationofAdministrativeProfessionals(thenknownastheSingaporeAssociationofPersonalandExecutiveSecretaries)andtheHomeEconomicsTeachersAssociation.However,theUrbanRedevelopmentAuthoritytoldthecouncilthatithadbeengrantedtheleaseontheconditionthatthebungalowberefurbishedandnotdemolished.Asthecouncilwasnotabletodemolishthebungalow,itinsteadchosetoerectafour−storeybuildingconnectedtothebungalowinadditiontorestoringthebungalowitself.Thecomplexwastohouseashelterforwomen,aswellasofficespacefor40affiliateorganisations,administrativeofficesarecreationalcentre,theGeorgetteChenhallandtheresearchlibrary,whichwasnamedtheSAWL−JusticeF.A.ChuaLibrary.Thegroundbreakingceremony,whichwasattendedbyformerPresidentofSingaporeWeeKimWeeandthen−MinisterforCommunityDevelopmentAbdullahTarmugi,washeldon18May1997.ConstructiononthecomplexwastobecompletedbyJune1998.However,byAugustofthatyear,eventhoughtherenovationshadbeencompleted,thecouncilstillowedcontractors600,000 for the renovations, which they were unable to raise from donations due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.