The Helena May was opened in 1916 by the wife of a governor as a social club for working, single European women, for whom the colony had little to offer by way of ‘respectable’ entertainment like ballet lessons and tea parties. The colonial building with features of the Palladian and beaux-arts styles was used to stable horses during the Japanese Occupation.
Currently a private club and hostel , it runs 20-minute tours in English and Chinese once every two months on a Saturday (10am to noon; see the website for dates). Reservations are compulsory and accepted a month in advance.
