Royal Selangor Club
The
Royal Selangor Club was founded in 1884 as a social and cricket club for the
growing expatriate community. The earliest Selangor Club building was a simple
timber structure with an atap roof erected near the north eastern corner of
the Padang. Around 1890, it was replaced by a two-storey timber structure designed
by AC Norman, Government Architect, and sited in its present position on the
west side of the Padang. The clubhouse was rebuilt in 1910, with a design similar to a mock Tudor house. The architect was AB Hubback. It was at this stage that the two wings were added, on either side of the building.
The Club was affectionately known in Colonial days as "The Spotted Dog". One theory relating to the origin of this sobriquet was that the Police Commissioner's wife used to bring her black and white Dalmatian dogs to the Club. Another more probable view was that the name reflected the mixed membership at that time, as opposed to the other clubs which were exclusively for the expatriate community.
In 1970, a disastrous fire destroyed a great portion of the building. After some years of uncertainty, the Club was rebuilt. Designed by Fong Ying Leong again in mock Tudor style, it was completed in 1979.
The Hash House Harriers, now an international body of over 1500 cross-country running clubs, was founded at the Selangor Club in 1938.
