CHIANG MAI GYMKHANA
EST. 1898
126 years of sport, history, and community
Northern Thailand's most historic institution, alive on the same 90 rai of land since the reign of King Rama V. Explore our story...
On April 5, 1898, fourteen men gathered beneath an ancient rain tree. Teak traders, diplomats, adventurers. Their mission: build a sporting club for the expatriate community. What emerged was not just a club. It was an institution that would endure through colonial boom, global conflict, and cultural transformation. Read the full story.
The founders were a cross-section of the expatriate community of northern Siam. Teak traders, yes, but also British consular officials, government foresters, a Thai nobleman, and others whose professions had nothing to do with timber. What they shared was isolation, and the need for somewhere to belong.
Perhaps the most celebrated of the fourteen was Louis Thomas Gunnis Leonowens, son of Anna Leonowens. In 1898 he was a Borneo Company agent who had been running operations in Chiang Mai since 1889. A teak trader, polo obsessive, and adventurer, his exploits became legendary in colonial history. The trading company he founded in 1905 still operates today.
"The Gymkhana Club was the one place in Siam where a man could feel, for a few hours, that the world had not entirely changed."W. Somerset Maugham, The Gentleman in the Parlour, 1930
In the 1920s, Somerset Maugham visited Chiang Mai and immortalized the Gymkhana in The Gentleman in the Parlour. His account brought international attention and established the club as part of colonial legend.
W.A.R. Wood referenced the club in Consul in Paradise. Today the club appears in academic works and novels exploring expatriate life. It is part of Thailand's documented historical record.
When Japan invaded Thailand in 1941, the club fell silent. Yet in 1950, returning members reclaimed the greens from the jungle. The Rain Tree still stood. The foundations held. This is what resilience looks like.
For 126 years, golf, tennis, and cricket have been the heartbeat of the Gymkhana. The living expression of the club's founding mission: to encourage sport and build community.
The Gymkhana's numbers are the result of more than a century of unbroken community. Founded under royal blessing and sustained through wars, occupations, and transformation.
What began with fourteen men beneath a rain tree has endured every challenge the last 126 years could present.
Years of continuous operation
Rai of historic grounds
Founded with royal blessing
Teams in annual Sixes
The club's restaurant has been the social heartbeat of Chiang Mai for over a century. The veranda overlooking the historic grounds remains the epicentre of dining, events, and community gatherings.
Thai classics and international favourites, served where Somerset Maugham once raised a glass. Open to members and guests. The setting is unchanged since the 1900s.
In 1988, the club launched the Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes. A fast-paced variant that became the world's best-known amateur cricket tournament. Teams from Australia, the UK, Hong Kong, South Africa, and beyond arrive annually.
The tournament has raised millions for the Hill Tribe Fund. Players come to compete, but they stay for the community.
1890 to 1910
The men who founded the Gymkhana spent nine months a year in deep jungle. The club was their halfway house. Their sanity. Their only concession to civilisation.
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1941 to 1946
When Japan entered Thailand on December 8, 1941, the club fell silent. Members fled to Burma or were interned. The fairways were waist-high in jungle by 1946.
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Since 1988
In 1988, cricket saved the Gymkhana from decline. The Chiang Mai International Cricket Sixes became the largest amateur cricket tournament in the world.
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