Old Tanglin, Singapore

[Cecil Lee]

More old Malay Kampong scenes

Quote

On 8/26/2013 8:04:22 PM, Anonymous wrote:
A Malay fishing villageOn 8/26/2013
8:02:09 PM, Cecil Lee wrote:
Old
Serangoon RoadOn 8/26/2013 7:11:59
PM, Cecil Lee wrote:
In the
past, it
was known as the main
gate to the
government house
(today it
is called
Istana).Today, you can still
see
the
same gate: entrance to the
Istana
guarded by several
policemen
carrying sub-machine
guns along the
orchard road /
side.On 8/26/2013
7:08:31
PM,
Cecil Lee wrote:
A
rubber
plantation in Singapore in
the
1930's. Rubber tapper at
workOn
8/26/2013 7:06:21 PM,
Cecil Lee
wrote:
Singapore
used to have a
zinc mine
in
the 1920's
to
1930's.On
8/26/2013
6:56:13 PM,
Cecil
Lee
wrote:
Many
years
ago, drinking water
was

brought via bullock

carts.Chinatown
is
also
named
after
"buffalo carting

water"....Photos are
around
the
1910's to
1930's.Did you
notice
that
they come in

pairs?

[Cecil Lee]

Jalan Besar Heritage
Jalan Besar & Lavendar Street

Originally named Rochor Road in 1846, this street was a dirt track flanked by brick kilns and vegetable gardens. Human as well as
animal waste were used to fertilise the crops. As a result of this foul practice, in 1858, a resident made the cynical suggestion that the road be renamed Lavender Street (after an aromatic shrub), which was accepted.

The Hokkiens called the street Chai Hng Lai or 'Within the vegetable gardens'. It was also known as Go Cho Toa Kong Si or 'Rochor Big Kongsi' as the main lodge of a kongsi called Thien Thi Hoi was located nearby (kongsi' was once used to denote Chinese secret societies, but it can also refer to self-help groups or companies). The Cantonese called it Kwong Fuk Miu Kai or Kwong Fook Temple Street, after a now-demolished temple built in 1880. In Tamil, the street was known as Kosa Theruvu or Potter's Street.

 

In the 1880s, nearby fields were used for cattle grazing, an activity that led to the building of abattoirs around Jalan Besar. The vegetable gardens vanished by the 1910s. But Lavender Street's foul reputation continued into the 20* century, when pigswill collectors would collect leftovers from houses in the area for mixing with water hyacinths. In 1929, Municipal Commissioner John Laycock (1887-1960) suggested to the laughter of his fellow Commissioners that newly built roads off Lavender Street (the area around Kempas Road) be named after aromatic flowers such as Rosemary and Thyme. The proposal was not accepted.

After the swampland between Lavender Street and Jalan Besar was reclaimed in the late 1920s, new shophouses were built along Lavender Street as well as along Hamilton, Tyrwhitt and Cavan Roads.

Many of these developments incorporated Art Deco designs, which featured clean lines, graceful façades, continuous windowsills and roof pediments topped by flagpoles. One notable row of conserved shophouses

(161 Lavender Street) was built by the Lee Rubber Company, which was owned by Lee Kong Chian (1893-

1967), a rubber and pineapple tycoon who established the Lee Foundation to support educational and cultural causes.
Above: Swampland and vegetable farms surrounded Lavender Street for much of the 19th and 20th centuries.

[Cecil Lee]

In the 196x’s onwards we used to travel to Malaysia with this type of “Restricted Passport”.

Why “Restricted”? This was because it was restricted for travel between Singapore and West Malaysia only.

Outside of both countries, one must use the International Passport.

Oddly, an International Passport can still be used. But if one is a frequent traveller between both countries, the passport pages will soon run out! LOL