HISTORY: 2011

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Please read: A personal appeal from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales Read now National Museum of Singapore From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia National Museum of Singapore Native name: Chinese: 新加坡国家博物院 National Museum of Singapore Location: Singapore Coordinates: 1°17′48.2″N 103°50′55.1″ECoordinates: 1°17′48.2″N 103°50′55.1″E Built: 1849 Architectural style(s): Neo-Palladian, Renaissance Governing body: National Heritage Board National Monument of Singapore Designated: 14 February 1992 Location of National Museum of Singapore in Singapore The National Museum of Singapore (Chinese: 新加坡国家博物院) is a national museum in Singapore and the oldest museum in Singapore. Its history dates back to 1849 when it was started as a section of a library at Singapore Institution. After several relocations, the Museum was relocated to its permanent site at Stamford Road at the Museum Planning Area in 1887. The Museum is one of the four national museums in the country, the other three being the two Asian Civilisations Museums at Empress Place Building and Old Tao Nan School, and the Singapore Art Museum. The museum focuses on exhibits related to the history of Singapore. The Museum was named the National Museum of Singapore in 1965. For a brief period between 1993 and March 2006, it was known as the Singapore History Museum, before reverting back to its previous name. The Museum underwent a three-and-a-half-year restoration and reopened on December 2, 2006, with the Singapore History Gallery opening on December 8 of the same year. The revamped National Museum was officially opened by former President of Singapore S R Nathan and Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang on 7 December 2006.[1] Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Redevelopment works 2 Facilities 3 Artifacts 4 Architecture 5 References 6 Literature 7 See also 8 External links [edit]History The eastern wing The museum was established in 1849 by the then Singapore Institution Committee. It was called the Raffles Library and Museum and it exhibited items of historical and archeological value in Singapore and Asia. The museum was part of an establishment of a public repository of knowledge of Malayan in a school, museum and library. This objective can be traced to a 1823 meeting called by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, to discuss a revival of the region's cultural heritage. The museum occupied a section of the library of the Singapore Institution, later became the Raffles Institution. In 1874, the museum moved to the Town Hall (now known as the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall). However, due to the growing collection in the museum, it moved back to the Singapore Institution in 1876 situated at the new wing of the institution. The Raffles Library and Museum later moved to Stamford Road in a new building that was commissioned by the colonial government in 1882. The museum was officially opened on 12 October 1887 which also marked the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The library was referred to by the locals in Malay as Rumah Kitab (house of books) or Tempat Kitab (place of books). The museum was designed by Sir Henry McCallum but a scaled down version was used as the Colonial Office rejected the initial proposal, Major J.F. McNair co-designed the later version. In its early years, the museum was well known for its zoological and ethnographic collections of Southeast Asia especially Malaya and British Borneo before the World War II. The museum was a centre of research and knowledge, directors and curators were by and specialists of good research accomplishments including zoologists Richard Hanitsch, John Moulton, Cecil Boden Kloss, Frederick Chasen and anthropologists HD Collings and Gibson-Hill who were also interested in ornithology, Malay history, ethnography and photography. The museum was the seat of the editorial office of the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, it was visited by scholars who were en-route to their trips to Malaya and Indonesia. The collections included a selection of northern Nias objects from the field trips of Elio Modigliani, as well as the basketwork gifted by Dr William Abbott, who collected them during the 1900s for the United States National Museum, later the Smithsonian Institution. Extensions were carried out in 1906, 1916, 1926 and 1934 due to the inadequate space for the growing number of artefacts and books. During the Japanese Occupation, the place was left intact by the Japanese occupying army due to its reputation of its Raffles collection and research integrity. The museum split with the library with the latter forming the National Library adjacent to the museum building in 1960 which was demolished and relocated to Victoria Street in 2005, the former was housed in the Stamford Road building. After Singapore's independence in 1965, the museum focused its collection to nation-building and the history of Singapore and was renamed the National Museum. Its zoological collections was moved to the biology department of the National University of Singapore and to some museums such as in Kolkata in India and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This all happened in 1969. Its most iconic artifact was the skeleton of a blue whale found in Port Dickson in 1893 and was displayed from 1903 to 1969. The museum then featured exhibits on history, ethnology and arts of Singapore and the region. Hawpar Group donated a jade collection in January 1980. Restoration works of the building were carried out in 1985 which included a repainting of the building and restoring some of the distinctive features. After restoration, the museum was gazetted as a national monument on 14 February 1992. The museum came under the management of the National Heritage Board in 1993 and was renamed the Singapore History Museum becoming the flagship of the four national museums in Singapore. The building was closed in April 2003 for extension and restoration works and the museum was temporarily relocated to Riverside Point where an exhibition known as Rivertales was displayed. [edit]Redevelopment works The dome consists of 3,000 zinc fish-scaled tiles and stained glass panels. The Glass Passage. The National Museum building was closed for a period of three and a half years and museum operation was temporarily located at Riverside Point. The building underwent a S$132.6 million revamp with a new annexe block behind the building on the site, which was formerly the demolished Drama Centre. Its new wing is partially built on ground hollowed out from nearby Fort Canning Hill, and a 30-metre deep diaphragm wall was built to prevent the earth from sinking. A foundation stone ceremony was held on 25 November 2004 and it was then the museum publicly announced the name change. The structural top out ceremony was on 28 November 2005 and the new building is twice as large as the old one. The temporary museum at Riverside closed its operation on 6 March 2006 and the new museum is scheduled to reopen on 7 December 2006. Poor restoration works in the 1980s cost some of its architecture features to be hidden or badly damaged. The fish scaled tiles were all taken down and cleaned, all 3,000 tiles were individually numbered in order to allow it to be replaced in the correct sequence. Every row of tiles were shaped differently to match its dome's curves. Badly restored tiles were removed and new replaced tiles were made in the original zinc material used in the old 19th century tiles made in Manchester, England. The condition of the tiles were badly deteriorated due to the effects of acid rain. A titanium-zinc-based coating was used to protect the new tiles, to prevent further oxidation and eroding. On the building's dome, there are stained glass panels, these panels were all taken down, inspected and cleaned. These panels had deteriorated due to its age and the effects of gravity on the lead works. Each panel had to be transported in a special mould and sent to a stained glass restorer who used 18th century reinforcement techniques to restore the lead and glass works; the process took four months to complete. Modern staircases have been installed in the building to contrast the old and new. A spiral staircase which leads to the roof of the old museum building was restored. The windows and doors were conserved and the original type and size of timber and 18th century carpentry techniques were used to restore the timber windows and doors. Some of the original timber works used huge timber sections made of kapur wood. These sections required about four months to source, supply, fumigate, treat, cut and deliver to the site. The balustrades on the second floor of the old rotunda were patterned after those in London's Royal Albert Hall. The details of the balustrades were hidden after years of paint. The old paint was removed and a special clear coat was applied to prevent rusting of the wrought iron and to allow the details to be visible. Plaster works were carried out on the plaster motifs, cornices, balustrades, capitals and carving of the old building were either deteriorated or destroyed during the earlier renovations. Skilled artisans from India were brought in to recreate the plaster works which include restoring many of the windows, doors and cornices. Its largest work done was the coat of arms of Queen Victoria and the entire northern facade which had been destroyed. An ornate rose timber ceiling rose in the original galleries were hidden by false ceilings constructed for air-conditioning in the 1980s. The rear of the building had few windows and replicas had to be made for windows facing Fort Canning and timber wood was imported from Indonesia. A 22-metre long and 11-metre high glass connector replaced a hard ceiling for visitors to view the museum's dome from the museum itself, whereas previously, one had to view the entire dome across Stamford Road. [edit]Facilities See also: Singapore History Gallery, Singapore Living Galleries, and Goh Seng Choo Gallery Interior of the rotunda, topped by a dome. The museum will have a permanent 2,800 m² gallery space at the new glass clad building within a glass rotunda known as the Singapore History Gallery. It will feature the history of Singapore from the 14th century in a story-telling approach. Images and film can be projected on its 15-metre high cylindrical walls. There will be a narration of the history and display of artistic expressions of the history. Other permanent exhibitions include the Singapore Living Galleries which will feature exhibits of photography, cuisine, film, fashion and other lifestyle artifacts. A ramp spiral in the new building leads down to an exhibition space holding the nation's treasures which includes the Singapore Stone and 14th century gold ornaments unearthed from nearby Fort Canning Hill in 1928. There will be a 250-seat auditorium known as The Mesh for talks, lectures and workshops for the young and old at the Fort Canning entrance. It will have retail facilities as well as a cafe and a restaurant at the Stamford Road block of the building. Elevators and escalators have been constructed to facilitate the disabled to have access to the museum. An area will feature classrooms and outreach programmes. A vehicular entrance can be accessed by Fort Canning Road at the new building. In the basement, there is a column-free 1,200 m² exhibition gallery for temporary exhibits. It has insulated walls without windows and the space is climatically controlled to protect the exhibits from light and heat or humidity changes. A resource centre will be housed in the building which will contain old books, photographs, negatives and stamps for public viewing. National Museum introduced a new wireless technology which allow automatic playing of audio and visual material when visitors enter designated zones. The museum has held several temporary exhibitions before its official opening which include a film festival and a men's fashion show, during which the main foyer will feature nude male mannequins. [edit]Artifacts The museum used to house a vast collection of zoological items, but were transferred to the National University of Singapore (NUS) and other museums in the Commonwealth. It currently has eleven precious artifacts, namely the Singapore Stone, the Gold Ornaments of the Sacred Hill from East Java, Dagguerreotype of Singapore Town which was one of the earliest photographs of Singapore, the will of Munshi Abdullah, the portrait of Frank Athelstane Swettenham, the hearse of Tan Jiak Kim, a Peranakan coffin cover, the mace of the City of Singapore commemorating King George VI's raising of the island's status to a city in 1951, the Xin Sai Le puppet stage, William Farquhar's drawings of flora and fauna and the portrait of Shenton Thomas, who was the former governor of Singapore. Rocks from the nearby Fort Canning Hill were used to create two sculptures commissioned from Cultural Medallion-winner Han Sai Por. [edit]Architecture The Concourse of the museum, an amalgamation between Classicism & Modernism. National Museum was designed in Neo-Palladian and Renaissance style and consists of two rectangular parallel blocks, with a dome at the front of the building. Its architects were Henry McCallum who designed the original version and J.F. McNair who designed the scaled down version of the building. The building has two rotundas, a new glass-clad rotunda at the rear area of the building. Its glass rotunda is a cylindrical shaped building which is made up of two drums, with the outer one made of glass which sheathes an inner one made of wire mesh. Black out curtains has the same length of the inner drum with images projected on sixteen projectors in the day. The curtains are drawn after sunset, and projection can be beamed out through the glass to get a view of the city. Coats of arms are found on the building's front. The redeveloped building was designed by local W Architects with the glass-clad rotunda designed inspired by Chinese American I.M. Pei. The chief design consultant was Mok Wei Wei from W Architects, who was appointed in June 2004 and modified the designs of the glass rotunda and the atrium between the two buildings. The new glass clad building was designed such that the old building would still be the centrepiece of the museum. A six-metre gap exists between the back of the main museum building and its new annexe as conservation guidelines do not allow old and new buildings to be directly connected. In the gallery theatre, bricks are designed in a herringbone brick pattern, which helps to control the echoes and acoustics in the space. Initially, the designers planned to use bricks from the old National Library building, but the cost was too expensive. Black concrete flooring was used for the new block instead of gray granite flooring as initially planned. [edit]References National Heritage Board, Archipelago Press, Singapore's 100 Historic Places (2002), ISBN 981-4068-23-3 Norman Edwards and Peter Keys, Times Books International (1996), Singapore: A Guide to Buildings, Streets and Places, ISBN 981-204-781-6 The Sunday Times, April 16, 2006 "National Museum of Singapore (Singapore Biennale) 2006". Singapore Biennale. Archived from the original on 25 July 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2006. The Straits Times, 29 July 2006 ^ Clara Chow, "National Museum opens after $132m makeover", The Straits Times, 8 December 2006 [edit]Literature Lenzi, Iola (2004). Museums of Southeast Asia. Singapore: Archipelago Press. p. 200 pages. ISBN 981-4068-96-9. [edit]See also Singapore History Gallery Singapore Living Galleries Goh Seng Choo Gallery William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings [edit]External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: National Museum of Singapore Official website Virtual tour preview of the National Museum [hide]v · d · eMajor Tourist Attractions in Singapore WRS Parks Singapore Zoo · Night Safari · Jurong Bird Park · River Safari (U/C) Integrated Resorts Resorts World Sentosa · Marina Bay Sands Amusement Parks Escape Theme Park · Haw Par Villa · Sentosa · Wild Wild Wet · Resorts World Sentosa (Universal Studios Singapore · Equarius Water Park (U/C)) Oceanariums Underwater World · Marine Life Park (U/C) Museums Asian Civilisations Museum · Baba House · Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum · Changi Museum · Fort Siloso · Images of Singapore · Malay Heritage Centre · Malay Village · National Museum of Singapore · Old Ford Motor Factory · Peranakan Museum · Raffles Hotel · Reflections at Bukit Chandu · Science Centre Singapore · Singapore Discovery Centre · Singapore Philatelic Museum · Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall · The Battle Box · Maritime Experiential Museum & Aquarium (U/C) · ArtScience Museum Nature Parks Bukit Timah Nature Reserve · Singapore Botanic Gardens · Gardens by the Bay (U/C) · Pulau Ubin (Chek Jawa) · Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve · Central Catchment Nature Reserve · Labrador Nature Reserve · HortPark · Chinese Garden · Japanese Garden Monuments Bukit Batok Memorial · Civilian War Memorial · The Cenotaph · Early Founders Memorial Stone · Former Indian National Army Monument · Japanese Cemetery Park · Kranji War Memorial · Raffles' Landing Site · SGH War Memorial Others Merlion · Orchard Road · Singapore River · Singapore Flyer · Marina Barrage · Clifford Pier · The Helix Bridge Singapore Tourism Board View page ratings Rate this page What's this? Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional) Submit ratings Categories: Buildings and structures completed in 1887Museums established in 1849National museums of SingaporeArchaeology museumsEthnographic museumsHistory museumsHistory of SingaporeMuseum Planning AreaNational Monuments of SingaporeLandmarks in SingaporeDomes

Sunday, September 25, 2011

By Leila Battison Science reporter A lock of hair is all that is needed to decode the history of an entire people A lock of hair has helped scientists to piece together the genome of Australian Aborigines and rewrite the history of human dispersal around the world. DNA from the hair demonstrates that indigenous Aboriginal Australians were the first to separate from other modern humans, around 70,000 years ago. This challenges current theories of a single phase of dispersal from Africa. An international team of researchers published their findings in the journal Science. While the Aboriginal populations were trailblazing across Asia and into Australia, the remaining humans stayed around North Africa and the Middle East until 24,000 years ago. Only then did they spread out and colonise Europe and Asia, but the indigenous Aborigines had been established in Australia for 25,000 years. Australian Aborigines therefore have a longer claim to the land in which they now live than any other population known. The research also highlights the exciting future possibilities of comparing the genomes of multiple individuals to track migration of small indigenous groups. Tiny genetic differences Archaeological remains are known from Australia from around 50,000 years ago, putting a maximum age of the Aborigines' settlement there. But the history of their journey and their relationship with the indigenous people of Asia and Europe had not been solved. It was previously thought that modern humans dispersed in one pulse out of Africa and the Middle East, and because of the distances involved, the modern Europeans would have separated from the Asians and Australians first. Genetic information from a lock of Aboriginal hair has been used to show that the Australians set off a lot earlier. By looking at the tiny (fraction of one percent) differences between the DNA of Aborigines and other ancient humans, the scientists show that the indigenous Australians were first isolated 70,000 years ago. Dr Francois Balloux, of Imperial College London described how a "population expanded along the coastline because of the rich resources available there. They could walk almost the entire way because the sea level was much lower". Just one small sea crossing would be required to reach Australia. Any potential archaeological remains of this journey, which lasted 25,000 years, would be lost to the deep sea under rising sea levels. The remaining populations in the Middle East moved out to colonise Europe and Asia 24,000 years ago, and the aboriginal genome records some interbreeding between Asian populations and aboriginal ancestors at this time. Discovering the history of human migration with DNA has been made possible by improvements in the techniques used to study the genome. Traditionally, genetic divergence dates were arrived at by combining the number of unique mutations in the DNA with an assumed rate of acquiring those mutations. Now, computationally powerful models can simulate lots of different scenarios for migration timings and directions, and researchers can compare and choose the situation that most closely matches what is seen in the genome. By comparing the Aboriginal genome with the DNA of African, European and Han Chinese individuals it was possible to highlight the later interbreeding after initial colonisation. Comparison with Eurasian populations show that the Australian Aborigines have a similar percentage of Neanderthal genes within their DNA as their Eurasian counterparts, suggesting that any interbreeding occurred before the Aborigines embarked on their colonising journey. The findings of these researchers are supported by an independent study, published this week in the American Journal of Human Genetics, which looks at the characteristic DNA from an extinct, archaic form of human, the Denisovans. Denisovans lived over 30,000 years ago, and contributed genes mostly to present-day New Guineans. This independent study identifies a pattern of Denisovan DNA in Asian individuals that can only be explained by two separate waves of human migration: the first of Aboriginals colonising Australia, and the second involving the occupation of Asia itself. 'Jurassic Park science' The Aboriginal research was carried out on a single lock of hair, which was donated by a young Aboriginal man to the British anthropologist Dr A C Haddon in 1923. "At this time, it was fashionable to take human samples," said Dr Balloux. The collection of hair was one of the more innocuous efforts of anthropologists at the time. The researchers chose to examine the hair, as opposed to any other type of remains, for legal reasons. Hair is not classified as a human tissue. "More important to us was that the research would be acceptable from a social and moral point of view" said Dr Balloux.To the surprise of the scientists, the people they consulted were very supportive of the study and its results. Dr Balloux explained that in the past, indigenous people have been "extremely sensitive of the motivations of western scientists". The research has been published with "strong endorsement" from the Goldfields Land and Sea Council, the organisation that represents the Aboriginal traditional owners of parts of Western Australia, he said. Genomics techniques like those used in this study have the potential to be used more extensively in the study of human migrations and the evolution of health and disease. The international team next plans to look in more detail at the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, as well as solving how and when the Americas were colonised. Dr Balloux said he was excited about the unexpected potential of the techniques, describing it as "borderline Jurassic Park science".

Sunday, September 4, 2011

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Part of KTM railway line to be reopened to public
Fri, Sep 02, 2011 | AsiaOne
Part of the former KTM railway land will be reopened for public walks and recreation from September 16.

The land to be reopened stretches from the Bukit Timah bridge south towards Holland Road.

Some parts of the tracks have been removed, while others, such as the stretch next to Bukit Timah Railway Station and along the bridge, have been preserved.

Works to remove the tracks and other rail structures are ongoing and are about 30 per cent complete, said the Singapore Land Authority.

klim@sph.com.sg

Saturday, September 3, 2011

HISTORY OF OLD CHINA TOWN

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Travel Guide » Tourist Guide » Facts of Old Singapore

History of Old Singapore Chinatown
by: Mr Dhoraisingam S. Samuel

Early settlement of Chinese
Immigrants - locality assigned
By Stamford Raffles in 1822; living and working under
Extreme conditions they contributed to the
Development of Singapore.
In November 1822 Stamford Raffles wrote to the Town Committee in Singapore about his plans for the layout of the Town and the setting of the various major ethnic groups in the island. These major ethnic areas were for the poor but the rich could settle anywhere they chose to.

'The Chinese,' Raffles wrote, 'will form by far the largest portion of the community' and he assigned the south-west of the Singapore River to them. They should also be settled according to the provinces they came from in China and be under the immediate control of their respective chiefs for the maintenance of law and order.

Raffles also suggested that the streets in Chinatown should run as far as practicable at right angles and the artisans - blacksmiths, carpenters and others should be concentrated in certain areas. Fro the sake of uniformity Raffles specified that the shophouses and houses be built in brick and tiled and each house should have a verandah or covered passage five feet wide to provide an open space where the dwellers in the crowded houses could have fresh air and also where food hawkers could operate. The houses and shophouses were built in neat rows and in the centre was an air-well open to the Sky. This served for the collection and storage of water for ventilation and light.

Chinatown became a crowded place particularly after the 1830s when the large scale emigration from South China took place. The occupants of these shop-houses or terraced houses lived in cubicles-sordid, dark, grimy and self-contained living areas. The corridors that divided the cubicles were narrow. The entire belongings of the dwellers were in the corner of the cubicle-the storage boxes and a board which double up at night as a bed.

Until 1935 the night soil (collected in buckets) was carried through the front door. Later back lanes were created and the buckets were removed from there. How fortunate Singaporeans are today living in Housing and Development Boar flats with modern sanitation, water supply and electricity!

Despite the hard living conditions, the Chinese to sustain their cultural heritage, their traditions and identity, built several Chinese Temples in the area, had their own singing halls and 'wayang' (opera) theatres.

Unfortunately there were also government licensed opium dens (opium was one of the main sources of revenue), illegal gambling houses and brothels. There were also rickshaw depots and most of the coffee shops were patronized by the rickshaw pullers.

Secret Societies originated in South China operated in Chinatown and it was a major problem in early Singapore.

Sago Street was named by the Cantonese, 'Street of the Dead' where the funeral clothes, paper models of cars and houses were sold. There was Sago Lane where the death houses were; 'these are where the sick go ostensibly for treatment but where chances of recovery are almost nil'. Inmates of these death houses simply wasted away slowly and then after death were moved to the funeral parlours. Many died of epidemics like cholera and malaria.

In Chinatown lived the Sam Sui Women who were extremely industrious workers who carried earth which was a back-breaking occupation.

These women came from three districts of Kwantung: Sam Sui. Shun Tak and Tong Koon. The Sam Sui women were found predominantly in Upper Chin Chew Street, Upper Nanking Street and Eu Tong Sen Street. Upper Chin Chew Street was nicknamed 'Black Cloth' street because of the colour of the clothes of these women. The Sam Sui women wore scarlet head-dress, loose black 'samfoos' (jacket and trousers) and lived in cubicles. These Cantonese women rarely married and led a life of frugality but they were colourful and conservative; they kept largely to themselves. They were generally kind and had a sense of humour; they ate plain food - rice and vegetables - but sent regular remittance to their families in China.

It was estimated that by 1941 there were several thousands of these Sam Sui women working and contributing to the economic growth of Singapore.

Most of those who lived in Chinatown worked in the tongkangs, twakows and lighters and ferried goods from sea going vessels to the several warehouses along the Singapore River; many worked in the early years in the spice plantations and later in the Singapore Harbours and the Dockyard.

Other races also dwelt in Chinatown. There were a large umber of Indians; proof of this is the number of old Tamil Mosques and the oldest Hindu Temple in Chinatown. Upper Cross Street was also known as 'Kampong of the Indiana' where a number of Indian spices traders and boatman lived. Indonesians lived in 'pondoks' (lodging houses); one such example is the one still at 32 Club Street off Upper Cross Street. Near Havelock Road is Kampong Malacca and one of the oldest Mosques. Near North Canal was the early quarter of the Jews as well as their oldest Synagogue.

During the Battle for Singapore Chinatown was bombed daily by the Japanese. The heart of Chinatown was roughly an area of 30 acres with almost 20,000 crammed into it. There were no air raid shelters in Chinatown because the British authorities had bungled their air-raid policy. Many had to cower in their crowded homes or lie panic stricken in filthy monsoon ditches. The Japanese bombers made indiscriminate raids on Chinatown and the casualties mounted day by day.

The Civil Defence unit comprised mainly Chinese who were brave and worked around the clock, clearing roads, and debris; rescue workers had to extricate the victims in bombed buildings and death lorries had to be manned to collect the unclaimed bodies for mass burials in deep pits. To show respect to the different races the bodies were grouped according to the races and kept apart in the pits.

Many in Chinatown and whose homes were bombed and had become homeless sought refuge in the several Chinese Temples and in the Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church.

Despite urban renewal projects several parts of Chinatown are still intact and Singaporeans should visit these areas (some renovates) to realize how our ancestors had lived and toiled to make Singapore what it is today.

Click for an overview of all Facts of Old Singapore

Monday, August 29, 2011

TAN TOCK SENG HOSPITAL

Tan Tock Seng Hospital
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
National Healthcare Group

The new 15-story Tan Tock Seng Hospital was marked as a historic institution on 25 July 2001.
Geography
Location Novena, Singapore
Coordinates 1°19′17.8″N 103°50′45.4″ECoordinates: 1°19′17.8″N 103°50′45.4″E
Organisation
Hospital type District General
Services
Emergency department Yes Accident & Emergency
Links
Website http://www.ttsh.com.sg
Lists Hospitals in Singapore
The Tan Tock Seng Hospital (Abbreviation: TTSH; Chinese: 陈笃生医院; Malay: Hospital Tan Tock Seng) is the second-largest hospital in Singapore after the Singapore General Hospital, but its accident and emergency department is the busiest in the country largely due to its geographically centralised location.[1] Set up in 1844 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Tan Tock Seng, the hospital came under the international spotlight when it was designated as the sole treatment centre for the SARS epidemic which struck the country in 2003.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Location of Services
3 Clinical and Allied Health Services
4 TTSH Heritage Museum
5 The Art of Healing Programme
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links
[edit]History

Singapore was a successful trading centre. Large numbers of immigrants came, hoping to make their fortune here. The majority of immigrants were poor and destitute. Malnutrition was common and it was estimated that about 100 immigrants died each year from starvation.
The British government set up a pauper's hospital in the 1820s but it closed in the 1830s because of insufficient funds. The government then suggested that the better-off members of each community take care of their own poor. Subsequently, some of the more benevolent members of the community responded. One such person was Tan Tock Seng, a successful businessman, philanthropist and the first Asian Justice of Peace. In 1843, Tan offered funds for the construction of a hospital.
The foundation stone of the Chinese Paupers' Hospital, Singapore's first privately funded hospital, was laid on 25 July 1844, on Pearl's Hill. Construction took three years and a shortage of funds saw the hospital stand empty for two more years. Finally, the first batch of patients was admitted in 1849. About 100 sick and destitute people had been housed in an attap shed at the foot of Pearl's Hill when a fierce storm destroyed the shed, leaving them homeless. Rather than have them wander the streets, the government decided to place them in the hospital. In the hospital's early years, money was a constant problem, alleviated from time to time by donations from kind benefactors. A shortage of staff and no reliable water supply also made things difficult.
Tan Tock Seng died in 1850 at the age of 52. The hospital's name was changed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and, in 1861, it relocated to new premises on the corner of Serangoon Road and Balestier Road. A lepers' ward was also added. In 1903, the land on Moulmein Road, where the present hospital stands, was bought.
By the 1980s, the hospital's services and patient intake were beginning to outgrow the 1950s hospital building. A new 15-storey building was constructed and officially opened on 1 April 2000.
As a result of a restructuring exercise in the local health-care scene, the hospital became a member of the National Healthcare Group in 2000.
The hospital prides itself as a pioneer in the development of Geriatric Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Rehabilitation Medicine, Respiratory Medicine and Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology. It is also a major referral centre for Geriatric Medicine, General Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Diagnostic Radiology, Gastroenterology, Otorhinolaryngology and Orthopedic surgery. In 2003, the hospital was declared the designated hospital for SARS screening and treatment by the Ministry of Health.
[edit]Location of Services

The Hospital Complex
Completed in 1999, the complex is specially designed to provide comprehensive in-patient and out-patient services under one roof. Most services are provided in the modern complex, comprising the Hospital Block, the TTSH Medical Centre and the Podium Block. On average, specialist clinics receive 1,500 patients daily, while the Emergency Department attends to a daily 400, making it Singapore's busiest emergency department.
Communicable Disease Centre (CDC)
The Communicable Disease Centre is the national referral centre for the diagnosis and management of communicable diseases that include HIV and SARS. The CDC is made up of 2 campuses, equipped with in-patient and out-patient facilities to handle disease outbreak as well as laboratory facilities to conduct research for better disease management and patient care.
TTSH Rehabilitation Centre
The TTSH Rehabilitation Centre located at Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital offers the largest in-patient rehabilitation services in Singapore. Managed by the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, it also conducts therapy programmes and out-patient rehabilitation services.
Specialist Clinics
Closer to the community, TTSH operates specialist clinics at Hougang Polyclinic and Yew Tee MRT Station.
[edit]Clinical and Allied Health Services

Division of Ambulatory & Diagnostic Medicine
Diagnostic Radiology
Emergency Medicine
Oncology Services
Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Division of Medicine
Cardiology
Clinical Epidemiology
Endocrinology
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
General Medicine
Geriatric Medicine
Infectious Diseases
Psychological Medicine
Rehabilitation Medicine
Respiratory Medicine
Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology
Division of Surgery
Anaesthesiology
General Surgery
Ophthalmology
Orthopaedic Surgery
Otorhinolaryngology (ENT)
Urology
Clinical Support Services
Complementary Integrative Medicine
Nutrition & Dietetics
Occupational Therapy
Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (Blood Transfusion, Haematology, Clinical chemistry, Anatomical pathology & Clinical microbiology)
Pharmacies (Outpatient, Inpatient & Retail)
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Prosthetics & Orthotics
Psychological Services
Respiratory Therapy
Speech Therapy
Travellers' Health & Vaccination Centre
Vascular Diagnostic Laboratory
[edit]TTSH Heritage Museum

The Tan Tock Seng Hospital Heritage Museum opened its doors on July 25, 2001. Honouring the legacy of its founder Mr Tan Tock Seng, the museum features a collection of Peranakan items from the mid-19th century, during Mr Tan's time.
Medical equipment and hospital artefacts of yore capture the enduring spirit of Singapore's first community hospital dedicated "to care for the sick poor of all nations". The hospital's development and achievements - in particular, its pioneering role in the treatment of tuberculosis (1940s) and its monumental leadership in the fight against SARS - are presented through narrative displays, salvaged historical objects and a time capsule.
The TTSH Heritage Museum is a member of the National Heritage Board's Museum Roundtable.
[edit]The Art of Healing Programme

Tan Tock Seng Hospital's The Art of Healing programme, an initiative that aims to use the arts as a form of therapy to soothe patients’ mind and body and help them on their path to recovery, was launched on February 6, 2006. Through the arts, the hospital is transformed to a warm, welcoming and enriching environment for patients, families, staff and visitors, and helps to distract patients from their ailments, express their feelings and reduce anxiety. By this, the hospital hopes that there will be an improvement in patients' blood pressure and intake of pain medication, which in turn should lead to faster recovery and a shorter length of hospital stay.
The programme is an on-going project where activities such as exhibitions (paintings, pottery, wire sculptures, etc.) and performances (orchestras, big bands, string quartets, plays, dances, etc.) are unveiled regularly. This helps to promote the hospital as a centre of holistic healing of mind and body, and transforms the hospital environment from a traditionally sterile, cold and fearful one to a warm, non-threatening and welcoming place of healing. The programme provides an enriching multi-cultural experience for patients and staff and welcomes artists of all art forms to be a part of these performances.
Under the arm of "The Art of Healing" programme, the hospital's Healing Sky Garden and Orchid Botanica were launched in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
[edit]Notes

^ "TTSH's Emergency Dept has longest waiting time". Channel NewsAsia. 2005-03-01. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
[edit]References

National Heritage Board (2002), Singapore's 100 Historic Places, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tan Tock Seng Hospital
[edit]External links

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Categories: Hospitals established in 1884 | Hospitals in Singapore | Novena

TAN TOCK SENG

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Tan.
Tan Tock Seng (simplified Chinese: 陈笃生; traditional Chinese: 陳篤生; pinyin: Chén Dǔshēng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Tok-sing; 1798–1850) was a Singaporean merchant and philanthropist. Born in Malacca in 1798 [1] to an immigrant Fukien (Hokkien) father and Hokkien Peranakan mother, Tan rose from humble origins. In 1819, Tan moved to Singapore to sell fruit, vegetable and fowl. He worked diligently and was able to set up a shop in Boat Quay and became a notable businessman.
Most of his wealth came from the results of his speculations with J. H. Whitehead of Shaw, Whitehead & Co. Horrocks Whitehead died in September 1846 at the age of 36. His tombstone at the old cemetery on Fort Canning was erected, "as a token of affection on the part of a Chinese friend, Tan Tock Seng."
Tan also owned large tracts of prime land, including 50 acres (200,000 m²) at the site of the railway station and another plot stretching from the Padang right up to High Street and Tank Road. His other assets were a block of shophouses, an orchard and a nutmeg plantation which he co-owned with his brother. In time, he became an influential Chinese leader and was the first Asian to be made a Justice of the Peace by Governor Butterworth. He was skillful at settling feuds among the Chinese and was accustomed to bear the expenses of burying poor Chinese. In 1844, he contributed $5,000 to the construction of the Tan Tock Seng Hospital on top of Pearl's Hill. The hospital was later shifted to Tan Tock Seng Road because the building at Pearl's Hill was too small to cater to enough patients and it was too old. Tan also contributed money to the construction of the Taoist Thian Hock Keng Temple at Telok Ayer in 1842, the place of worship for the settlers from the Fujian province of China.
Tan Tock Seng died in 1850 at the age of 52, after catching an unknown disease. He left his wife Lee Seo Neo, who owned a large coconut estate in Geylang. Like him, she was unstinting in her support of the hospital and paid for a female ward. He also left behind three daughters, who were each bequeathed $36,000 in cash. One of his daughters married Lee Cheng Tee, at one time Chief Partner of Cheng-Tee Watt-Seng & Co., shipowners. His three sons (Tan Kim Ching, Tan Teck Guan and Tan Swee Lim) inherited his land parcels and the eldest, Tan Kim Ching, took over the duty of taking care of the hospital. Tan's grandson, Tan Chay Yan, was a well-known philanthropist and merchant in Malaya.
References

^ One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore
External links

Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Genealogy of Tan Tock Seng
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Categories: 1798 births | 1850 deaths | Singaporean people of Chinese descent | Singaporean people of Hokkien descent | Singaporean businesspeople | Singaporean philanthropists

Thursday, August 25, 2011

The New Paper
21 March 2010
S’pore’s oldest grave?

The grave of Fang Shan, which dates
back to 1833.
Story by BRYNA SIM
Photos by CHOO CHWEE HUA, BRYNA SIM

TUCKED away in Bukit Brown Chinese Cemetery off Kheam Hock Road, is a long-forgotten grave with a 60cm-high granite headstone. Two empty drink cans that held joss sticks indicate that someone still remembers the final resting place of a man known as Fang Shan. It is on a small hill, amid creeper plants and weeds, one of about a hundred graves in the western section of the cemetery. The red Chinese characters on the weather-worn headstone says Fang Shan died in 1833, some 14 years after Sir Stamford Raffles first landed in Singapore. Historians and history buffs believe this may be the oldest grave in Singapore.

According to the National Archives of Singapore, which keeps burial records, the oldest grave here dates back to 2 Apr 1865, and was at the Bukit Timah Road Old Cemetery, also known as the Kampong Java Cemetery. The National Environment Agency said it was exhumed, together with the other 8,461 graves in the cemetery and the remains reburied at Choa Chu Kang Christian Cemetery in 1970.

There is one other contender for the oldest grave title. In 2006, The Straits Times reported that a tomb dating back to 1842 had been found near the current National University of Singapore law school campus. It contained the remains of Chinese settler Qiu Zheng Zhi. It was then believed to be the "oldest in situ Chinese tomb in Singapore", meaning that it remained at the site where it was first built.

Now, cemetery explorer Raymond Goh, 46, believes the title should go to the grave of Fang Shan. Mr Goh, who stumbled upon the grave in late 2008, said: "Although the Fang tomb is not the oldest in situ tomb here, its dating back to 1833 trumps the 1842 record".
Cemetery explorer Raymond Goh posing by a tomb.
Preserve past

Mr Goh, a pharmacist by day, spends much of his free time researching tombs and cemeteries. The interest began in 2006 after he felt the importance of "preserving the past". He has since found more than 10 graves of Singapore's pioneers. (See infographic.)

Fang Shan's grave is looked after by the Fang Shee Association, a local clan association for those with the surname Fang. According to association secretary Akita Chua, 67, there are no known living descendants of Fang Shan. On the left side of the headstone, it says that the tomb was relocated in 1941. Mr Goh believes that the original location of the grave was at Heng Shan Teng, a cemetery for the Hokkien community around Silat Road in Bukit Merah. However, the association says the grave was moved from a cemetery around the Fort Canning area.

Mr Chua said that since 1962, clan members have been paying their respects to Fang Shan and
other ancestors annually during the Qing Ming festival. "In the past, we used to have to charter a bus during Qing Ming. But fewer than 10 people go these days."

The inscriptions on the tomb don't mention his hometown or year of birth, but state he had a son called Fang Li Eng. Mr Chua said Fang Shan, a government official in China, moved here to be a businessman.

His grave is among many other historically significant ones in the Bukit Brown cemetery, which was officially opened on 1 Jan 1922. It stretches across more than 80 hectares and there are about 80,000 graves there now. They were unaffected by the 800 or so exhumations carried out by the Public Works Department in 1965 and 1993.

For now, they remain largely untouched by development. Over the next few weeks, they may get some visitors, who come by to perform the annual Qing Ming rites for their ancestors. After that, all will be quiet again.
'Protect cemetery as it's a historic gem'
PRESERVE the Bukit Brown Chinese Cemetery, say local heritage enthusiasts and cemetery conservationists. This comes after fears that graves at the cemetery would be affected by the construction of the nearby Bukit Brown MRT station at Jalan Mashor. The station is due to be completed this year. A Land Transport Authority spokesman has said that Circle Line work would not affect "any of the graves", although there is some work for the station going on around the cemetery.

An Urban Redevelopment Authority spokesman said that while there are "longer-term plans to develop the Bukit Brown cemetery", including the reserve area next to the cemetery for residential uses, there are no plans to redevelop the place at present. As its fate is hanging in the balance, individuals and groups have expressed the desire for the cemetery to be protected and enhanced permanently.

Dilemma

Dr Kevin Tan, president of the Singapore Heritage Society, hopes it will not end up like the
Bidadari Cemetery. The entire Bidadari cemetery grounds were cleared in January 2006, and while it was initially planned to be a residential estate, the area is now used for recreational and leisure purposes.

Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore's Department of History, Mr Kwa Chong Guan, said that there is a constant "dilemma between land use needs and preservation". However, he thinks that the Bukit Brown cemetery has a valid case for preservation. "It's a repository for social memories and a green space. I believe these reasons outweigh urban planning needs," he said.

Mr Kwa is also currently chairman of the National Archives and was formerly the director of the Oral History Centre and the National Museum. He and Dr Ho Hua Chew, chairman of the Nature Society's conservation committee, feel that the cemetery is rich in flora and fauna and is a good exercise location. "If you don't have the traditional 'pantang' (superstitious) inhibitions, the roads in the cemetery are pleasant for strolling and watching birds and butterflies," said Dr Ho.

During The New Paper's visits there, people could be seen walking their dogs, jogging and even taking driving lessons around the cemetery grounds. Dr Ho said that at least 84 species of birds have made the cemetery their home, which makes "the ecological importance of this place immense".

The Singapore Polo Club also uses designated trails at the cemetery for their members to ride their horses. This was permitted by the then Ministry of the Environment in the 1980s. According to the NEA, which now oversees this partnership, this activity does not adversely affect the cemetery grounds as it does not encroach into areas where there are graves.

The presence of many graves of Singapore pioneers also explain why many are so eager for it to be preserved. Dr Tan called the cemetery a "historic gem", where "people can go to learn lessons about the past".
Others such as Miss Tan Beng Luan, who worked at the National Archives for 11 years in its

Oral History Centre, also felt that the graves could teach people about Chinese customs and
culture. "The graves have different styles across the decades, and some show a mixture of culture and religion: Chinese-style graves have Christian crosses on them," she said.

Miss Tan, the principal of Creative O Preschoolers' Bay, considers the cemetery an "interesting open-aired museum". She, Dr Tan, Mr Kwa and Dr Ho are confident that enhancements to the cemetery can come in a variety of ways. Dr Tan felt that proper documentation of the cemetery could be done along with informative booklets or pamphlets, so as to "flesh out" the pioneers' stories. Miss Tan and Mr Kwa also think that signposts to certain prominent graves, as well as maps of the area would help visitors to navigate. Dr Ho even felt that the place could be designated as a cemetery-cum-park.

The Preservation of Monuments Board, which comes under the National Heritage Board, has said that it is possible for the latter "to commemorate the contributions of significant individuals and pioneers through heritage markers and memorials".
(Taken from The New Paper, 23 March 2010)

published on Aug 19 2009 - 14:29
#1: Oldest skyscraper
Depends who you’re talking to. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary helpfully describes a skyscraper as ‘a very tall building’; in 1939, our first very tall building, The Cathay, was only eight floors high. In 2006, it was sexed up into a modern glass-and-metal beast but retained its original art-deco façade. Our oldest un-renovated skyscraper is technically the old block of the Bank of China Building, built in 1954 with a whopping 18 floors (the new block has 36).

Where: The Cathay (2 Handy Road) & Bank of China Building (4 Battery Road)

#2: Oldest man-made Structure
A wooden bridge marks what’s left of Parit Singapura, the ‘Moat of Singapore’. The moat was mentioned in The Malay Annals (a literary work that traces the origins and descent of Malay royalty), and its existence corroborated by a British map of 1825, which shows along modern Stamford Road an ‘earthen rampart…on the north side of this rampart was a stream’.

Where: Wooden bridge next to Raffles House (Fort Canning Park)

#3: Oldest mall
Founded in 1932, C.K. Tang is the oldest surviving retail business and development in Singapore, although the original establishment was demolished in 1975 to construct the Dynasty Hotel (now the Singapore Marriott Hotel) and shopping complex in its place. It’s hard to imagine this household name began with enterprising hawker Tang Choon Kheng from Swatow, China – popularly known as ‘Curio King’ – peddling his embroidered linen wares all over Singapore. Tang built his business on the humble principles of honesty and integrity.

Where: Tangs (310 & 320 Orchard Road)

C.K. Tang

#4: Oldest example of our State motto
When you enter Victoria Theatre, on the left-hand stairwell landing, our state motto – otherwise known as Majulah Singapura (or ‘Onward Singapore’) – shines through the dust. Zubir Said (who also wrote songs for the 1958 Malay film Blood of Pontianak) used these words as a starting point to compose an anthem that would celebrate Singapore’s conferred city status by King George VI and replace ‘God Save the Queen’.

Where: Victoria Theatre (9 Empress Place)

#5: Oldest Chinese Chamber of Commerce in South-East Asia
The attempt to fuse architectural details like the red colonnades and stone lions with a regular Western edifice renders this building a Far Eastern confusion. However, pay attention to the dragon mural flanking the gateway – the first replica porcelain nine-dragon wall in Singapore. While the original two-storey building was replaced in 1963, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry stands as a timeless guardian of Chinese customs and business values. During one visit, it even played host to a Sikh wedding ceremony.

Where: Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (47 Hill Street; MRT: City Hall)

#6: Oldest painted façade
The faded Peranakan shophouse at 66 Spottiswoode Park is a quaint anomaly in a row of better-restored neighbours. Though in lacklustre condition, its façade is the oldest surviving one and an original (still intact) to boot – a rarity in these parts. This gem in the rough was only discovered last year when the coat of whitewash that was stupidly painted over it (for reasons unknown) began to chip, hence its excellent preservation. Not much is known about the origin of this piece of history, apart from the fact that it dates back to approximately the 1880s. But the images of three magpies in terracotta red and blue, symbolising love, joy and good fortune, are truly a sight and unexpected treasure to behold.

Where: 66 Spottiswoode Park (MRT: Outram Park)

National Museum of Singapore

#7: Oldest kramat
Bite your tongue and swallow your Kermit jokes – a kramat is a holy Islamic tomb (the word is derived from ‘keramat’, which denotes a kind of miracle-working ability) of a holy Islamic saint. The oldest kramat belongs to Radin Ayu Mas, which translates as the Princess of Golden Beauty. Buried at the foot of Mount Faber, the legend tells the sad story of the brother of a sultan and his marriage to a common palace dancer. When the Sultan finds out, he sets Pangeran’s house on fire in his absence. The mother perishes in the flames, but a child named Radin Mas is rescued. The little princess and her father leave Java for Singapore only to be torn apart once again – in the final chapter of the tragedy, Radin Mas dies in her father’s arms after being accidentally stabbed with a kris (a dagger indigenous to Indonesia) by an evil Tengku (prince).

Where: Mount Faber Road (Tel: 6270 8855 MRT: HarbourFront)

#8: Oldest theatre
While most would assume the Yangtze Theatre – known for its racy and exotic XXX-rated movies – to be the oldest, the Capitol Theatre was erected way before the Yangtze hit puberty (for the record, it was opened in 1977). Built in 1929, the Capitol Theatre, a neo-classical curio, was previously a theatre for rambunctious cabaret performances until the Shaw Brothers turned it into its flagship cinema in 1946. Besides catering to the appetites of cinemagoers, there was also the Capitol Restaurant located in the Blue Room – not a hall for sexual content, but a beautiful function room with high ceilings and a zodiac mosaic that decorated the interior of its dome. The cinema, with its 1,686 seats, gave patrons the choice of gallery, stalls and circle seats. Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s list of heritage buildings, the cinema lowered its curtains in 1998 after screening the futuristic thriller Soldier, which starred Kurt Russell.

Where: Junction of North Bridge Road and Stamford Road (MRT: City Hall)

#9: Oldest museum
In colonial days, the National Museum of Singapore was known as the Raffles Library and Museum, a repository for prized zoological, ethnographical and archaeological collections (or conquests) of South-East Asia, most of which have been forwarded on to NUS and other museums abroad. Today, the building, redeveloped at a cost of $132.6 million, includes a stunning glass-clad extension that pays tribute to the island’s nation-building history without neglecting modern art and culture. Do look out for one of its oldest artefacts, the Singapore Stone (currently on display at the Singapore History Gallery). This originally stood as part of a larger boulder at the entrance of the Singapore River and bears the earliest inscription (a variant of an old Sumatran script) found here – a significant relic of this island’s pre-colonial history, which has been variously dated from the 10th to 14th centuries.

Where: National Museum of Singapore (93 Stamford Road)

Capitol Theatre

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Save Our Chinese HeritageMenushare0
The story of the oldest Chinese tombs in Singapore
by kentneo July 28, 2006
Text by Raymond Goh, 24 Sept 2006

The Tomb of Qiu Zheng Zhi (é‚±æ £ç›´) was built in 1842 (é“å…‰å£¬å¯…). He comes from the village of Hai Teng Province Sin Aun æµ·æ¾„åŽ¿æ–°å®‰
He have 4 sons, 3 daughters and one grandson listed.

One of his sons listed in the tombstone Khoo Qin Zhan (é‚±ç›éœ‘) donated 5 Dollars in 1854 to rebuilt the Fuk Tak Chi (ç¦å¾·ç¥ ), which is a museum now in Telok Ayer Street.
In 1861, he also donated 12 Dollars for the Chui Eng Public School (èƒè‹±ä¹¦é™¢). Now the place is converted to a Thai Restaurant (Bamboo Court). (Source: Singapore Chinese Epigraphs Collections)

Please see the plaque found in Fuk Tak Chi regarding the donation by Khoo. The plaque was erected in 1854 to commenorate the renovation of Fuk Tek Chi temple. One plaque praises the powers of the Tai Pak Gong Diety. The other plaque list the donors to the renovation. Khoo’s name was on one of the plaques. There was also a plaque erected in 1886 which was a testimony to the dispute between the Hakka Chinese and the Cantonese Chinese.

Now Haizheng Province Sin Aun already was a properous place since the Tang Dynasty Period.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, many clansmen from Sin Aun migrated to Taiwan, Dutch Batavia (now Jakarta) and Malacca with the repeal of the ban on maritime trade by the Manchu government. Since the rise of British power in the Far East, Siam, Burma (Myanmar), Singapore, Malacca, Kedah and Penang had been their favourite choices. Among these places, Penang saw the most Khoo immigrants in the 19th century.

(see migration chart from Khoo Kongsi website)

The Khoos of Khoo Kongsi (ä¸˜å…¬ç¥ ) from Penang also come from this village æ–°å®‰ (Sin Aun).

The early pioneers of Singapore that also come from æ–°åžµ is Khoo Cheng Tiong (é‚±æ £å¿ or é‚±ç¬ƒä¿¡). He was born in 1820 and come to singapore in 1840. He might be a relative or contempatory of é‚±æ £ç›´, as he and his brothers first two characters are é‚±æ £.

Khoo Cheng Tiong (é‚±æ £å¿ ) is a famous Singapore rice merchant and was the president of Thong Chia Medial Institution. His 3rd brother Khoo Cheng Cheok é‚±æ £æœ even has a street Cheng Cheok Street (at Tanjong Pagar previously) named after him.

Khoo Cheng Tiong is also the father of Khoo Siok Guan (é‚±è½å› ), the famous scholar poet in Singapore, who started the Tian Nan Press in 1898, was an editor of Sin Chew Jit Poh and died in 1941

The other tomb which is of a couple, the wife of of an Eurasian. Their daughter is called “Holland”.
The daughter must have married a brother of the Khoo family or very close relative because their descandents share a common name for the first 2 characters:
é‚±ç›. That is why they can be buried at the same area.

————————
Please share your corrections/amendment, additions to this tomb research.

Raymond Goh

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BOTANICA GARDEN HISTORY

Singapore Botanic Gardens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Singapore Botanic Gardens logo, Cyrtostachys palm

Symphony Lake at the Singapore Botanic Gardens

Music was played at this gazebo, known as the Bandstand, in the Singapore Botanic Gardens in the 1930s

Replica of the ancient Lepidodendrons or giant clubmosses at the Evolution Garden

One of the newer attractions is the Saraca Stream in the Tanglin Core area

The lush lawns of Palm Valley are a popular spot for picnics and outdoor concerts

Office Building (Botany Hall 1) at the redeveloped Tanglin Core

Phalaenopsis philippinensis orchid growing in a mist house

A waterfall in the Ginger Gardens

Singapore's first "green roof" at the Green Pavilion

Orchids in the National Orchid Garden
The Singapore Botanic Gardens (Chinese: 新加坡植物园; Malay: Taman Botanik Singapura or Kebun Botani Singapura) is a 74-hectare[1] (183-acre) botanical garden in Singapore. It is half the size of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew or around one-fifth the size of Central Park in New York. It is the only botanic garden in the world that opens from 5 a.m. to 12 midnight every single day of the year, and does not charge an admission fee, except for the National Orchid Garden. The garden is bordered by Holland Road and Napier Road to the south, Cluny Road to the east, Tyersall Avenue and Cluny Park Road to the west and Bukit Timah Road to the North. The linear distance between the northern and southern ends is around 2.5 km (1.5 miles).
Contents
1 History
2 Attractions
2.1 National Orchid Garden
2.2 Rainforest
2.3 Evolution Garden
2.4 Ginger Garden
2.5 Botany Centre and Tanglin Gate
2.6 Jacob Ballas Children's Garden
2.7 Other attractions
3 Future developments
4 Gallery
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
[edit]History

The first "Botanical and Experimental Garden" in Singapore was established in 1822 on Government Hill at Fort Canning by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore and a keen naturalist. The Garden's main task was to evaluate for cultivation crops which were of potential economic importance, including those yielding fruits, vegetables, spices and other raw materials. This first Garden closed in 1829.
It was not until 30 years later that the present Singapore Botanic Gardens began in 1859, when the Agri Horticultural Society was granted 32 hectares of land in Tanglin by the colonial government, which had obtained it from the merchant Hoo Ah Kay, known as Whampoa, in exchange for land at Boat Quay.
Laurence Niven was hired as superintendent and landscape designer to turn what were essentially overgrown plantations and a tangle of virgin rainforest into a public park. The layout of the Gardens as it is today is largely based on Niven's design. The Agri Horticultural Society, however, ran out of funds and, in 1874, the colonial government took over the management of the Gardens.
The first rubber seedlings came to the gardens from Kew in 1877. A naturalist, Henry Nicholas Ridley, or Mad Ridley as he was known, became director of the gardens in 1888 and spearheaded rubber cultivation. Successful in his experiments with rubber planting, Ridley convinced planters across Malaya to adopt his methods. The results were astounding; Malaya became the world's number one producer and exporter of natural rubber.[2]
Another achievement was the pioneering of orchid hybridisation by Professor Eric Holttum, director of the Gardens from 1925 to 1949. His techniques led to Singapore being one of the world's top centres of commercial orchid growing. Today it also has the largest collection of tropical plant specimens.
During the Japanese occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945, Hidezo Tanakadate (田中館秀三), a professor of geology from Tohoku Imperial University, took over control of the Singapore Botanic Gardens and the Raffles Museum. At the beginning of the occupation, he ensured that no looting occurred in the Gardens and the Museum. Both institutions continued to function as scientific institutions. Holttum and Edred John Henry Corner were interned in the Gardens and instructed to continue their horticultural work. The Gardens was also renamed as Shōnan Botanic Gardens (昭南植物園). Later that year, Dr. Kwan Koriba (郡場寛), a retired professor of botany from the Imperial University of Tokyo, arrived as Director of the Gardens, a post he held until the end of the war.
After the war, the Gardens was handed back to the control of the British. Murray Ross Henderson, curator of the Herbarium before the war, succeeded Holttum as director from 1949 to 1954. Eventually the Gardens played an important role during the "greening Singapore" campaign and Garden City campaign during the early independence years.
[edit]Attractions

Chopin monument, just south of Symphony Lake
[edit]National Orchid Garden
The National Orchid Garden is the main attraction within the Botanic Gardens. Located on the mid-western side of the Garden, the hilly three-hectare site has a collection of more than 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids.
Within the Orchid Garden there are a number of attractions such as the following:
Burkill Hall and the VIP Orchid Garden: Burkill Hall is a colonial plantation bungalow built in 1886. It used to be the director's house and was named in honour of the only father and son pair to hold the post of Director of Singapore Botanic Gardens, Isaac and Humphrey Burkill. The ground level serves as an exhibition area, showcasing information on the different hybrids named after VIPs who have visited the garden.
At the back of Burkill Hall is the VIP Orchid Garden with hybrids of some of the VIP orchids on display. Notable ones include Dendrobium Margaret Thatcher, Renantanda Akihito, Dendrobium Masako Kotaishi Hidenka, Dendrobium Elizabeth and Vanda Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Orchidarium: A haven for serious orchids enthusiasts, the Orchidarium houses natural species in a tropical setting.
Tan Hoon Siang Misthouse: Tan Hoon Siang was a descendant of Tan Tock Seng, who was a philanthropist and founder of the Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The misthouse contains a colourful collection of different hybrids. It also has a small collection of fragrant orchids like Vanda Mimi Plamer.
Lady Yuen-Peng McNeice Bromeliad House: Named in honour of its sponsor, the Bromeliad House showcases plants from the Bromeliaceae family, which includes the pineapple. The unique collection of bromeliads on display was acquired from Shelldance Nursery in the United States in 1994.
Coolhouse: The Coolhouse tries to recreate the environment of a tropical highland forest and showcases orchids that are normally only found in the tropical highland areas.
[edit]Rainforest
The Singapore Botanic Gardens has a small tropical rainforest of around six hectares in size, which is older than the gardens itself. The rainforest and its bigger cousin at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve are located within the Singapore's city limits. Singapore is one of the only two major cities with a tropical rainforest within its city limits, the other being Tijuca Forest in Rio de Janeiro.
[edit]Evolution Garden
The 9.9-hectare (3.7-acre) Evolution Garden is located within the Central Core area of the Gardens. It tells the evolutionary story of plant life on Earth throughout the ages.
[edit]Ginger Garden
Located next to the National Orchid Garden, this one-hectare garden brings together members of the Zingiberaceae family. The garden houses a restaurant called Halia Restaurant. There is also a drop-off point along Tyersall Avenue as well as a waterfall. The garden was officially opened in 2003 and it took over the spot vacated by the previous Orchid Enclosure.
[edit]Botany Centre and Tanglin Gate
The reopened Tanglin Gate has been given a new look. Gone is the old cast iron gate; it now sports a more modern silver colour with a leaf motif as its main design.
The two new blocks of offices and classroom in the upgraded Tanglin Core area are known as the Botany Centre. They house the:
Library of Botany and Horticulture (including the Public Reference Centre);
the Singapore Herbarium;
Orchid Breeding and Micropagation; and
education outreach and workshop classrooms.
The corridors and walkways of the Botany Centre are covered by leaf imprints. There are also a number of wooden carvings scattered around the grounds, and fern-covered vertical walls.
The Green Pavilion is the first "green roof" in Singapore. Weed- and grass-like plants fully cover the pitched roof. It houses the visitor services desk as well as a food court, Inside Green, in its basement.
The offices of former directors, namely Holttum Hall (after Eric Holttum, Director of the Gardens from 1925 to 1949) and Ridley Hall (after Henry Nicholas Ridley, first director of Gardens from 1888 to 1911) were preserved and now serve as the Singapore Botanic Gardens' Directorate and Visitor Management and Operations offices.
[edit]Jacob Ballas Children's Garden
The Children's Garden was named after its main donor Jacob Ballas, a Jewish-Singaporean philanthropist who died in 2004.
Built at a cost of S$7 million (of which $99 million was donated by the Jacob Ballas Trust and sponsors), it is located at the quieter northern end of the Botanic Gardens. It has its own visitor centre with a café. It opened on Children's Day, 1 October 2007. The National Parks Board claims it is Asia's first children's garden. There are play areas like the Water Play area, a small playground, tree-houses with slides, and a maze. There are also interactive exhibits that teach how photosynthesis takes place, and a mini-garden that showcases how plants may be used to make dyes and beverages, or as herbs.
At the Children's Garden Visitor Centre there is a sculpture by the Israeli artist Zodok Ben-David. Named Mystree, it was commissioned by the Yad Vashem museum in 2010. From a distance, the sculpture looks like a tree but a closer inspection reveals 500 human figures.
Although it is part of the Botanic Garden, the Children's Garden has its own entrance along Bukit Timah Road.
[edit]Other attractions
Tropical plants line the bank of the Saraca Stream as it meanders its way down a small hill. The main highlights of the stream walk are the Yellow Saraca trees (Saraca cauliflora) and Red Saraca (Saraca declinata). Other attractions include the Palm Valley, Bandstand area, Sun Garden and Sundial Garden.
The Botanic Gardens has three lakes, namely Symphony Lake, Eco-Lake and Swan Lake. The Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage on Symphony Lake occasionally has free concerts on weekends. Notable performers include the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Singapore Chinese Orchestra. On 10 October 2008,[3] a statue of the composer Frédéric Chopin was unveiled just south of Symphony Lake.
The headquarters of the National Parks Board is located within the grounds of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Eateries within the garden include Au Jardin Les Amis, a French fine-dining restaurant in a colonial bungalow; Café Les Amis, a café at the Visitor Centre; and Halia Restaurant, a restaurant at the Ginger Garden. There are also gift shops for visitors.
Singapore's national agency in biodiversity-related issues, the National Biodiversity Centre, is also located within the grounds of the gardens.
[edit]Future developments

Botanic Gardens MRT Station will be located at the northwestern part of the Bukit Timah Core area of the Gardens. The station is part of the Circle Line, and is due to open in 2010. It will be an interchange station for the proposed Downtown Line's Bukit Timah Section. With the opening of the station, getting to the Gardens using public transportation will be far more convenient.
During the launch of the Children's Garden, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Parks Board mentioned that the Singapore Botanic Gardens will be expanded to include another 11 hectares of land. The land was previously occupied by the Singapore Management University. The Board also revealed that it would spend some $30 million to build five thematic gardens on the newly acquired land. The first garden will be the Healing Garden, expected to open by the first half of 2010. The other four will be the Fragrant Garden, Terrace Garden, Foliage Valley and Ethnobotany Garden. However, if past projects are any indication, these projects may not open on time. For example, the Botany Centre and Tanglin Redevelopment was supposed to open by 2005 but did not open till 2006. The Children's Garden was supposed to be completed by 2006 but did not open till October 2007.

Eco-lake at the Bukit Timah Core of the Singapore Botanic Gardens
[edit]Gallery

The Tembusu tree (Faraea fragrans) featured on the reverse of the Singaporean five-dollar bill at Lawn E, Singapore Botanic Gardens

Dendrobium Margaret Thatcher

The Yuen-Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection

Dendrobium Bae Yong Jun, an orchid cultivar named after the South Korean actor

Vanda Miss Joaquim, the national flower of Singapore

Cygnus atratus in the Eco-Lake

The Sun Garden (formerly known as the Sun Rockery)

Flight of Swans sculpture installed in May 2006 at Swan Lake

The Botany Centre Blocks, with a view of Calophyllum inophyllum and one of the wooden sculptures dotted around the complex.

Orchids

Ginger

[edit]See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Singapore Botanic Gardens
List of botanical gardens
List of parks in Singapore
Penang Botanic Gardens, a botanic garden in Penang, Malaysia with a similar history.
Tourism in Singapore
[edit]References

^ "Singapore Botanic Gardens: Upcoming Attractions". Singapore Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
^ Cornelius-Takahama, Vernon (29 March 2001), Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley, Singapore: National Library Board Singapore
^ The Unveiling Ceremony of a Monument to Frederic Chopin & Inaugural Concert by NAFA Orchestra, The Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Singapore, 5 October 2008, retrieved 4 June 2010
National Heritage Board (2002), Singapore's 100 Historic Places, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3
Singapore Botanic Gardens (1989), "Visions of Delight - The Singapore Botanic Gardens through the ages", by Bonnie Tinsley, Tien Wah Press, Singapore, ISBN 9971-88-2503-5
[edit]External links

Singapore Botanic Gardens - Official site
Uniquely Singapore website
National Parks Board website
Virtual Reality preview of the Singapore Botanic Gardens
National Biodiversity Centre, Singapore
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Categories: 1859 establishments | Botanical gardens in Singapore | Parks in Singapore | Tanglin | Visitor attractions in Singapore