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10 Fun Trivia on Singapore History

In the today newspaper published umm… Today, you can read about some interesting snippets of information on various locations in Singapore.

1. Hope of a new life

Long before Chijmes was a cool hangout with bars and restaurants, it was a safe haven for unwanted children. The Gate of Hope, located within the premises, was the dropoff point for many abandoned babies. The nuns made it a point not to watch the gate so that those who left the babies would remain anonymous. This gate was also the origin of the Home for Abandoned Babies.

Veron says: very surprising! I wonder if any of the abandoned babies were borne by the nuns themselves. Would make it a point to locate this gate during my next visit to chijmes.

2. A river runs through it

Along Bishan St 14 is a canal that used to be called Say Kai Hor (Dead Chicken River) in Cantonese. Village folk discarded dead animals including chickens, dogs and even pigs into the river.

Now it’s lined with trees and has a jogging and cycling track beside it, linking Bishan Park and Potong Pasir, and the only animals you see are either the odd stray crow or pet dog.

3. Days and nights of being wild

Chinatown was not always a touristy place with great food and cheap souvenirs. In 1887, it was known as Bu Ye Tian (Place of Nightless Days) due to the countless brothels as well as opium and gambling dens.

4. Ford minor

Drop by Upper Bukit Timah Road for a bit of local history. The Old Ford Factory, now converted into a museum, holds many secrets from World War II years, and houses the room where Singapore was surrendered to the Japanese. One highlight of the museum is the garden dedicated to food crops grown during the Japanese Occupation, including locally-grown rice.

5. Pavilion town

Take a break at Bishan, which was named after Kampong San Teng, or Pi Shan Ting, meaning “pavilions on the green”. This name influenced the design of the town and its colourful roofs.

6. Sport the similarities

You could be living like a sports star. Four point blocks in the centre of Toa Payoh were used as the games village to accommodate the participants during the 7th South East Asia Peninsula (SEAP) Games held in September 1973, while the newly-completed library was used to house the Games’ Secretariat.

A two-storey building with shops and a restaurant was converted to dining and social halls. After the games, the four blocks consisting of 384 units of fully-furnished 4-room flats were sold together with the furniture to flat buyers.

7. A good flow of luck

Want some extra luck? Drop by Telok Blangah before heading to the lottery. Crowds of motorists gather at the foot of Telok Blangah Hill Park each weekend to wash their cars with water flowing from a stream with concrete banks there. Many believe washing their cars with the water brings them good fortune – besides, it costs them nothing. One car-owner won the 4D lottery after washing his car there.

Veron says: with all due respect, isn’t this the same place where huang na‘s body was found?

8. Star gazing

Residents in one “VIP block” are probably less prone to being star-struck than the ordinary Singaporean. Visitors to flats in Block 81 Toa Payoh Lorong 4 have included Philippines President Gloria Arroyo, former Indian President K R Narayanan and former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, to name just a few.

The block was chosen along with several others as they were the tallest ones built then. From the open terraces on the 25th storey, the VIPs can view all of Toa Payoh, as well as the rest of Singapore.

9. Bridging the age gap

Singapore’s oldest bridge in use is so old the signs in front of it forbid cattle and horses from crossing. Constructed in 1869, Cavenagh Bridge has switched from bearing cargo and coolies to allowing people to cross safely to and from the concert halls, museums and offices on the banks of the river.

Veron says: just a couple weeks back when I went to the Asian Civilisations Museum I saw the “no cattle” sign right in front of the cavenagh bridge. It did set me wondering!

10. Secret gardens

The first botanical gardens were at Fort Canning Hill. They were opened in 1822, closed in 1829, reopened in 1836 and finally abandoned in 1846.

Tags: history, trivia

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About the Editor

Veron Ang is the Founder and Chief Editor of Sparklette, a Singapore restaurants guide, lifestyle and travel blog. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and runs a web design firm at Sparklette Studio. To get in touch, head on over to the contact page or follow @Sparklette and @VeronSG on Twitter.

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chup

1. Hope of a new life >>
was there years ago on a culture trip and was told about the story also.
There is a particular year (year of dragon) where alot of baby girls is being abandon because family normally wanna have dragon boy. if i’m not wrong, it the year where our PM was born..
and also the legend of the secret camber under the church, did the article talk about it? =D
Reply
Posted June 23, 2006 at 4:16 pm
Veron
3439 comments

That culture trip you went on, was it a Singapore Walk?
I thought baby girls would be abandoned only in China! We didn’t have the one-child policy, did we? Or was it the “Stick to Two” policy back then? Otherwise why couldn’t those people just keep their daughters?
About the so-called secret chamber, I heard about one that’s in Europe. It connects a nunnery to a monastery, where many years later skeletons of baby humans were found.
Reply
Posted June 23, 2006 at 4:22 pm
chup

yah i think it singapore walk.
been thru 3-4 of such trip b4, cant remember..
(sch trip + amry trip etc..)
during that time, times isn’t good. post war period and those saga etc. probably they think the baby girl will have better chance of survial in church etc.
u are right about the secret chamber that connect a nunnery to a monastery (but that not my question here -_-) Anyway, do u knwo why skeletons of baby were found? (hint: u wun like the ans….)
Reply
Posted June 23, 2006 at 4:47 pm
chup

oh yah, i think the policy was “2 is enough” campagin. Maybe that explain why u n me both have 1 slibing only?
and also why u have the purple border around ur comment ah? i wan also leh
i wan red, u go program for me!
Reply
Posted June 23, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Veron
3439 comments

I have always wanted to go on one of the Singapore Walks (but am too cheap to pay $18). Are you sure it’s the same one we’re talking about?
As for the baby skeletons, obviously they came from the offspring of those nuns and monks didn’t they?
I think the “Stick to Two” baby policy came about only during/after the post-independence baby boom period, and has nothing to do with those abandoned baby girls.
Reply
Posted June 23, 2006 at 4:59 pm
chup

i attend all the tour for free =D
wahhahahaa
yah there are off spring of the monks.. but technically they are not allow to do so right? but anyway skip this discussion else u get mad again.
i want my red border *_*
Reply
Posted June 23, 2006 at 5:03 pm
chup

ermm
actually i dun think you “stick to 2″ or my “2 is enough” policy had anything to do with the abandoned girl at all
Singapore adopt the policy in a soft method, meaning instead of punish for the 3rd baby (like china) they mainly just take away the incentive.
abandoned girl issue only happen in the dragon year, where Chinese believe having a dragon baby boy will bless the family and thus contribute in the sudden baby boom. when a ger is born, u know what happen la..
as a matter of fact… our PM is born is the lunar year of dragon, Jan 15th, and this is not a coincidence lor
Reply
Posted June 23, 2006 at 5:11 pm
chup

correction -_-
abandoned baby too place every year…
just that during the dragon year there is a boom in abandoned baby ger…
Reply
Posted June 23, 2006 at 5:12 pm
Lain
18 comments

I think you’d make a good tour guide, honestly.
Reply
Posted June 25, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Veron
3439 comments

Good to have another career option!
Reply
Posted June 25, 2006 at 3:43 pm
py
183 comments

Hey, I have wrote a post with a photo of the Gate of Hope, you might have passed by this Gate of Hope when you were last at CHIJMES. Here’s the post.
Reply
Posted June 25, 2006 at 10:34 pm
Veron
3439 comments

py, I have already linked the Gate of Hope to the entry you posted at yesterday.sg. Very informative!
Reply
Posted June 25, 2006 at 11:04 pm
SL
1 comment

Love the layout of your blog and the fact that you have something different to offer to your readers. Hope you find success in whatever you do. :)
Reply
Posted July 1, 2006 at 10:42 am
Veron
3439 comments

Thanks SL, same to you!
Reply
Posted July 1, 2006 at 12:00 pm
ahtokie
1 comment

I LOVE YOU WEBBY! so beautiful!
Reply
Posted August 29, 2007 at 10:39 pm