Documenting: Serangoon Road
A joint project by Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Youth Achievement Award Young Photographers Network
Serangoon Road
The Serangoon Road area, also known these days as ‘Little India’, is rich in architecture, culture and history. It is also known as ‘Tekka’ in Hokkien, named after the clumps of bamboo that used to be at the junction of Bukit Timah Road and Serangoon Road, or as ‘K.K.’ an abbreviation for the ‘Kandang Kerbau Maternity Hospital’ that was a major landmark in the area. The area’s main road, Serangoon Road, was one of the earliest roads built in Singapore. It was marked as “The Road Leading Across the Island” in Lieutenant Jackson’s 1828 Plan of Singapore. Farms were set up along the road and they produced crops like sireh (betel nut), padi, vegetables and sugar cane.
Origins
The Race Course was built in the early 1840s at what is now known as Farrer Park. Drawn by the Race Course, some European families moved into the neighbourhood. Dunlop, Cuff, Dickson and Clive Streets bear the names of the families who once used these streets as private access lanes. Later, cattle trading developed into the main economic activity of the area. This drew many Indians settlers who were involved in the cattle and dairy trade as business owners and labourers. Belilios Road and Desker Road were named, respectively, after I. R. Belilios, a cattle trader, and Andre Desker, the owner of the largest slaughter house and butchery. Buffalo Road and Kerbau Road (“kerbau” is Malay for “buffalo”) are also reminder of this history.
After 1940s
By the 1940s, the area had become a mixed-use district with residents from various communities. It was also a place of important spiritual sites for the diverse local population. This is demonstrated by the presence of a wide variety of places of worship, social and educational institutions catering to Buddhists, Christian, Hindus, Muslims, Taoists and also many other ethnic groups. The Kandang Kerbau Market catered to all, while the streets were sites of important community events and festivals. After independence in 1965, urban renewal and public housing schemes added to the landscape of the area, creating new landmarks and new communities of residents. The gazette of a large part of the area as a Conservation Historic District in 1989 provided for stability in the historical streetscape, while investments in public transport have made the Serangoon Road more accessible than ever.
Hindoo Road
In the early 1900s, there was an increasing number of Indian migrants employed by the municipality as daily rated workers. From the 1920s, the colonial government began building terrace houses to accommodate these workers, also known as Municipal Quarters or Coolie Lines. Along Hindoo Road, the Public Works Department provided housing for their employees.
Kampong Kapor Methodist Church
The Kampong Kapor Methodist Church was established in 1894, and was the first Straits Chinese church and the fourth Methodist church in Singapore. In 1930, the church moved to the current building, offering services for people of all ethnicity. The church features a traditional pipe organ, one of six in Singapore.The building at Kampong Kapor was accorded conservation status in 1989.
Former House of Tan Teng Niah
The former house of Tan Teng Niah, built in 1900, is the last surviving Chinese villa in Little India. Tan Teng Niah was a towkay (Chinese businessman) who owned several sweet-making factories that used sugarcane to produce sweets. Behind the house, Tan had a rubber smoke-house for drying rubber which used the by-products of sugarcane as fuel for its furnace.
Little India Arcade
Little India Arcade comprises 26 pre-war shophouses restored in the mid-1990s. The date on the pediments of 1 & 5 Hastings Road indicate that the row of shophouses on Hastings Road was built in 1913. At the corner of 42 Serangoon Road is an old plaque set into a column. The animal head above it is believed to be that of a cow as the area used to be associated with cattle-related trade activities. A second plaque dating from 1828 is located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Campbell Lane and it refers to a burning ground, possibly a cremation ground that once belonged to the Hindoo people of Madras and Singapore.
Documenting: Serangoon Road
The ‘Documenting: Serangoon Road’ project is a collaboration between the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the National Youth Achievement Award Young Photographers Network (NYAA YPN). The purpose of this project is to create an image archive through the eyes of young photographers, on the physical and social evolution of the Serangoon Road area for future generations. A group of students from various backgrounds responded to the call and embarked on a yearlong project to capture the environment, life and diversity in the area. Through this process, it is also hoped that they and the audience of these pictures will have a better understanding of socio-cultural landscape. They were guided by professional photographers – Darren Soh, Chia Aik Beng, Bernice Wong and Philipp Aldrup, who also selected the photographs that are on display for this exhibition.
Each district in Singapore has its own unique history as experienced through the lives of those who live, work and play there. In these districts, there are stories that mark the contributions of individuals, and they have seen many communal milestones through the years. Each area has its iconic and familiar landmarks, spaces and structures. As Singapore evolves, we face the challenge and opportunity to keep our identity in tandem with developing as a nation. We need to manage change, and to find different ways to retain the collective memories that we have of these places. One such way would be through documenting aspects of our city as it is today, as a record for the future.
Photography is an important tool for urban planners, designers and conservationists. It is a form of documenting places over time. It records both the physical and social condition of a particular era. Over time, such pictures also play a role as a visual archive of times past. They contain in them, information and clues as to how life was in the past, and serving as a historic resource for the future.
The late Mr Lai Chee Weng was a Photographer with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) from 1965 – 1994. During his time with the URA, Mr Lai turned his love for photography and travel into a career. Between the 60s to 90s, he walked the streets of Singapore to document our built environment during a time of rapid change. This was part of URA’s work to collect information that would be put to use as a reference for how we should renew and redevelop our city. His photos now serve as a valuable archive of the past that captured the constants and changes over the years. We are pleased to be able to share with you the previously unseen work of Mr Lai, who in his years as a photographer, has won several awards including a distinction from the Royal Photographic Society (RPS).
Serangoon Road by Chua Chang Tai (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Muhammad Dzaky Shabran (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Jazima Atiya Rahman Cook (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Chua Chang Tai (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Chin Peng Cheng (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Chua Chang Tai (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Chua Chang Tai (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Wong Wei Chern (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Chua Chang Tai (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Siti Nurulhuda Bte Rahmat (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Muhammad Dzaky Shabran (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Muhammad Dzaky Shabran (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Wong Wei Chern (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Sellappillai Ram Prabhakar (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Jewelle Woo (Victoria Junior College)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Loke Rui Xing (Republic Polytechnic)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Peng Wei HaoUrban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Derek Chong Kiat (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent))Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Sim Jie Ee (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Khairul Arifin (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Khairul Arifin (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Jewelle Woo (Victoria Junior College)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Jewelle Woo (Victoria Junior College)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by John Marie Mabale Andrada (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by John Marie Mabale Andrada (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by John Marie Mabale Andrada (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Chin Peng Cheng (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Teo Ka Lok (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Loke Rui Xing (Republic Polytechnic)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Muhammad Dzaky Shabran (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Sellappillai Ram Prabhakar (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Sellappillai Ram Prabhakar (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Niegel Troy M. Buenaventura (ITE College East)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Khairul Arifin (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Khairul Arifin (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Derek Chong Kiat (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent))Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Ng Zu Jing (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Derek Chong Kiat (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent))Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Derek Chong Kiat (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent))Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Chua Chang Tai (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Khairul Arifin (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Jewelle Woo (Victoria Junior College)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Ng Zu Jing (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Khairul Arifin (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Tekka Centre
Tekka Centre is a congregation of different cultures and ethnicity. There are shops that sell traditional Indian costumes and inexpensive casual clothes. There are shops that sell Taoist and Buddhist paraphernalia, hardware goods, and tailors who can alter clothes in minutes. The ground and second floor of Tekka Market are shops selling food and goods respectively. On the ground floor is a hawker centre with stalls which sell Indian vegetarian, Chinese vegetarian, North Indian and Malay food. At the wet market, stalls sell fresh seafood, and vegetables that are specially flown in from India.
Serangoon Road by Lim Bei Xuan Fiona (Nanyang Technological University)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Desiree Ng (Nanyang Technological University)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Desiree Ng (Nanyang Technological University)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Ng Zu Jing (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Derek Chong Kiat (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent))Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Lim Bei Xuan Fiona (Nanyang Technological University)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Lim Bei Xuan Fiona (Nanyang Technological University)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Derek Chong Kiat (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent))Urban Redevelopment Authority
Sim Lim Tower
The Sim Lim complex began construction in 1983, and was initially planned as a shopping and office complex. In 1985, the complex was converted into a shopping centre dedicated to electronics and electrical goods.
Serangoon Road by Jazima Atiya Rahman Cook (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Jazima Atiya Rahman Cook (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Jazima Atiya Rahman Cook (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Jazima Atiya Rahman Cook (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Rochor Centre
Rochor Centre was a group of buildings in Singapore built by the Housing and Development Board in the 1977, as part of the urban renewal program. The centre took in residents and businesses that was uprooted across the city during the resettlement period.
Serangoon Road by Wong Wei Chern (ITE College Central)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Tan Ding Wei (Temasek Polytechnic)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Tan Ding Wei (Temasek Polytechnic)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Tan Ding Wei (Temasek Polytechnic)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Tan Ding Wei (Temasek Polytechnic)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Hyra Hazirah Wee Hui Min (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Siti Nurulhuda Bte Rahmat (Ping Yi Secondary School)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Tan Ding Wei (Temasek Polytechnic)Urban Redevelopment Authority
Serangoon Road by Derek Chong Kiat (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent))Urban Redevelopment Authority
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
Learn more about Little India Conservation Area and other conservation areas at URA's My Conservation Portal.
