Site 13: Kim Keat Road

Question(s): Who is this road named after? Can you find out more about that personality? Visit Sweetlands Confectionary (10/12 Kim Keat Lane) and Sing Hon Loong Bakery (4 Whampoa Drive) for examples of the classic bakeries of the past.

The Kim Keat Road of today is named after Mr Chua Kim Keat, a Straits Chinese. Mr Chua, who came to Nanyang in 1886 plied his trait for the Straits Trading Comapny as a salesman trading in tin. 

The road, which was where Mr Chua's residence was located at, was then named in his honour after his untimely death at the age of only 48. It was also recodered that Mr Chua was a prominent socialite who hosted garden parties that had elite Chinese and European guests. Learned Singaporean road users would know that apart from Kim Keat Road on Balestier, there is a similarly-named Kim Keat Avenue along Toa Payoh where the Siong Lim Temple is (within Siong Lim temple sits the deital statue of Confucius, which devotees could pray to for good academic results. Tuck Wai knows it because he has visited the temple for 24 years as of the time of publishing). It was in the past possible to walk from Kim Keat Road to Kim Keat Avenue. However, the building of the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) dissected the two Kim Keats.

 




Along Kim Keat Road lies two bakeries: Sweetlands Confectionery and Sin Hon Loong Bakery.









The former is located at 10 Kim Keat Lane whilst the later is at 4 Whampoa Drive. Although they are a distance apart, these two bakeries produce similarly aromatic and fragrant bread loaves using traditional methods of preparation. Seeing (and tasting) these, we now see the Gardenias and Bonjours in an entirely different Sunshine light.

Site 14: Masjid Hajjah Rahimabi Kebun Limau, 76 Kim Keat Road

Question(s): What is the history of this mosque? Who was the benefactor of the mosque? Can you find out more about Kebun Limau and Rayman Estate?

We wonder if Wayne filled his bottle at the previously mentioned kiosk

Plate at the front of the mosque

Directory of the mosque

A beautiful day at the mosque

The mosque used to be a simple 2-storey building with a prayer hall on the second level which was known as Masjid Kebun Limau. However, due to the growth of the Malay population, there was a need  to expand the surau (place of worship).

This was where Mrs Hajjah Rahimabi Ahmad Angullia made her name. She was the benefactor of the mosque as she donated $1.6 million for the building of the mosque in memory of her daughter who passed away in 1976. Thus the mosque is also renamed as Masjid Hajjah Rahimabi Ahmad Angullia - Kebun Limau in honour of her generosity.  

Rayman Estate used to be around the place where the current Whompa Drive sits. There also used to be a Rayman Avenue and Rayman Estate which was named after Lazarus Rayman, a Legislative Council member of the Straits Settlements. However, all these areas were cleared away to make way for the Central Expressway (CTE).

Jalan Kebun Limau is the only remains of Kebun Limau, which is an area consisting of Balestier Road, Boon Teck Road, Jalan Ampas, Kim Keat Road, Kim Keat Avenue, Jalan Tenteram, Whompa Road, Lorong Limau, Rayman Avenue, Towner Road, St. George's Road and MacNair Road.

Site 15: Novena Church, 300 Thomson Road

Question(s): What is the actual name of Novena Church? Where does the name Novena Church come from? What is the religious order that is running the church?

The Fantastic Four: missing Tuck Wai to his car accident

The actual name of Novena Church is the Church of St. Alphonsus. It is built in recognition of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, which explains its original name.

St Alphonsus (1696 -1787) was an Italian Bishop. He was most well known as the founder of the Redemptorists which was also called the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. This congregation which was set up as a missionary organisation to put into practice the virtues of Jesus Christ to help the neglected people in Italy. We took the photo of the statue of St Alphonsus, which was at the front of the church as you can see from the picture.

This church was one of the few churches built after WWII, which explains the more traditional architecture and design. The distinctive feature of the church lies in the sophisticated windows and the intricate design of the frames. 

The name Novena Church, contrary to popular belief, is not because the church is situated near the area of Novena but because the term “novena” is an act of religious devotion which encompasses the act of prayers and reciting the rosary. The area that we come to know as Novena today was actually instead, named after this Church. The reason for this name becoming even more popular than its original name is because of the usual weekend novena sessions which draws large crowds of people. It is believed that the novena prayers that this church conducts have provided for many miracles and many prayers have been answered, which explains the reason for the large crowd. This can be seen in the pictures that we have taken, where there are many cars and flocks of people leaving the church after the Saturday service.

 And as you could have guessed, this church is a Catholic church, run by the Catholic Archdiocese, and thus takes orders from the Pope, in the Vatican city of Rome. What is very unique about this church, would be that despite the catering of the services to a particular of faith, the Catholics, the novena and mass services would also be attended by people of different religion. 

Conclusion

Jenny:

Balestier has a long history which people will easily forget! When I see a lot of cars passing through here every day, when I see people walking under the teahouse with fast pace, I suddenly come out with a question: does anyone here carefully discover the history behind? The Singapore traditional architectural style --- teahouse, the old shops which are still waiting, the echo from the revolutionary pioneer sun yat-sen,and the water kiosk which show the poor people's lives…… every place is not lack of stories,they are just lack of eyes which can find the stories. The younger generation should spend more time finding these old stories and keeping them in history!

 Kennedy:

Balestier indeed possesses a rich heritage and history of Singapore that many, which included me, do not know about. This heritage trail also managed to open our eyes to the problems of developments on heritage. During our trail we saw many construction projects being done which affected the heritage sites (e.g. the Malay Studio which now houses construction equipments of constructors who are working across the street, developing condominiums).

Tuck Wai:

Balestier is really more than just Boon Tong Kee and Bak Kut Teh now that I have learnt. Little did I know, without the benefit of hindsight, that a even little corner water and tea kiosk had such a rich story to tell. Neither was I aware that the Tua Pek Gong temple that I had visited was built based on such foundations, nor had I known that Mdm Sim Cheng Neo and the Ngee Ann Kongsi Foundation were so rich! Now, Boon Tong Kee would never be the highlight of Balestier again.

Wayne:

I learnt that Balestier is much more than the normal town that i used to know.  There were many historical scenes and also buildings. Balestier was a place where history were built like Shaw Brothers and their Malay cinema.  However the history was not preserved.  The studios were not preserved and things like wan qing yuan is not really known to the younger generation.  This trail let me learnt more about Singapore history for example the different type of building designs as well as the types of different temples and the reasons why they were set up.  It is more of a 'people based' as people set up all these by themselves and without much help from the government.   

Photos