Farewell MyQueenstown

Farewell MyQueenstown #7 - Farewell KTM Tracks

On 30 Jun 2011 | 6 Comments

Much has been written about KTM Tracks lately. A simple search on Google and Yahoo will bring you to numerous websites such as this and this. After all, this cantankerous relic was Singapore's brave new world in the early 20th century.  I have always been a believer of my secondary school's motto, "Rooted in Tradition, Equipped for the Future."

永别了!女皇镇!#7 一摊油条传三代

On 30 Apr 2011 | 1 Comments

一摊油条传三代 在玛格列熟食中心,“生活公市”说得上是个客至如云的摊子。这个小摊子,不售卖任何煮炒;摊子主人则一年三百六十五天,天天在摊内起个炉炸上一条条的油条。 “生活公市”摊主李马才先生(58岁)是这家油条摊的第三代。 祖父自中国南来便炸油条为业,后来其父亦继承了祖父的业务。“生活公市”自1969年起,正式迁入玛格列熟食中心营业。李先生从小便跟随父亲学手艺,在油锅边打转。 李先生的油条,以香脆爽口闻名。在80年代初,李先生每一日几乎可炸近200条油条。李家一家五人总要齐齐上阵来应付顾客的需要。 如今,虽然李先生的摊子已搬迁到亚历山大村熟食中心,但他对玛格列熟食中心仍然十分怀念。再见了,玛格列熟食中心!

Farewell MyQueenstown #6 - The Taste of Wanton Noodle Lingers...

On 24 Mar 2011 | 18 Comments

Mr. Phoon Hon Sun, 64, and his family started selling barbeque pork from a pushcart at the terminal for Hock Lee bus service no.9 some 53 years ago. The bus terminal was located next to Blocks 6B and 7 along Margaret Close, a cluster of flats which were demolished during the 1990s. A familiar sight no more Every afternoon, residents who lived in the seven

Home Sweet Home @ MyQueenstown

Home Sweet Home #15 - A New Day Has Come =)

On 24 Apr 2011 | 11 Comments

Last week, MyQueenstown team interviewed Mdm Chan about her life in Blk 15 Holland Drive. Under SERS, she was assigned a new apartment in the newly developed blocks just a stone throw sway. Today, we visit Hisham Suni, 38, who moved over from Blk 17 to his new apartment in Blk 18C Holland Drive. Hisham Suni and his son =) Hisham is delighted by his new ap

Home Sweet Home #14 - Farewell Holland Drive

On 17 Apr 2011 | 3 Comments

Blk 15, Holland Drive looked vacant and cold when MyQueenstown team visited this morning. The shop houses under the apartment block were all covered with card boards and all that was left were traces of glass panels, which could possibly be a beauty parlor in its place before. The lift was still working. Mdm Chan - a long time resident at Holland Drive A c

Home Sweet Home #13 - Commonwealth 10! Here I Come!

On 10 Apr 2011 | 3 Comments

The front door was wide open when MyQueenstown team visited Mr Lee, 78, at his apartment in Blk 74 Commonwealth Drive. Feeling curious, we knocked onto the door and was greeted by a sleepy looking Mr Lee. Mr Lee who lives alone at Block 74 Retired more than a decade ago, Mr Lee is living alone as he prefers being independent to tagging along with his chi

News@MyQueenstown

Response to Straits Times Forum: "Active Citizenry Needs Space to Find Its Feet"

On 26 Aug 2011 | 25 Comments

A week ago, Mr. Eric Tan, Director of the National Archives of Singapore, explained that the archives have generously acceded to our requests for photographs to be published in our website, upcoming book and newsletter. This was not the full story. Last year, we wrote in to the National Archives of Singapore, requesting them to sponsor photographs of the ol

MyQueenstown Celebrates: Consecration Ceremony at Sri Muneeswaran Temple!

On 10 Jul 2011 | 1 Comments

Tanglin Halt residents are wokened up by the vociferous wailing of nadaswaram and thavil ensemble at Sri Muneeswaran Temple this morning. More than 15,000 residents and devotees have gathered at the Southeast Asia's largest Hindu temple worshiping the Muneeswaran god to witness the consecration ceremony. A consecration ceremony is a festive occasion done on

女皇镇1周新闻快讯 - 第二十五期

On 08 Jul 2011 | 6 Comments

女皇弄组屋 同一垃圾糟 两年3纵火  女皇弄组屋走廊垃圾糟,三度起火,居民人心惶惶,警列恶作剧纵火处理。 位于女皇镇一带的女皇弄第21座组屋8楼的电梯口,今早7时15分左右发生大火。 一名住在事发地点附近的居民,惊见滚滚黑烟从该处冒出 最高74万5000元 最低40多万 女皇镇 四房转售价 相差近37万  在热门组屋区女皇镇里,有四房式组屋最近以74万5000元的最高价转售,但也有37万8000元。 组屋溢价回升之际,热门地点如女皇镇的组屋转售价也持续攀升。今年4月,一间位于女皇镇史达拉摩道(Strathmore Ave)的四房式高楼单位,以74万5000元售出。 最后一次乘搭火车北上  火车开动了!该各就各位了吧。经过女皇镇、武吉知马、武吉班让时看到铁路旁站着许

My Father and I

Former Tanglin Halt Industrial Estate

On 14 May 2011 | 2 Comments

The industrialisation programme took off in Queenstown when the Tanglin Halt Industrial Estate was established to generate employment in the neighbourhood. Initially, the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) planned a small industrial estate at Tanglin Halt to provide employment for the new residents. Measuring some 20 acres of land consisting of 38 factories

Queenstown Baptist Church

On 03 May 2011 | 1 Comments

The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) set aside seven sites for religious use and advertised for religious organisations to ballot in the 1950s. Of the ten enquiries received, four withdrew, leaving six Christian organisations. These went on to build the first churches of Queenstown; Queenstown Baptist Church, Queenstown Lutheran Church, Faith Methodist Ch

Archipelago Brewery Company (Anchorpoint)

On 22 Apr 2011 | 3 Comments

Established in 1931 by German businessmen, Archipelago Brewery Company was the first commercial brewery in Singapore. It was located next to the Malayan Railway, which provided convenient transportation for exporting the beer in Tanjong Pagar. Archipelago Brewery Company One of the more popular beer produced at Archipelago Brewery Company was Anchor Beer.

Makan Shiok!

Snacks Attack #13 - Ah Luck Bean Curd

On 23 Dec 2010 | 2 Comments

Mr Chua, 25, runs Ah Luck Beancurd in Tanglin Halt market for more than 2 years. He is renting the stall from the original owner who has based his stall in the same area for more than 40 years. Ah Luck Bean Curd offers drinks and deserts such as soya bean drink, grass jelly and the residents' favorite soya bean curd (60 cents). A Delicious Bowl of Bean Curd

Snacks Attack #12 - Satay Mad in Tanglin Halt!

On 16 Dec 2010 | 7 Comments

 Ann, 46 runs the family food stall for over 10 years in Tanglin Halt hawker centre. Serving halal food for over a decade in the same place, Ann has integrated her dishes to suit the taste buds of Queenstown residents, especially the Malay community. The simple food stall offers snacks such as satay, otah and seafood dishes. As a family styled bus

Snacks Attack #11 - Almond & Peanut Paste!

On 09 Dec 2010 | 0 Comments

DessertStory, located in Anchorpoint basement one, has been serving residents tasty snacks and deserts for the past four years. Wendy, the supervisor of the cafe, introduced the various homemade desserts that they offer. A bowl of Almond Paste Hot desserts are mainly the favourite choice among Queenstown residents. Firstly, they have almond paste which is m

Random Thoughts @ MyQueenstown

Random Thoughts @ MyQueenstown #9 - 7 Funerals in 2 weeks

On 22 May 2011 | 0 Comments

7 funerals in 2 weeks. There is a flurry of "activity" these two weeks for correspondents from My Queenstown. We did not leave our traces in photographs as a mark of respect for the deceased. We did leave our sincere prayers and heartfelt condolences for those present. Quietly and fleetingly, we made our way to some of the funerals and understood that all o

Random Thoughts @ MyQueenstown #8 - Block 39A No More (The Removal of Block 39A Part I)

On 05 Apr 2011 | 8 Comments

On a Friday afternoon three weeks ago, several Bangladeshi workers, presumably from the Town Council, took their tool boxes to the lift lobby of Block 39A. In less than half an hour, they carried a metallic frame on their shoulders and placed it on a lorry parked in front of the apartment block. Farewell Block 39A The letterboxes The stretch of corrid

Random Thoughts @ MyQueenstown #7 - A New Coat of Paint

On 22 Mar 2011 | 1 Comments

The Point Blocks, along with 5 other blocks at Mei Ling Street were given a new coat of paint over the past week. The familiar combination of blue, yellow and orange was a thing of the past as these foreign workers toiled day and night, rain or shine to make Mei Ling Street "attractive again." White seems to be the "in" thing in Queenstown lately. Ten-store

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MyQueenstown Kay Poh Club #2 - Where is the Source of Singapore River?

By my queenstown on Monday, October 4, 2010 with 3 comments

It's time to kaypoh about every burning question and doubts about our beloved Queenstown home! This week, our legs take us to the confluence of the Alexandra Canal. As we know, the Alexandra Canal is located at the upstream of the Singapore River, passing through Tanglin and Kim Seng districts. Within the next two years, the canal will be expanded and reinvigorated with water sports and recreational boardwalks at Dawson district. This begs the question where is the source of the river within Queenstown? Therefore, MyQueenstown Team decided to explore on one of the canalised tributary of the Singapore River today!


The Confluence of the Singapore River at Alexandra Canal

Before MyQueenstown Team gets on a kamikaze mode and venture into nowhere, let us invite Queenstown residents to tell us their opinions on where the canal will lead us to!

Mr Tiong

Mr Tiong, a resident in Queenstown, explained that the canal will take us back to the Tanglin district (Ridout estate) and further west into Buona Vista. He is unsure if the canal actually flows to Kim Seng and Singapore River. (Yes, it does! Residents can try walking along the park connector and you will end up at the Singapore River!)

Covered canal at Stirling Road

After obtaining invaluable suggestions from the residents, we followed the direction of the canal and reached Stirling Road. Like the stretch of the canal at Margaret Drive, this part of Alexandra Canal was also covered. We understood from a number of residents that the canal was recently covered at 2007 because of numerous complaints about the waterways bursting over its capacity and flooding the neighbouring settlements. Moreover, as the canal leads directly to the open sea (before the construction of Marina Barrage), snakes and other poisonous creatures were spotted. There were several sightings on how small little kids were nearly "gobbled" by these reptiles.

Huge Monsoon Drains at Stirling Road

The canal split into two huge monsoon drains at Stirling Road. One of them leads to the Mei Ling and Mei Chin districts, which was built on top of a small hill. The other monsoon drain, as shown above, flows pass the Queens' Close district. Therefore, as we tracked along the first monsoon drain, it took us to the "hilltop" houses at Mei Ling street. Hence, it is clear that one of the sources came from Mei Ling.

Steep slopes along Mei Ling Street

The other monsoon drain was deeper and wider. The larger capacity of the drain suggests that it is carrying a bigger load and therefore, it is much longer. The monsoon drain cuts between Mei Chin Road and Queens' Close estate. MyQueenstown Team spotted several canalised streams which connect those elevated platforms from the two districts into the monsoon drain. As Queens' Close district is built on top of another elevated platform, it is likely that Queens' Close could be another source of the Singapore River.

The long and wide monsoon drain cuts between Mei Chin and Queens' Close

Canalised Streams which connect the elevated Mei Chin district to the monsoon drain

Soon, the canal (or monsoon drain) was once again covered as it approached Queensway. MyQueenstown Team crossed the traffic lights at the junction of Mei Chin Road and Queensway and continued this mysterious trail to uncover the source of the Singapore River. The canal also flows past the old Queens' Crescent district, running parallel to the KTM tracks on the elevated platform next to it.

The canal at the former Queens' Crescent district

Somewhere near Masjid Hang Jebat, once again, there were streams connecting several higher, elevated grass fields to the canal. We followed these streams and found ourselves at the Wessex estate, where the Bohemian and Victoria styled colonial bungalows are located. Hence, we conclude that one of the main sources of the Singapore River came from Portsdown! 

The Canal at Masjid Hang Jebat

Streams connecting the elevated fields to the Canal

The replies and answers from Public Utilities Board and the National Library are inconclusive in indicating the actual source of the river. Both the statutory boards mention that there are several sources of the river and old sources such as Fort Canning, Mount Stamford and the Western Hills at Lim Chu Kang are sources of the river. However, the expansion of the canal system in Ulu Pandan and Alexandra has brought in a number of upstreams into the river. 

Pressure! High Pressure Gas Pipeline!

Why are there so many warnings on gas pipelines in Queenstown?

Follow us in Kay Poh Club next week! and discuss them in our facebook now!


POST COMMENT

3 comments:

Pat said...
December 12, 2010 at 2:05 PM

In the old street directories (1970, 1975, 1978 editions), the uncovered Alexandra Canal extended all the way upstream to the Commonwealth Avenue-Queensway junction-cum-underpass (previously a traffic circus called Queen's Circus).

In these old maps, the canal continued going upstream from the spot near Queenstown MRT station/ old cinema(?), right in between the east & west carriageways of Commonwealth Ave, until it reached Queen's Circus. And there, the trail suddenly stopped cold beside Queenstown Secondary School. This canal stretch is now covered with median strip-planting.

Note: The "covered canal at Stirling Road" mentioned in the above post is a few hundred metres away from the covered Alexandra Canal & is probably a lower-stream tributary drain leading into the actual canal that is now lying under the median strip-planting along Commonwealth Ave near the Queensway junction. Geographically, the upper-stream tributaries/ canal source seem to be located further northwest towards the Tanglin Halt/ northern Portsdown/ North Buona Vista area.

Incredibly enough, on the 1978 map, if one follows a straight line from Queen's Circus along Commmonwealth Ave to Commonwealth Ave West, the seemingly-truncated Alexandra Canal actually appears to "meet" Sungei Ulu Pandan that is also seemingly-truncated at the North Buona Vista Rd-Commonwealth Ave West junction. Perhaps these two sister waterways share the same source & catchment nearby.

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