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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XXX Restricted Access @ MyQueenstown #7 - Farewell Ayer Rajah Camp (Part I)

By my queenstown on Sunday, November 14, 2010 with 5 comments



Tucked at the fringes of Portsdown Road, there is one institutional complex making its way out of Queenstown quietly. It did not possess the glamorous X-factor like Tah Chung Emporium. Neither was it the most popular and trendy hangout place among the youths in the Former Queenstown Cinema and Bowling Alley. Nevertheless, it contained many wonderful memories of those Singaporean Sons toiling and sweating in the parade squares and technical workshops. Today, let us peek into Ayer Rajah Camp for one last time.


Farewell Ayer Rajah Camp


The site that the current Ayer Rajah Camp sits on formed part of the former British Army Pasir Panjang Complex. Within this Complex were some 58 self contained military units. It comprised accommodation for military personnel ranging bungalows to barrack dwellings, messes, depots, workshops, stores and an engineer park. Some of the camps within the Pasir Panjang Complex included Gillman Barracks, Alexandra Camp, Depot Camp and Ayer Rajah Camp.


The familiar warning signs at the entrance of Ayer Rajah Camp

Visitor Carpark at the Camp

Guard House of Ayer Rajah Camp

The area Ayer Rajah Camp is sited on was occupied by the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). The REME was responsible for the regular inspection, maintenance and modification of Army equipment to ensure that it was always operationally ready. The REME units located in this area were the 40 Workshop (disbanded in 1971) and REME Training centre. While these two units occupied the site post-war, the MINDEF did not have an records on which units occupied the Ayer Rajah Camp during World War II. However, it is also very likely that the area would have been a military maintenance depot where the Japanese occupied the site and made use of the existing facilities for their war efforts.



Workshops at Ayer Rajah Camp
Equipment for Vehicle Maintenance

When the war ended, Ayer Rajah Camp was reoccupied by the British.During British Colonial , Ayer Rajah Camp was the last footprint of Federation Electrical n Mechanical Engineers (FEME). In a site inspection report conducted in January 1969, there were 40 Command Workshops which occupied 57 structures in the camp. Some of the workshops were fitted with cranes, plants and machinery for electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering purposes.

When the British announced its intention that all British forces would be withdrawn from Singapore by 31 December 1971, detailed plans for rundown of the British forces in Singapore began. The FEME shifted from Bukit Timah Camp to Ayer Rajah Camp on 6 November 1971 when Singapore Armed Forces took over the Ayer Rajah Camp premises. The unit was renamed SAF Ordnance Maintenance Base (OMB). It is home to three units,  HQ MES (Maintenance & Engineering Support), OETI (Ordnance Engineering Training Institute) and 1AMB (1st Army Maintenance Base)

HQ MES in Ayer Rajah Camp

A modern integrated logistics complex was constructed at Ayer Rajah Camp. Common facilities including workshops, offices and accommodation blocks, a medical centre, cookhouse, multipurpose hall, Mess and sports facilities were built within the compound. Work started in 1982 and completed in 1986.

Basketball Court at the Camp

Canteen - For Those who dislike SFI food!

Self Made Signs to the Multi Purpose Hall and Cook House

The Cook House is Empty...

Because the Tables and Chairs were all Dismantled

SFI's motto... but the soldiers are "sick" of the food here!

The Kitchen at the Cook House



Commander's Mess

Seminar Rooms... Go.. Going... Gone...

In mid October 2001, URA approved the revised Buona Vista Science Hub development boundary. Since Ayer Rajah Camp was located within the boundary, it was scheduled for release back to the State in 2010. Ayer Rajah Camp will be relocated to Kranji Camp II, home of the Combat Service Support (CSS) in Choa Chu Kang. The relocation is part of the CSS Command's vision to integrate its various functional elements of CSS, HQ Transport and HQ MES. This relocation also marks the end of the Ayer Rajah Camp at Portsdown Road in Queenstown.

Baris Sedi-yah!

Book Out Lor!


The empty fields and long stretch of road from the entrance to the various units must have been memorable to unit personnel and Singaporeans who were enlisted in combat support. The familiar army songs and the diligence polishing of boots were a thing of the past in Ayer Rajah Camp. But our memories of the camp will stay with us forever!




Look out for what's left of the individual units within Ayer Rajah Camp and army experience at the camp next week!

Note: Republishing this article or photos require prior permission from MINDEF and My Queenstown. Those who republished any photos or articles without permission are liable to military laws. For enquiries, please email myqueenstown@gmail.com

 


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