My Queenstown 我爱女皇镇

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 old Queenstown for our civic projects. However, one of the staff from the Archives, had reiterated that "we are currently not devoting any resources to the heritage of Queenstown." (See Attached) To our dismay, we approach the MP, Mr Baey Yam Keng, for help. After which, the National Archives acceded to our request and promise to support our activities.

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 once every 12 years to sanctify the place of worship.
At ten minutes before eight, a group of Hindu priests from various temples across the island marched valiantly in front of an enthusiastic crowd, carrying containers of holy water from India. These priests entered the temple and performed a series of rituals before pouring the holy water from top of the dome known as gopuram to sanctify the place of worship.

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 

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." We must track our past to find out about our roots and our purpose for everything we do. Then will we be able to set our goals and directions clearly. 

为了鼓励更多女皇镇的青少年阅读华文新闻，《我爱女皇镇》将推出全新单元 《女皇镇1周新闻快讯》，把这个星期观于女皇镇的主要新闻简略的描述。
写在华义中学创校55周年 40年前 华义发扬美学教育 
对很多学校来说，拥有校友会是平常不过的事。但是，今年庆祝创校55周年的华义中学，却没有正式的校友会。上个世纪五十年代的华义学生虽然曾经组织一个校友会，不过并没有招募新校友注入“新血”。到了九十年代，一些会员已经逝世，校友会势力变单薄，无奈在五六年前解散。
　　这让许多华义校友感到惋惜，其中包括毕业40年却不曾加入校友会的黄美芬（58岁）和戴月英（57岁）。目前担任新加坡读书会发展协会会长的黄美芬受访时说：“协会经常和不同学校合作。我发现很多学校的校友会阵容都很强大，很羡慕他们，因为自己的学校连校友会都没有。” 华义校友会的“宿命”，很大成分是校舍多次搬迁和校风改变所致。华义中学原称“华义政府华文中学”，创办时是设在加东区法礼路（Fowlie Road）的临时校舍。
　　翌年（1957年）学校搬迁到纽顿区的蒙克山（Monks’Hill），1958年又搬到女皇镇的玛格烈通道，也就是黄美芬和戴月英就读的年代。黄美芬回忆道：“那时是华义最风光的时期。当时只要提到西部顶尖的政府学校，不是立化，就是华义。”
　　1982年，为了扩建运动场和礼堂，华义再度搬迁，这回是到德普路（Depot Road）。一年后，学校改制，原本是第一语文的华文变成第二语文，而华文也变成是唯一用华语为教学媒介语的科目。校名也改为“华义中学”。黄美芬感叹道，优秀的华校从此沦为邻里学校，而交通不方便也影响收生。学校成绩一落千丈，学生纪律又差，一出校门口就抽烟、满口粗话。每次路过学校都目睹这样的情景，让她感到心痛不已。
　　1999年底，华义搬迁至裕廊西现址，重新在2000年收第一批中一生。由于学校多次搬迁，加上风气的改变，不同阶段的毕业生像是从不同学校毕业，校友们缺乏凝聚力。
　　55年来，华义一共换了10任校长。现任校长梅慧华（50岁）决定助几名校友一臂之力，借学校今年的校庆活动，帮助他们号召所有的华义校友，重新成立一个校友会。华义其实不乏在不同领域有成就的毕业生，包括黄叔麟、萧作鸣、董农政、艾禺等文人、洪慧芳、方钟桦、吴刚和已过世的华亮等艺人，以及毛奉豪、陈晓明医生等。黄美芬说：“我们希望召集有成就的校友回来，作为现在的华义学生的榜样。希望现在的学生了解，只要肯努力，还是能够重现昔日风光。千万不要觉得邻里学校没有什么值得骄傲的地方。”
　　为庆祝创校55周年，华义将举办一系列活动，包括2月26日在国立大学文化中心举行的“华义公开演出”、7月2日在华义校园举行的“华义青年节嘉年华会”和校庆晚宴。梅慧华说，校方并没有刻意安排很多活动，把学生累坏，而是把他们平时的表演和校庆连在一块儿，借此给他们多一个表演的平台。
联邦西道 货车爆炸狂烧 司机跳车逃命 
 小型货车路旁爆炸,起火狂烧,司机仓皇跳车,及时保住一命。 这起火烧车的事件发生在昨天下午4时17分,地点在联邦西道与女皇大道的交叉路口。  据目击事件的吴先生(44岁,建筑工人)透露,当时他正在路旁的车站等

Mr Chen, 63, together with his wife Mdm Chan, has been running their dried product store at #01-16 Meiling Market. Mr and Mrs Chen lives in Queenstown, so travelling time is not a major problem for them to open their store at 6am in the morning.
Having running their business for over 30 years in the same market, the couple has more or less gathered their fair share of loyal customers and has already become common faces among market goers.

The fragrant whiffs of dumplings filled the multipurpose pavilion at Block 83A Strathmore Avenue yesterday as Queenstown residents come together to celebrate Duanwu Festival. 
Rows of Bak Zhang or Meat Dumplings at the Multipurpose Pavilion
Duanwu Festival is believed to be originated from China. A number of explanatory myths are connected to its origins. The best known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of a particular patriotic poet, Qu Yuan in ancient China. It was mentioned that the Qu Yuan was accused of treason for opposing his emperor's decision to collaborate with a foreign Qin state. His country was later conquered by Qin during his exile. In despair, he committed suicide by drowning himself in Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar. Local folks then threw dumplings into the river so that the fishes would not consume his body and paddled out on boats to scare the fishes away. 

大约五十多年前吧，当我仍系小学生时，女皇镇才刚从不怎么为人所知的乡村，以新镇（建于1952年）的姿态，展现在新加坡沿一带。几年后，我已是个中学生了，著名的红砖厝十四楼即以本区、也是当年新加坡最高的建筑地标，耸天而立。即使它周围的几座七楼组屋，以及那排蓝玻璃组屋（因该几座组屋窗口皆装上蓝色玻璃而名），相较于其它区外和我的老家–方基山区，在当年，也都显得强势多了。该时候，由于我的好多个初中同学都住在十四楼附近的组屋区内，所以我很早就跟女皇镇结缘啦！反倒是后来，为帮父亲撑起那“灾余”建起的家，放弃了上大学的理想，提前到社会上去谋生，逐较少在女皇镇活动，却仍藕断丝连地，找时间回来逛逛往昔的街市、店铺，看看曾经熟悉的住宅区有啥变化，顺道也寻访一些中学校友。
          迄至1980年代初，机缘巧合地，我带着新婚不久的另一半，迁入了美岭街150号的一座租凭组屋的单位，先呆了三几年；直到1985年，购置了史德林路大牌170的现址后，从此便定居下来，正式启动赤道风的出版工作。那时候，理想印刷出版有限公司还在，偶尔也能于寂静中听闻印刷机运作之声响。
          惟是，曾几何时，就如我的年岁日益增添那样，如今已经59高龄的女皇镇，也开始显现老太矣。不过还好，人老了，终究要入土为安，但屋子‘老’啦，却可以破土重建。
          当下，好多曾经住过美岭街、史德林路的老友、文人、墨客，搬走的搬走了、去世的去世了；几间电影院与百货公司，倒闭的倒闭，‘换装’的‘换装’；就连往昔曾经辉煌过的地标：十四楼，也已拆掉，让位给了更高、更新的未来建筑群。
          据所知，一张务使女皇镇旧貌换新颜的建设蓝图，已然摆在有关方面的议事日程上，而多处女皇镇属区亦常能听见建筑工地之打桩音响。我想啊，再过三、五年的女皇镇，应有是“人事几番新”啦！然则，兴许是岁数大了，喜欢怀旧，我总难忘怀过那些自在、悠闲的环境，惦念曾经一起欢聚，论辩的咖啡八儒，思忆以前充满浓郁、温馨气息的人间世事。
          总之就也好，新也罢，对于我这个仍在留守的‘老臣’而言，总觉依然是：新镇、老区各显风采，点点滴滴尽存胸怀。
2011年3月

为了鼓励更多女皇镇的青少年阅读华文新闻，《我爱女皇镇》将推出全新单元 《女皇镇1周新闻快讯》，把这个星期观于女皇镇的主要新闻简略的描述。
史德林路一组屋单位失火，三名邻居破门救人不果，屋内男子过后被发现烧死在睡房内。这起火灾命案发生在昨早11时30分，地点在女皇镇史德林路第48座组屋3楼的一房式单位。死者是49岁的黄福财，原本和年迈父母同住在事发的租赁单位，黄福财染上毒瘾后父母搬离，剩下他独自居住。据邻居透露，死者是嗜赌惯犯，上个月才坐牢出来。他也常向邻居借钱，表示要用来偿还水电费。
　　在隔壁回教堂担任停车服务员的的李维尔（50岁）在早上约9时许，看见黄福财住家冒出黑烟，于是拨电通知民防，但以为是顽童玩火，过后就没有多加留意。随着失火单位冒出更多浓烟和火舌，还不断传出玻璃破裂的声响，惊动了附近居民，纷纷自行疏散。其中有三名邻居见义勇为冒着危险，企图冲入失火单位救人，但眼见火势太大，在灌救十分钟后只好放弃。
　　其中一名试图救人的苏姓鱼贩（46岁）说，当时他帮忙到隔壁邻居家取水，递给另两个人救火，但火势太大，他们只好放弃。黄福财的大姐黄丽凤（54岁）受访时说，黄福财在六兄弟姐妹中排行第五，生性文静，但却在当兵后误入歧途，同家人开始疏远。黄丽凤说，70多岁的父母已经知道小弟去世的消息，非常伤心，目前只希望能完成小弟的遗愿，联络上离异多年的妻子，让一对子女能来送小弟最后一程。

Minutes seem like months for residents of Block 48 Stirling Road on Sunday, 22nd May 2011. Thick, black smoke billowing from the windows of #03-578 transformed the idyllic backyard of Queenstown into a battleground for the fire fighters of Alexandra Fire Station. There were desperate attempts to save the unconscious man from his apartment but to no avail. Frantic cries of "help" and "fire" startled the neighbouring followers from Masjid Mujahiddin. Let us unfold the drama of Stirling Road Blaze from first-hand interviews of 16 residents at Block 48 Stirling Road.

A rental resident, Mr. Ng Hock Chye, at Block 48 Stirling Road lost his life in a blaze yesterday morning. The charred body of the jobless man was found in his bedroom located at the 3rd storey of the rental block. Firefighters have since put out the fire.
According to the national reports, residents were alerted to the thick dark smoke billowing out of Mr Ng's unit and fled their homes. Some of the residents in the block hurriedly filled buckets of water to try douse the flames.

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 of them had passed away because of natural causes.
What that caught everyone's attention was probably the unfortunate suicide at Buona Vista last week. A 26-year old Indian national was fatally hit by a KTM train at about 1.15pm last Wednesday. His dead body was found at the glass verge next to the railway tracks near Block 12A near Buona Vista MRT Station. According to national reports, he was a cheerful and well-liked student at a private university in Alexandra.

为了鼓励更多女皇镇的青少年阅读华文新闻，《我爱女皇镇》将推出全新单元 《女皇镇1周新闻快讯》，把这个星期观于女皇镇的主要新闻简略的描述。
疑压力大留遗书 26岁大学生 遭火车碾死 
印度籍青年命丧火车轨，大学生生前曾写下遗书,疑自杀轻生。 目前,警方将案件列为非自然死亡,案件细节正在调查中。附近6天前 聋哑男丧命 6天前,1公里外发生另一起铁轨命案。 5月5日上午7时许,41岁的聋哑清洁工人洪康怡,疑走捷径上班,结果遭火车撞飞惨死。 事发地点在联邦通道第79座组屋后面的火车轨道,距离印度学生死亡地点仅约一公里。 遇困难 请求助 生活中遭遇困难,可拨以下热线求助: ●援人协会(SOS):1800-2214444
为吸毒7次抢妇女项链 道友求情：须照顾老母 求情不通过判坐牢7年 
被告在去年12月4日到今年3月1日,掠夺7名妇女的金项链,总值约2300元。 他的犯案地点包括:直落布兰雅弯、亨德申路、惹兰红山、东陵福路及史德林路一带。案情显示,被告总是出其不意的走近戴有金链的妇女,迅速扯去金链后,跳上电单车逃之夭夭。 

For the past 42 years, Mdm Ker Ah Kin, 64, and her husband have been mending the unimpressionable Long Hwee Book Store at Mei Ling Street diligently. They sell bags, shoes, cassette tapes in addition to their wide collection of Chinese novels and literatures.
Long Hwee Book Store at Mei Ling Street
Married in 1969, Mdm Ker and her husband had initially rented a small space at Beauty World Shopping Centre for their book store. They bought over the shop house at Mei Ling and started their ‘small business’.

我在大牌39A组屋底层走回了一会，便看到56岁的李先生提着六个鸟笼。笼子上的雕刻十分精致，里面有一个喂食的小瓷罐。笼子里有一只小鸟，眼睛大大的，十分掏喜可爱。
住在联邦弯的李先生每逢星期四早晨都会把他的宠物鸟从高层建筑的组屋中带到这里。据了解，大牌39A宽大的建筑结构能让这些鸟儿充满活力，唱起歌来也非常清脆悦耳。听着鸟儿的歌声能让他瞬间忘记烦恼，并给予他在生活上的启发。当李先生得知大牌39A租屋在今年内即将拆迁，他不禁感到十分惋惜。

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 lots for cottage industries, Tanglin Halt was chosen for its proximity to the railway tracks. Tanglin Halt Industrial Estate quickly established itself as one of the key driving forces in Singapore’ industrialisation programme in the early 1960s.

为了鼓励更多女皇镇的青少年阅读华文新闻，《我爱女皇镇》将推出全新单元 《女皇镇1周新闻快讯》，把这个星期观于女皇镇的主要新闻简略的描述。
联邦通道 聋哑男抄捷径 惨遭火车撞死 
一名聋哑人士走捷径上班,被火车撞飞20米,当场惨死。 这起事故发生在今早7时35分,地点是联邦通道第79座组屋后面的火车轨道上。 40岁死者洪康怡是一名清洁工人,在高科技商业楼Neuros和Immunos工作了3年半。
联邦通道 变态男独爱偷 俏女经理衣服 电眼拍下全程 
变态男独爱偷一户人家的女装衣,而且一偷半年,气得屋主装电眼,把录下的偷窃全程交给警方。 最近一次偷窃发生在本月1日早上8时20分,地点是联邦通道第94座组屋4楼。 28岁的财务经理黄女士说,她是在一年多前和丈夫搬到事发组屋,同住的还有表妹和一名朋友。 
东陵福路 假建屋局人员 组屋四处骗人 ·居民报警 
阎女士(73岁,退休人士)透露,前天下午3时左右,一名27岁青年自称建屋局人员,到她女皇镇东陵福路第30座组屋的住家,声称要检查天花板。她指,对方过后告诉她,需要强制修天花板。 “他告诉我,政府会付一半,我只需要还220元,先交50元。