Touring My Hometown — Pioneers Trail: Ann Siang Hill & Telok Ayer (Part 1)
Now that I've finished my first human garment (posted here), I remembered a Blythe escapade I was supposed to post about, but forgot. So, in mid-October, I had some time-off on a Friday afternoon. While running an errand, CaramelPOPS Nyanko-sensei and I went for a quick stroll through part of the Pioneers Trail in Ann Siang Hill and Telok Ayer.
The Pioneers Trail is short (0.6km), starting at Telok Ayer Street and ending at Club Street (see NParks guide). The trail takes around 30 minutes and is an easy walk. That said, I didn't cover the whole trail or all its spots, but I plan to return for a Part 2, and be more diligent the next time....
The trail is a local heritage trail focusing on the arrival and life of Singapore's early migrants, as well as the early history of the Ann Siang Hill and Telok Ayer districts. But beyond the heritage aspects, the area is also a lovely place to just hang out. Ann Siang Hill Park is a peaceful green oasis within our downtown area. Two of Singapore's best downtown hawker centres are in this area — Amoy Street Food Centre and, a little further down, Maxwell Road Food Centre. And the surrounding roads — Telok Ayer Street, Ann Siang Road, Club Street, Maxwell Road — are full of places, both old-school and hipster...shops, bars, cafes, restaurants — great for a Friday or Saturday night out.
Alas! during secondary school, I was an inattentive history student who failed to appreciate the stories of our country's early days. Now as an adult, I find the history of Telok Ayer to be an interesting one about Singapore's first Chinese immigrants. And while looking up its history, I came across a visually stimulating URA slideshow on this area.
Telok Ayer means "water bay" in Malay. This name came about because the area was a coastal bay at the south of the Singapore River, that is, before the 1880s and 1930s land reclamation projects. It was the landing point for Singapore's earliest immigrants. On their arrival from the sea, Singapore's early immigrants established places of worship to thank the deities for their safe journeys. It is one of Singapore's lost waterfronts. (Update: Found this interesting February 2022 CNA documentary on Singapore's lost waterfronts, which covers Telok Ayer, as well as Boat Quay, the Esplanade, Rocher, Bugis, Kallang and the East Coast stretch.)
The Indians from southern India (the Chulias) set up the Al-Abrar Mosque (aka Chulia Mosque) and the Nagore Dargah (named after the original one in India). The Cantonese and Hakka set up a small temple enshrining the Chinese earth deity, the Fuk Tak Chi temple (transformed into a museum in 1998). And the Hokkiens set up a small shrine to Mazu, which was replaced by the Thian Hock Keng temple between 1839 to 1842. And earlier this year, the back wall of the temple, facing Amoy Street, was painted with a mural depicting scenes from the 1800s.
One of the mural's scenes depicts the grand procession in 1840, in front of the Thian Hock Keng temple to welcome the arrival of a statue of Mazu from Amoy, Fujian (present-day Xiamen). The procession was held every 3 years until its discontinuance in 1935. Today, the spirit of the procession supposedly continues in the form of our annual Chingay Procession, initiated in 1973 partly to compensate for the ban on firecrackers.
It's not surprising that Mazu is one of the Chinese deities enshrined by Singapore's earliest Chinese community, which largely comprised of Hokkien Chinese immigrants, traders and merchants from the Fujian province. Since ancient times, Chinese fisher folk, seafarers, merchants, diplomats, and emigrants embarking on journeys have prayed to the Chinese sea goddess for safe passage (discussed at length in my Yokohama post).
In 1822, the British colonial government, under Sir Stamford Raffles' Raffles Town Plan (aka the Jackson Plan) segregated the area around the mouth of the Singapore River into various ethnic districts. Recognising the benefits of various Chinese communities settling in the area according to precedence and numbers, Raffles designated Telok Ayer as a Chinese district. (The URA states that it was designated as a Chinese and Indian district by Raffles.)
Telok Ayer became a bustling commercial area and the site of various Chinese clan associations, the most prominent of which was the Hokkien Huay Kuan. Today, the Hokkien Huay Kuan is still Singapore's largest and most prominent Chinese clan association, but it is no longer located in Telok Ayer. In the present, Telok Ayer forms part of Singapore's central business district. (Though the CBD's core is still Raffles Place, formerly the Commercial Square under the Raffles Town Plan.)
A bit off-topic here, but I'm just going to digress and talk about Raffles Place. No matter how much time I spend in it, Raffles Place somehow remains one of my favourite places to photograph, both from within and out.
On an objective level, it's iconic of Singapore, and is one of the best spots to view during blue hour. On a personal level, it evokes mixed emotions in me. That classic dilemma of affection and loathing (folks who work, or have worked, here for a long time will know the feeling). And then there's that feeling of pride and loss: pride in our city-state's progress, but loss for what has disappeared in the process. My first Singapore skyline picture was taken in 2006, from the Benjamin Sheares Bridge and Marina Bay. Back then, the Marina Bay area was just a mosquito-filled grassy patch of state land. MBFC, Marina Bay Sands, the ArtScience Museum, the Marina Barrage, and Gardens by the Bay did not exist. And Clifford Pier still served as a ferry terminal. But like everywhere else, even our CBD is not immune to the relentless march of progress. One of these days maybe I'll dig up that 2006 picture, and compare it with a recent one taken from outside the ArtScience Museum (on IG). Guess that would be another subject for another day.
Returning to the Pioneer Trail... On to Amoy Street, which was actually where I ran my errand.
Over time, with gentrification and regulation, Amoy Street is now filled with small company offices, trendy shops, bars and bistros. It is hard to imagine that during the colonial period, Amoy Street was full of opium dens catering to the coolies.
Amoy Street is flanked by shophouses — a standing example of our local heritage and a unique architectural aspect of our region. Shophouses are common in Southeast Asian cities, not just Singapore. Penang and Malacca have wonderfully conserved examples as well. The shophouse served dual purposes — the ground floor, including the pedestrian foot way (which I'll touch on below), was for commercial purposes and the upper floor(s) for residential purposes. Maybe that is how its name came about: a portmanteau of shop and house?
The shophouse is typically 2 or 3 levels and has various distinctive elements. Arranged in one continuous row, each shophouse is separated by party walls, and has a narrow frontage. The upper floor(s) projected over the ground floor frontage, creating the distinctive five-foot way, so named because the walkway is typically 5 feet wide, and traders used to conduct business along the walkway. (This aspect I do remember from history class!) Other key elements include an internal courtyard (air well or lightwell) and a rear courtyard — though, I think these features are not necessarily present in later period shophouses.
Shophouse architecture developed as the community settled down and grew in affluence. Thus, we have 6 architectural styles — Early (1840-1900); First Transitional (early 1900s); Late (1900-1940); Second Transitional (late 1930s); Art Deco (1930-1960); and Modern (1950-1960). Some categories, like the Late Shophouse Style, can even be sub-categorised into different styles, e.g. Neo-classical, Baroque, Rococo, Chinoshire, etc. Small Tales of Sg indicates 5 styles, without the Second Transitional style.
Of course, the shophouse is not the only architectural style unique to our local heritage. Another such style is the Black and White House, which is an architectural style that is distinctively different in design and rationale from the shophouse. But unlike our shophouses, there are only some 500 Black-and-Whites left, and they tend to be clustered around the south, such as Nassim Road, Goodwood Hill, Alexandra Park, etc. This is probably another subject I can explore for another Hometown Tour project. What fun!
But back to Amoy Street....
Along Amoy Street, towards the entrance to Ann Siang Hill Park, stands a humble shophouse that is the birthplace of the Anglo-Chinese School ("ACS") one of Singapore's most prestigious schools.
At No. 70 Amoy Street is ACS House, the original premises of Singapore's first Anglo-Chinese school. The school was founded on 1 March 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames Oldham as an extension of the Methodist Church. Its name was derived from the school conducting lessons in English at night and Chinese in the afternoon. Today, ACS admits students from elementary level to pre-tertiary level, and continues to celebrate Founder's Day on 1st March.
Not far from ACS House, between No. 69 Amoy Street and a small Chinese temple (Siang Cho Keong temple), is the covered entrance to Ann Siang Hill Park.
As mentioned, Ann Siang Hill Park is a tranquil green oasis in downtown Singapore. Unfortunately, I confess that I've probably only been there less than 5 times in my life thus far. The last time I was there was at least 4 years ago, when I met a friend for brunch at PS.Cafe.
Ann Siang Hill Park is named after, well, Ann Siang Hill. As for Ann Siang Hill, it was named after Malacca-born Chinese merchant Chia Ann Siang. The area was the location of his estate. The location was formerly known as, first, Scott's Hill and then Gemmill's Hill. It was known as Scott's Hill after its first owner Charles Scott, an Englishman who tried to develop a spice plantation in the area. Scott was ultimately unsuccessful as a series of blight later killed the entire crop. He subsequently sold the land to English auctioneer and banker John Gemmill, after which the area was called Gemmill's Hill. Gemmill subsequently sold it to Chia Ann Siang. (Gemmill is the namesake of Gemmill Lane, a small road which links Amoy Street and Club Street.) Gemmill was also the donor of Singapore's first public drinking fountain, in 1964. The said fountain, Gemmill Fountain, now stands at the National Museum.
In the past, situated next to Telok Ayer Bay (now a bay no longer) were Ann Siang Hill, Mount Wallich and Mount Erskine, collectively the Telok Ayer Hills. Being coastline hills, they were considered valuable land by residents and merchants. Today, only Ann Siang Hill remains. The other 2 were leveled and their earth used for the aforesaid land reclamation projects that filled the Telok Ayer Basin.
Ann Siang Hill Park isn't very large, but is pleasant, leafy and green. I walked through the pergola but didn't go beyond the pavilion, as that part of the path was partially blocked off by some scaffolding. Some construction perhaps? But that was the part of the path that led to the tamarind tree and the Old Well, one of Singapore's last remaining water wells. Sounds like another visit on another day is in order.
Instead, I went up the spiral staircase to the timber deck (where PS.Cafe is). The deck is a lovely spot to sit at, under the trellis covered with Chinese honeysuckle, also called the Rangoon creeper (Combretum indicum syn. Quisqualis indica). From where I sat, fragrant clusters of flowers spilled over the trellis, some pink, some red.
Around that area are the breadfruit tree, cinnamon tree, and nutmeg tree. I did see the information board for cinnamon and nutmeg, but I didn't find the trees. So what's this about cinnamon and nutmeg here in downtown urban Singapore, right?
As mentioned above, the first owner of the hill, Charles Scott tried to cultivate a spice plantation on the hill. Cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and clove, to be precise. This seems insignificant in today's context. But during the 17th century (1601-1700), spices — especially cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and clove — were extremely valuable. So valuable that the Arabs, Chinese and Malay, and later the European colonial powers (Portuguese, Spanish, British and Dutch) desperately vied for control of the spice trade.
To cut the long history short, after much warfare, massacre, enslavement and Manhattan, the Dutch prevailed. But only for a couple of centuries. And then the French and Britain beat them to the punch by smuggling/transplanting nutmeg seedlings and successfully cultivating it elsewhere in other places including Singapore. At least until disease killed them off. So that's where Scott and Ann Siang Hill fit in, in the larger context of global history.
Sitting under the trellis, it all seemed rather remote and yet faintly connected to me. A bit of a causality dilemma? Does getting in touch with my country's heritage and history evoke in me a sense of national identity, or that I identify myself as Singaporean and thus I feel connected to that heritage and history? Whatever it is, maybe Singaporeans should get better acquainted with our history and heritage.
No time to sit there and ponder about our national identitycrisis debate, as daylight was beginning fade. In the end, I didn't spot the cinnamon tree or the nutmeg tree, otherwise I'd have photographed Nyanko-sensei with them. According to the NParks Pioneers Trail guide, the nutmeg tree can be spotted from the timber deck. Well, I didn't spot it. Or the cinnamon tree. Guess this further justifies a return visit, armed with pictures to help me identify them!
 |
| CaramelPOPS Nyanko-sensei at Ann Siang Hill Park (IG album) |
The Pioneers Trail is short (0.6km), starting at Telok Ayer Street and ending at Club Street (see NParks guide). The trail takes around 30 minutes and is an easy walk. That said, I didn't cover the whole trail or all its spots, but I plan to return for a Part 2, and be more diligent the next time....
The trail is a local heritage trail focusing on the arrival and life of Singapore's early migrants, as well as the early history of the Ann Siang Hill and Telok Ayer districts. But beyond the heritage aspects, the area is also a lovely place to just hang out. Ann Siang Hill Park is a peaceful green oasis within our downtown area. Two of Singapore's best downtown hawker centres are in this area — Amoy Street Food Centre and, a little further down, Maxwell Road Food Centre. And the surrounding roads — Telok Ayer Street, Ann Siang Road, Club Street, Maxwell Road — are full of places, both old-school and hipster...shops, bars, cafes, restaurants — great for a Friday or Saturday night out.
Telok Ayer
 |
| Telok Ayer Bay, 1870. © Lee Kip Lin & National Library Board, Singapore. |
Telok Ayer means "water bay" in Malay. This name came about because the area was a coastal bay at the south of the Singapore River, that is, before the 1880s and 1930s land reclamation projects. It was the landing point for Singapore's earliest immigrants. On their arrival from the sea, Singapore's early immigrants established places of worship to thank the deities for their safe journeys. It is one of Singapore's lost waterfronts. (Update: Found this interesting February 2022 CNA documentary on Singapore's lost waterfronts, which covers Telok Ayer, as well as Boat Quay, the Esplanade, Rocher, Bugis, Kallang and the East Coast stretch.)
 |
| "Telok Ayer Bay", mural on the back wall of the Thian Hock Keng temple along Amoy Street, depicting the former Telok Ayer Bay and the then newly built Thian Hock Keng temple (IG album) |
The Indians from southern India (the Chulias) set up the Al-Abrar Mosque (aka Chulia Mosque) and the Nagore Dargah (named after the original one in India). The Cantonese and Hakka set up a small temple enshrining the Chinese earth deity, the Fuk Tak Chi temple (transformed into a museum in 1998). And the Hokkiens set up a small shrine to Mazu, which was replaced by the Thian Hock Keng temple between 1839 to 1842. And earlier this year, the back wall of the temple, facing Amoy Street, was painted with a mural depicting scenes from the 1800s.
 |
| "The Procession", mural on the back wall of the Thian Hock Keng temple along Amoy Street, depicting the procession at the temple to welcome its patron deity Mazu (IG album) |
One of the mural's scenes depicts the grand procession in 1840, in front of the Thian Hock Keng temple to welcome the arrival of a statue of Mazu from Amoy, Fujian (present-day Xiamen). The procession was held every 3 years until its discontinuance in 1935. Today, the spirit of the procession supposedly continues in the form of our annual Chingay Procession, initiated in 1973 partly to compensate for the ban on firecrackers.
It's not surprising that Mazu is one of the Chinese deities enshrined by Singapore's earliest Chinese community, which largely comprised of Hokkien Chinese immigrants, traders and merchants from the Fujian province. Since ancient times, Chinese fisher folk, seafarers, merchants, diplomats, and emigrants embarking on journeys have prayed to the Chinese sea goddess for safe passage (discussed at length in my Yokohama post).
 |
| Mural on the back wall of the Thian Hock Keng temple along Amoy Street, depicting Raffles Place and Boat Quay, Singapore's commercial centre (IG album) |
In 1822, the British colonial government, under Sir Stamford Raffles' Raffles Town Plan (aka the Jackson Plan) segregated the area around the mouth of the Singapore River into various ethnic districts. Recognising the benefits of various Chinese communities settling in the area according to precedence and numbers, Raffles designated Telok Ayer as a Chinese district. (The URA states that it was designated as a Chinese and Indian district by Raffles.)
Telok Ayer became a bustling commercial area and the site of various Chinese clan associations, the most prominent of which was the Hokkien Huay Kuan. Today, the Hokkien Huay Kuan is still Singapore's largest and most prominent Chinese clan association, but it is no longer located in Telok Ayer. In the present, Telok Ayer forms part of Singapore's central business district. (Though the CBD's core is still Raffles Place, formerly the Commercial Square under the Raffles Town Plan.)
A bit off-topic here, but I'm just going to digress and talk about Raffles Place. No matter how much time I spend in it, Raffles Place somehow remains one of my favourite places to photograph, both from within and out.
On an objective level, it's iconic of Singapore, and is one of the best spots to view during blue hour. On a personal level, it evokes mixed emotions in me. That classic dilemma of affection and loathing (folks who work, or have worked, here for a long time will know the feeling). And then there's that feeling of pride and loss: pride in our city-state's progress, but loss for what has disappeared in the process. My first Singapore skyline picture was taken in 2006, from the Benjamin Sheares Bridge and Marina Bay. Back then, the Marina Bay area was just a mosquito-filled grassy patch of state land. MBFC, Marina Bay Sands, the ArtScience Museum, the Marina Barrage, and Gardens by the Bay did not exist. And Clifford Pier still served as a ferry terminal. But like everywhere else, even our CBD is not immune to the relentless march of progress. One of these days maybe I'll dig up that 2006 picture, and compare it with a recent one taken from outside the ArtScience Museum (on IG). Guess that would be another subject for another day.
Returning to the Pioneer Trail... On to Amoy Street, which was actually where I ran my errand.
Amoy Street
During the 1830s, Amoy Street is one of the earliest streets that was developed under Sir Stamford Raffles' 1822 Raffles Town Plan. The street was probably named after the many Hokkien immigrants from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian, China. |
| CaramelPOPS Nyanko-sensei at Amoy Street (IG) |
Over time, with gentrification and regulation, Amoy Street is now filled with small company offices, trendy shops, bars and bistros. It is hard to imagine that during the colonial period, Amoy Street was full of opium dens catering to the coolies.
Amoy Street is flanked by shophouses — a standing example of our local heritage and a unique architectural aspect of our region. Shophouses are common in Southeast Asian cities, not just Singapore. Penang and Malacca have wonderfully conserved examples as well. The shophouse served dual purposes — the ground floor, including the pedestrian foot way (which I'll touch on below), was for commercial purposes and the upper floor(s) for residential purposes. Maybe that is how its name came about: a portmanteau of shop and house?
The shophouse is typically 2 or 3 levels and has various distinctive elements. Arranged in one continuous row, each shophouse is separated by party walls, and has a narrow frontage. The upper floor(s) projected over the ground floor frontage, creating the distinctive five-foot way, so named because the walkway is typically 5 feet wide, and traders used to conduct business along the walkway. (This aspect I do remember from history class!) Other key elements include an internal courtyard (air well or lightwell) and a rear courtyard — though, I think these features are not necessarily present in later period shophouses.
 |
| Shophouses at No. 87-89 Amoy Street — Late Shophouse style? |
Shophouse architecture developed as the community settled down and grew in affluence. Thus, we have 6 architectural styles — Early (1840-1900); First Transitional (early 1900s); Late (1900-1940); Second Transitional (late 1930s); Art Deco (1930-1960); and Modern (1950-1960). Some categories, like the Late Shophouse Style, can even be sub-categorised into different styles, e.g. Neo-classical, Baroque, Rococo, Chinoshire, etc. Small Tales of Sg indicates 5 styles, without the Second Transitional style.
Of course, the shophouse is not the only architectural style unique to our local heritage. Another such style is the Black and White House, which is an architectural style that is distinctively different in design and rationale from the shophouse. But unlike our shophouses, there are only some 500 Black-and-Whites left, and they tend to be clustered around the south, such as Nassim Road, Goodwood Hill, Alexandra Park, etc. This is probably another subject I can explore for another Hometown Tour project. What fun!
But back to Amoy Street....
 |
| ACS House, No. 70 Amoy Street (First Transitional Shophouse style?) |
Along Amoy Street, towards the entrance to Ann Siang Hill Park, stands a humble shophouse that is the birthplace of the Anglo-Chinese School ("ACS") one of Singapore's most prestigious schools.
At No. 70 Amoy Street is ACS House, the original premises of Singapore's first Anglo-Chinese school. The school was founded on 1 March 1886 by Bishop William Fitzjames Oldham as an extension of the Methodist Church. Its name was derived from the school conducting lessons in English at night and Chinese in the afternoon. Today, ACS admits students from elementary level to pre-tertiary level, and continues to celebrate Founder's Day on 1st March.
Not far from ACS House, between No. 69 Amoy Street and a small Chinese temple (Siang Cho Keong temple), is the covered entrance to Ann Siang Hill Park.
Ann Siang Hill & Ann Siang Hill Park
 |
| Ann Siang Hill Park (IG album) |
Ann Siang Hill Park is named after, well, Ann Siang Hill. As for Ann Siang Hill, it was named after Malacca-born Chinese merchant Chia Ann Siang. The area was the location of his estate. The location was formerly known as, first, Scott's Hill and then Gemmill's Hill. It was known as Scott's Hill after its first owner Charles Scott, an Englishman who tried to develop a spice plantation in the area. Scott was ultimately unsuccessful as a series of blight later killed the entire crop. He subsequently sold the land to English auctioneer and banker John Gemmill, after which the area was called Gemmill's Hill. Gemmill subsequently sold it to Chia Ann Siang. (Gemmill is the namesake of Gemmill Lane, a small road which links Amoy Street and Club Street.) Gemmill was also the donor of Singapore's first public drinking fountain, in 1964. The said fountain, Gemmill Fountain, now stands at the National Museum.
In the past, situated next to Telok Ayer Bay (now a bay no longer) were Ann Siang Hill, Mount Wallich and Mount Erskine, collectively the Telok Ayer Hills. Being coastline hills, they were considered valuable land by residents and merchants. Today, only Ann Siang Hill remains. The other 2 were leveled and their earth used for the aforesaid land reclamation projects that filled the Telok Ayer Basin.
Ann Siang Hill Park isn't very large, but is pleasant, leafy and green. I walked through the pergola but didn't go beyond the pavilion, as that part of the path was partially blocked off by some scaffolding. Some construction perhaps? But that was the part of the path that led to the tamarind tree and the Old Well, one of Singapore's last remaining water wells. Sounds like another visit on another day is in order.
Instead, I went up the spiral staircase to the timber deck (where PS.Cafe is). The deck is a lovely spot to sit at, under the trellis covered with Chinese honeysuckle, also called the Rangoon creeper (Combretum indicum syn. Quisqualis indica). From where I sat, fragrant clusters of flowers spilled over the trellis, some pink, some red.
 |
| Chinese honeysuckle or Rangoon creeper (Combretum indicum) at Ann Siang Hill Park (IG album) |
Around that area are the breadfruit tree, cinnamon tree, and nutmeg tree. I did see the information board for cinnamon and nutmeg, but I didn't find the trees. So what's this about cinnamon and nutmeg here in downtown urban Singapore, right?
 |
| Nyanko-sensei at Ann Siang Hill Park |
To cut the long history short, after much warfare, massacre, enslavement and Manhattan, the Dutch prevailed. But only for a couple of centuries. And then the French and Britain beat them to the punch by smuggling/transplanting nutmeg seedlings and successfully cultivating it elsewhere in other places including Singapore. At least until disease killed them off. So that's where Scott and Ann Siang Hill fit in, in the larger context of global history.
Sitting under the trellis, it all seemed rather remote and yet faintly connected to me. A bit of a causality dilemma? Does getting in touch with my country's heritage and history evoke in me a sense of national identity, or that I identify myself as Singaporean and thus I feel connected to that heritage and history? Whatever it is, maybe Singaporeans should get better acquainted with our history and heritage.
No time to sit there and ponder about our national identity
i like that u include plants in yr story
ReplyDelete