Queenstown heritage trail charts history of S’pore’s public housing
SINGAPORE — The public can now learn more about the rich history of Singapore’s first satellite estate — Queenstown — through My Queenstown Heritage Trail.
SINGAPORE — The public can now learn more about the rich history of Singapore’s first satellite estate — Queenstown — through My Queenstown Heritage Trail.
The trail also charts the evolution of public housing in Singapore through personal stories of older residents and visits to iconic landmarks that have been around for the past 60 years. Stretching from Tanglin Road to Portsdown Road, it can be broken down into five smaller trails — the Commonwealth, Tanglin Halt and Wessex, Mei Ling and Alexandra, Princess, as well as Duchess trails.
At a media preview of the trail yesterday, long-time residents in areas covered by the trail shared colourful stories.
“We had a Red Indian circus here last time. There was an elephant here where everybody could touch or feel. It was open space in that corner,” recalled Mr Mahmood Tamam, a resident in Stirling Road.
The public flats along Stirling Road are a unique feature. These apartments were the brainchild of the Singapore Improvement Trust’s New Towns Working Party, which stipulated an optimal residential density of 200 people an acre.
This recommended density was achieved by building high-rise apartments housing 400 people per acre and low-rise terrace units housing 150 people an acre.
The trail also includes stops at Queenstown’s first Catholic church — the Church of the Blessed Sacrament — as well as at the Sri Muneeswaran Temple, believed to be South-east Asia’s largest Hindu shrine for the Sri Muneeswaran deity.
Tanglin Halt Neighbourhood Centre, comprising shops and a wet market — including several pioneer businesses — is on the trail too. However, the centre, opened in 1962, will not be there for long as it will make way for new developments.
The heritage trail is open to the public. Interested participants can register for the free guided tour, which takes place on the last Sunday of every month, through EventBrite, myqueenstown [at] gmail.com or call Queenstown Community Centre at 6474 1681. VIMITA MOHANDAS
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