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The next Grand Prix will be at Hillview Avenue.
The prestigious Singapore Airlines Formula One Grand Prix, the F1 night race, is now trending all over the social media as Singapore hosts the spectacle once again this weekend at the Marina Bay...
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An anecdotal history of Hillview Part 2. 1945 - 1955.
The Post War Years 1945 to 1955.The Japanese Occupation of Singapore ended on 5th September 1945. Responsibility for the recovery of Singapore now laid with British Military Administration. They were...
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The arduous life of a gambier coolie in early Singapore
If you had been following my blog, you may come to realise that gambier is often mentioned in many articles. Why this fixation with gambier?Was it because my forebears were gambier farmers? Was it...
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An anecdotal history of Hillview Part 3. 1951-2019
The industrialisation and gentrification of HillviewHillview Circus - the roundabout is the only landmark remaining from the creation of Hillview.In 1948, the British Government created a new statutory...
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Of Udaya and the Mendoza Cafe.
Quite recently, with all the talk about the Green Corridor and the Rail Corridor proposals by NParks Singapore to preserve what's left of the natural space vacated by the KTM Railway, the Urban...
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Snippets of Hillview in the past.
Over the years, there were many events and unusual happenings at Hillview. I am sure there are lots of tales and gossips to be shared. I 'll just list some stories from way back that most may not have...
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Hillview Haunted House - Why it was abruptly abandoned.
The ghostly Hillview Mansion.Ever since I wrote about the haunting of the Hillview Mansion in this blog eight years ago, it has become the most searched for, the most visited, and most read article of...
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Living below the radar.
Perhaps, because of its ulu remote location, most people would not have heard of or knew where Princess Elizabeth Estate was. Even when taking a taxi in those days, you had to say 'Tien Tor Long' i.e....
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World War Two battles at Bukit Batok
Recently, I was invited to lead a heritage tour for a group of Australians. They had one thing in common. All of them had a relative who either fought or died in Singapore during World War Two. They...
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The railway bridge at Hillview Road.
Before the year 1947, what would become Hillview Road was nothing more than a country track that was the land boundary between two gambier plantations belonging to Messrs. J Jacobs and Messrs. Tang...
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The Twin Towers on Bukit Batok
Each morning as I awake and draw the curtains in my room, I get to see this sight. The twin towers on Bukit Batok.Having lived most of my life in this area, it has become like a symbol. A symbol that...
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Factories around Hillview (#11) - The Hong Kong Rope Mfg Co. Ltd.
The HK Rope Manufacturing Co at Hillview.In the background is the Chartered Bank building along Upper Bukit Timah Road and the Salvation Army Children's Home across the road.The Hong Kong Rope...
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A Prisoner-of-War camp at Hillview Estate?
About two years, a World War Two researcher, Mr. Ken Hewitt, emailed me with some questions he was trying to resolve in his research. Mr Hewitt specialises in the British Army Regiments that fought...
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Lee Kuan Yew's Walkabout at Princess Elizabeth Estate 1963
Nineteen Sixty-three was a tumultuous year both for me and for Singapore.For me, I was still in primary school learning my ABCs and Times Table. Yes, in my time, children hardly ever attended...
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One Million Views
Today, 8 March 2020, marks a milestone for my Princess Elizabeth Estate blog here.Total viewership to this blog has passed the 1,000,000 views mark.I started blogging back in 2007 when a colleague...
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1924 map of Hillview area.
Recently, I was chatting with a friend about the old Singapore-Woodlands Railway, aka the Tank Road-Kranji Railway of 1903. This railway ran past Hillview along Upper Bukit Timah Road. I mentioned I...
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Factories around P.E.E. #12 - Central Oil Refinery
The factory along Hillview Avenue.Green Bus service No. 5 about to turn towards (Princess) Elizabeth Drive.The Central Oil Refinery was built in 1951. It was one of the four original enterprises that...
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Factories around P.E.Estate #13 - Malayan Textile Mill
After all these years describing the various former companies located at Hillview, you would think that Malayan Textile Mill would be on top of the list. It being one of the original four...
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Hillview as seen from Upper Bukit Timah 1957.
Source: National Archives of Singapore/British Royal Air Force Collection.Here is a picture that is worth a thousand words! Colorised from an old RAF Sqn 81 aerial survey photo taken in 1957, this is...
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The Railway lines at Hillview
In my previous article that I posted in July regarding the Hillview factories along Upper Bukit Timah Road, a lot of interest was centred on the two railway lines that ran past Hillview. These were,...
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