RHND

Old Kallang National Stadium After Singapore gained independence in 1965, Othman Wok, then minister for social affairs and culture, campaigned for the substantial funds needed to get the plans off the ground. He believed that good sports facilities were needed to spur the people's interest in sports and improve the fitness of youths, especially because most of the National Servicemen recruited at the time were considered to be lacking in strength. A photo of the Kallang National Stadium before it was demolished. [1] Singapore Pools, a private lottery company owned by the Ministry of Finance, was set up in 1968 to raise funds for the stadium. Proceeds from lottery games Singapore Sweep and TOTO were used to pay for a substantial part of the construction. The 7th Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games of September 1973 was the first major event held at the National Stadium. In the years that followed, the stadium witnessed the patriotic phenomenon dubbed the "Kallang...

Padang The Esplanade is a long, open stretch of field, originally by the sea, located in the Downtown Core of the Central Region. Sitting on the left bank of the Singapore River, it was originally called the Plain, or the Padang, which is Malay for field or open ground. It has been the venue of many momentous colonial and national events in the modern history of Singapore. It is still referred to as the Padang today.[1] This green expanse has been the site of many momentous events in Singapore’s history. It was where the people of Singapore gathered to mark the end of the Japanese Occupation on 12 September 1945, and to witness the installation of Yusof bin Ishak as Singapore’s first  "Head of State" (President) and the unveiling of the State Flag, State Crest and National Anthem on 3 December 1959.  The Padang was also the site of the first National Day Parade of newly independent Singapore on 9 August 1966, and the heart of Singapore’s Golden Jubilee National Day...

Dhoby Ghaut is derived from the Indian Words dhoby , meaning “laundry” and ghaut, meaning “the steps along the bank of a river”. The name stems from the laundry activities that used to take place here from the 1830s onwards. Indian dhobies used to wash their clothes using the water from Stamford Canal. The clothes were dried on empty land subsequently occupied by the Ladies Lawn Tennis Club, now occupied by the triangular-shaped park opposite Cathay cinema. In the past, the whole area was associated with laundry activities and Queen Street in Tamil was vannan teruvu or “Street of the dhobies” and the Malays called it “Kampong dhobi”. [1] Launderers working in Stamford Canal, Singapore in the 1920s  Source: Thimbuktu, Blog to Express [2] Former Cathay Building The Former Cathay Building was designed by Frank W. Brewer in the Art Deco style, an architectural style that was very popular in Singapore in the early twentieth century. The Art Deco façade wall fronting the...

Geylang Serai The name “Geylang Road” can be traced back to 1831.   The word “Geylang” is believed to be either a corruption of the Malay   word kilang which refers to “mills” or “factories”, since the road used to be the site of coconut plantations and mills operated on it to produce coconut oil. Another possible origin is the early presence of the Orang Gallang tribe that lived along the coasts and rivers of Singapore island and was well-known for their piracy activities around the area. The term Geylang Serai refers to an area that is bounded by several adjacent roads in the area. The history of the street is linked to the Alsagoffs, a wealthy Arab family who owned a big property in the neighbourhood. Formerly, the area was called Geylang Kelapa because of the number of coconut palms (kelapa in Malay) planted in the area. In the later half of the 19 th century, the estate was developed into an estate for the cultivation of serai (lemongrass). The name was soon chan...

Street names in Singapore often tell important stories. These streets can be named after important leaders and early settlers that have contributed to Singapore’s development or after prominent landmark features present in the area. [1]   Toa Payoh Origins of Street name Toa Payoh , in the Hokkien dialect, translates to “big swamp” (with "Toa" meaning "big" and "Payoh" meaning "swamp" ). The Malay word for swamp is paya .   It is the Chinese equivalent of Paya Lebar, which also translates to big swamp land. [2] Toa Payoh therefore indicates the large swampy area that existed before Chinese settlers moved into the area.     Toa Payoh in the 1960s Toa Payoh is  the second satellite  town after Queenstown that  was  built by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). The plan to develop Toa Payoh was announced by then Deputy Prime Minister and Acting National Development Minister Toh Chin Chye in August 1960.  In total, Toa Payo...