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Rojak Librarian

The Rojak Librarian is a blog that covers a range of topics related to Singapore's history, culture, and heritage. There are many articles on Bukit Brown, exploring the cemetery's past and present, the lives of the people buried there and the social and cultural significance of the site. I also cover about nature and Birdwatching in some of my articles.

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Showing posts from July, 2015

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It's official - Singapore Botanic Gardens a UNESCO World Heritage Site

botanic gardens Bukit Brown UNESCO

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Rojak Librarian: Nature has a lot to teach us, if only we stop to pay attention.

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Resource Guide on Bukit Brown

History from the Hills (2013)

Newspaper mentions (2014)

Newspaper mentions (2017)

Tuesday Report (2018) 星期二特写 | 行脚。发现第4集：武吉布朗之旅

Newspaper mentions(2020)

Newspaper mentions(2022)

Grave Matters-The Greater Bukit Brown(2023)

The Stories Behind: Birdwatcher turned grave hunter reunites families with forgotten tombs of their ancestors(2022)

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Popular Post

Paying respects to Tan Chwee Lam during Qing Ming (Kopi Sua)

We meet a nice gentleman at the end of the tar road at Kopi Sua. He smiled and spoke to me first, curious to find out we we doing here as we were exploring Kopi Sua. The gentleman was Mr. Tan Kian Seng and he was there with his family to pay respects to his father, Mr. Tan Chwee Lam who passed away in 1955. Mr. Tan Kian Seng is the youngest son of Mr. Tan Chwee Lam. They already finished their Qing Ming and was about to head back when i met them and initially i didn't want to disturb them from leaving. I was again very fortunate because his sons (Tan Chee Wee and Tan Zhi Aun) just like their father were friendly and kindly stayed on for a short while allowing me to chat with them. Their cousin, Tan Cheng Lan was also present in the group in demonstration of the family's filial piety. Just like some families, they are concerned that their parents are getting older and will have difficulty paying respects in the future. Their concerns are real of course and exhumation to relocat

Revisiting 6 years old Thng Mooi Mooi for Qing Ming (Bukit Brown)

The moss gathered damaged marble tomb of Miss Thng Mooi Mooi who passed away at the age of 6 on 6 October 1937 at Block 3 Division 3, plot 127A reveals little of who she was in her brief moment of existence. The significance of the tomb of Miss Thng Ah Mooi (her name in the burial registrar), a 6 year old Hokkien girl to me was that it has help provided material and concrete evidence of clusters of plots which are often unmarked, that are reserved for children who died young or for babies born stillbirth in the Pauper Sections of Bukit Brown. The search was made possible back in March 2019 with heaven sent help from knowledgeable tomb keeper Queenie Quek who despite been busy during Qing Ming helped me in my quest. In subsequent years, i could not find her tomb again in my searches. A tree fell and made the place overgrown again and i gave up. For this year's Qing Ming, i thought i will try again to pay her a visit with my friends to help and guess what ? Deja Vu - Queenie

Tan Swee Hoe and family (Batu Pahat)

Sometime back in August 2012, i wrote an article about Tan Swee Hoe who is buried in Bukit Brown. Tan Swee Hoe came to Singapore as a young boy and worked his way up, eventually becoming one of founders of Ho Hong Bank, and later a director of Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) after it merged with it. He was also for two terms, the president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Batu Pahat, shareholder of Ho Aik Steamships. Tan Swee Hoe was a member of the Council of State, Johore and received a title S.M.J (Setia Mahkota Johore) from the government of Johore in 1929 for his contributions. He owned several property in Singapore and Batu Pahat. Tan Swee Hoe In January 2014, i was fortunate to make a trip with like minded friends to Batu Pahat to visit one of the properties he owned as well as a temple he contributed too and finally the grave of his son. Tan Swee Hoe's mansion First on my wishlist was Tan Swee Hoe's mansion on 160 Jalan Kluang, Batu Pah

Kamala Circus - The Great Indian Circus visits Singapore

I heard about the Tai Thean Kew circus from my involvement with Bukit Brown and during one my tours on the Queenstown Heritage Trail , i was told of another Indian circus troupe that existed in the late 1950's and 1960's. Recently, while curating ideas for a Bukit Brown tour on Pioneers of Early Entertainment, i came across a travelling circus troupe by the name of Kamala Circus. Kamala Circus (source: NewspaperSG) Kamala Circus was reputed to be the largest travelling show in the Far East. It boasted over 100 Indian artist and featured acts such as the flying trapeze act, the "Globe of Death" motor cycle act by two young girls, a 30 foot leap by a motorcyclist and the "cat" act. It claims over 300 tons of equipment and animals which include 16 horses, 8 Ceylon baby elephants, an African lion and 2 lionesses, 2 tiger cubs and 3 Indian mountain goats. It came to Singapore in 1947 from India via Ceylon and performed for a month before touring around th

Paying respects to Goh Chiew San during Qing Ming (Kopi Sua)

The Goh siblings were struggling to cut a path due to a fallen tree to pay respects to their uncle, Goh Chiew San (plot 2146) who came down from Taiwan but passed away in Singapore. We were exploring in Kopi Sua (Whitley Road Hokkien Cemetery) when we saw movements among the bushes. I was a bit worried it was wild boar, but when we heard voices, we walk closer to the other side and saw a lady and 2 guys clearing a path to the tomb. We helped as much as we can by sawing off the obstructing branches and cutting the vines before making our way to explore further. My heartiest respect to the filial piety to the Goh siblings who didn't give up despite having a tough time clearing and in making access to pay respects to their deceased uncle. Paying respects to their uncle, Mr. Goh Chiew San The Goh siblings are able to access and pay respects after clearing

Qing Ming at Tan Quee Lan cluster (2024)

I am so fortunate to have bumped into Serene Tan and her family for this year's Qing Ming. My sincere thanks for allowing me to document her private moments of filial piety together with her daughter, son and son-in-law. Serene Tan is the great-great-granddaughter of Tan Quee Lan. Her journey of rediscovery and the reinstatement of the cluster has been well documented in the past. Serene Tan paying respects to Tan Quee Lan and Tan Jim Seng Serene Tan paying respects to Mr. and Mrs. Tan Koh Ling The Qing Ming tradition continues many levels down the family tree of Tan Quee Lan Serene's children and son-in-law paying respects The Tan Quee Lan (陳桂蘭) cluster consists of the tomb of : Row 1 Mr. Tan Quee Lan (posthumous name: Tan Tock Xin / 2nd Generation) (passed away on 12 May 1904) Mr. Tan Jim Seng (4th generation - grandson of Tan Quee Lan) (passed away 26 September 1919) Row 2 Madam Tan Siew Neo (2nd generation - sister of Tan Quee Lan) (passed away: N.A.) Mr. and Mrs. Tan

Tan Swee Hoe mansion in Batu Pahat

The status of Tan Swee Hoe's mansion at 160 Jalan Kluang, Batu Pahat was finally revealed! The mansion that was once owned by Tan Swee Hoe's descendants was sold and the rumors circulating at one point of time was it was going to be demolished. In fact various readers of my blog sent me pictures of the mansion after it was sold where the rooftop of the building and the interiors was completely stripped. Tan Swee Hoe's mansion (minus the roof) Well it was finally revealed in various Malaysian papers ( Sin Chew Daily , Johor China Press ) that it was purchased by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, the Sultan of Johor. It was reported in the papers that the Sultan of Johor plans to restore the building and turn it into a Heritage Centre featuring the artefacts of the Johor Chinese community as well as as artefacts from China as a strong symbol to reaffirm the long relationship between the Johor Sultanate and China. About Tan Swee Hoe Tan Swee Hoe T

Passing down the Qing Ming tradition at Chia Hood Theam's tomb (2024)

I am very fortunate to meet today the descendants of Chia Hood Theam who came down to pay respects. Being curious, i wanted to find out from which branch they are from and thanks to their sharing, i found out that they are from the branch of Dr. Chia Keng Hoe and more specifically, the grand and great grandchildren of Mabel Chia. It is very heartening to see the younger generation present in the cleaning of the tomb of Mr. and Mrs. Chia Hood Theam and reassures me that such acts of filial piety will continue especially when the young are involved. Mr. and Mrs. Chia Hood Theam are indeed blessed ! Mr. and Mrs. Chia Hood Theam being clean by their great great grandchildren (many levels down the family tree) ! Mr. and Mrs. Chia Hood Theam's tomb being cleaned during Qing Ming 2024 Offerings for Mr. and Mrs. Chia Hood Theam (photo courtesy of Pam Tan) Mr. and Mrs. Chia Hood Theam Chia Hood Theam was a Straits-born Chinese and was the son of Chia Leong Chuan. He studied in Raffle

Teo Teck Huat (Kopi Sua)

Teo Teck Huat is the story of many early Singapore Pioneers who through hard work left a lasting legacy. He was a humble carpenter from China who came to Singapore seeking opportunities. He started Teo Teck Huat Contractors in 1928 which not only took on building but also renovation and repair works. With quality and good work over the years, they manage to secured the contract to build the Cathay Building at Dhoby Ghaut in 1937. The structure was then labelled as the first skyscraper in Singapore and Southeast Asia. In 1972, Teo Teck Huat (Singapore) was incorporated and it had many projects, both for the public and private sector which included the Pasir Panjang Garden Estate, Tunas Building, Tong Building, Tengah Military Air Base, Bridgeport Machines Factory, Pandan Junior College, Clementi Condominium, Registry of Vehicles Headquarters and of course. The Amara (Amara Hotel). In 1981, the Teo Teck Huat group did a joint-venture agreement with Rush & Tompkins for major civil eng

Francis Thomas (All Saints Memorial)

While exploring the niches in All Saints Memorial i came across this niche with a lovely wedding picture that you see below. The niche belongs to a western man and a chinese lady. Not knowing the person, i took a picture to read up further on Francis Thomas and Catherine Eng Neo Thomas. Born in April 1912 in Westcote, England, Francis Thomas (1912-1977) was the fourth child in a family of six children of Rev. J A Thomas and Mrs. Thomas in Westcote, Francis was the third son in the family. The others were Mary (eldest), David, Michael, Anthony and Christopher). Francis Thomas was a well known Educator, Politician and Minister. He became a member of the Labour Party of Singapore in 1948, President of the Labour Front (1950) and became the Minister of Works and Communications (1955-1958) in the Labour Front Government under Mr. David Marshall and later Lim Yew Hock. He resigned in 1959 and returned back to his teaching position. He was the Principal of St. Andrew's School in 1963, su

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