The description of the photo reads - Chinese temple in Kheam Hock Road, Singapore. This is from the Elliot Collection which is accessible online from the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology website.
To me this is fascinating. I have seen and identified photos of the Bukit Brown Cemetery Temple but this is my first time seeing this temple photo that was described to be on Kheam Hock Road itself (assuming the description of the photo is correct). The photo was taken in 1950 -1951 and what i can see is that the roof is still a thatched roof one, with the temple built on wood and on slightly elevated ground. Behind the temple is another larger structure - a building built with concrete or bricks and is double story. From the typography of the pictures when combined together, it is unlikely to be the Seh Ong Temple / Ong Clan Temple in the main central area of Kheam Hock Road and Jalan Berahi (although the photos i have of the area around Kheam Hock Road is from the early 1992) and i have not taken into consideration the time pass for potential changes in the area. There are also other temples that we have heard about including the Lao Sua Temple (unlikely to be the one below) and a temple that existed nearer to Gymkhana Road (closer to the tomb of Yap Geok Song).
The incense burner in the photo is beautiful and ornate. As shared earlier, behind the temple there is a tall retaining wall and you can make out another larger double-story building behind it. The third photo shows a glimpse of what is the view in front of the temple, coconut trees and what looks like flat ground. We found an incense burner in the jungles nearer to Gymkhana on the grounds of a former temple there, but it doesn't look like the one in the photo.
The actual location remains for now a mystery. If you have any leads, do leave a comment or better still share photos of the temple with me.
Lead 1 : It has relocated to Sin Ming as part of the combined Temple: Lian Huay Temple - 莲花三太子
Lead 2 : 德天宫 Teck Tian Keng (gathered from pictures below). Both leads with thanks from Yik Han.
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| Chinese Temple in Kheam Hock Road (1950-1951 (source: Elliot's Collection, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) |
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| Chinese Temple in Kheam Hock Road, Singapore (1950-1951) (source: Elliot's Collection. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) |
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| Outside a Chinese Temple in Kheam Hock Road, Singapore (1950-1951) (source: Elliot's Collection. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) |
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| Outside a Chinese Temple in Kheam Hock Road, Singapore (1950-1951) (source: Elliot's Collection. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) |
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| Chinese Temple in Kheam Hock Road, Singapore (1950-1951) (source: Elliot's Collection. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) |
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| Spirit medium performance at a Chinese Temple in Kheam Hock Road, Singapore (1950-1951) (source: Elliot's Collection. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) |
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| Spirit medium performance at a Chinese Temple in Kheam Hock Road, Singapore (1950-1951) (source: Elliot's Collection. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) |
Temple at Kheam Hock Road
Only 1 temple was listed in this map although there were others.
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| Syonan Map -Kheam Hock Road (source: National Archives, Singapore) |
Other known temple(s) at Kheam Hock Road or nearby area on photos.
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| Ong Clan Temple - 1992 (source: NLB) |
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| Bukit Brown Cemetery Temple (source: Ring of Fury 1973) |
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| Lao Sua Temple - Sin Heng San Teng Temple (新恒山亭庙) (photo taken in 2015) |
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