Found this interesting picture dated 1929 and it shows a close-up of an early local transportation that was popular during that time period - a Mosquito bus. The photo was originally in black and white and faded. I used Gemini and prompted it to sharpen the picture and colorise it without changing anything else. Without commenting on the color of the mosquito bus itself (which could be wrong), there are still other layers of potential information from the photo with the most obvious one- Tanjong Pagar and the license plate of the vehicle (S4267) and the owner ? (H.W. Teck). In the background is another smaller vehicle and in the background is a church steeple - possibly Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (today CHJIMES). Tanjong Pagar denotes the route of this bus service - Tanjong Pagar - Geylang.
Just behind the Mosquito bus (which is fully laden with passengers), i can make out a Dispensary but not its name.
From old maps, i will make an educated guess that the road the vehicle is on is North Bridge Road based on the location and orientation of the Steeple of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. The junction of the road in that direction is of course Bras Bash Road and the two buildings in the picture are row of buildings from 301- 313 North Bridge Road (odd numbers). Looking at the buildings around that timeline, this are the ones i found.
- Tan Kah Kee Sales Department - 301 North Bridge Road (possibly related to the shop with the chinese character visible)
- Anglo-Chinese Dispensary Ltd -303 North bridge Road
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| Location of the Mosquito Bus and Convent Steeple |
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| 301 North Bridge Road - Tan Kah Kee's Sales Department (1926 advertisement) |
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| Anglo-Chinese Dispensary 303 North Bridge Road |
Who is H.W. Teck that is written on the bus ? It remains a mystery to me for now.
Mosquito Bus
Mosquito Bus are small, seven-seater motor bus commonly seen on Singapore roads in the 1920s and 1930s.The mosquito buses were modified American cars, and the most favored chassis was Ford’s Model T. The demand for this buses came from a time in the early 1920s where Singapore’s population was growing rapidly and larger number of people are living outside the city where public transport is lacking and hence this buses appeared to fill the gaps.
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| Mosquito Bus (source: National Archives, Singapore) |
The vehicle that is parked on the road behind the tomb of this rare photo from Bukit Brown Cemetery is a "Mosquito Bus".
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| Lim Teck Whee's tomb in Bukit Brown Lim Chin Chye (seated with pith hat) and his son, Lim Bock Chwee (4 year boy seated with pith hat) (photo courtesy of Lim Soon Hoe, great grandson of Lim Chan Siew, grandson of Lim Chin Chye ) |
[research on-going]
References
Images from the Past - North Bridge Road after a Japanese air raid. (website). Rojak Librarian. posted on 9 September 2019.
North Bridge Road - Hiruma Shokai (Images from the Past. (website). Rojak Librarian, posted on 23 September 2021
North Bridge Road - Jubilee Theatre (Images from the Past). (website). Rojak Librarian, posted on 27 March 2021
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