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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. I wrote many articles on Bukit Brown, exploring the cemetery's past and present, the lives of the early pioneers buried there and the social and cultural significance of the site. I also cover about nature and birdwatching.

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Showing posts from June, 2026

Posts

Lee Geok Hoe (Bukit Brown)

Block 2 Division A

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Junior Too : A name restored (Bukit Brown)

Died Young Pauper Section 4 Division 3

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Tan Mary (Bukit Brown)

Pauper Section 4 Division 2

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Mrs. Seah Eng Woon nee Madam Ng Hian Guek (Bukit Brown)

Block 4 Div A Teochew Tomb

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Neo Ah Mooy (Bukit Brown)

Pauper 1 Division 8

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Kow Yew Beng (Bukit Brown)

Pauper Section 4 Division 4

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Koh Choon Seng (Bukit Brown)

Died Young Pauper Section 4 Division 3

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Madam Lim Hai Tong (Bukit Brown)

marble Pauper Section 4 Division 2

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Wee Geok Hay - Bini Sayang (Bukit Brown)

Pauper Section 4 Division 3 peranakan Youtube Shorts

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Mrs. Ang Kay Cheong nee Madam Tan Hong Neo (Bukut Brown)

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Lee Chim Sian (Bukit Brown)

Block 4 Div A decorative tiles

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Labels

Bukit Brown896
Hill 3330
Died Young187
Hill 1185
decorative tiles170
Hill 4152
Block 3 Div D151
Block 4 Div A142
Block 3 Div C109
Block 4 Div C107

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Rojak Librarian (Peter Pak): Advocate for Conservation of Bukit Brown Cemetery. Heritage and Nature Enthusiast.

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

Newspaper mentions(2025)

Newspaper mentions(2024)

Newspaper mentions(2024)

Grave Matters-The Greater Bukit Brown(2023)

Newspaper mentions(2022)

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

Newspaper mentions (2017)

History from the Hills (2013)

Newspaper mentions (2014)

Resource Guide on Bukit Brown

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Popular Post

Junior Too : A name restored (Bukit Brown)

On 8 June 1941, a baby boy lived for only six and a half hours before passing away. His grieving parents, Mr. and Mrs. Too Joon Ting, may not have given him a name to the tomb mason in that moment of sorrow, and so his headstone reflects only the words - beloved boy. Yet history is not only written in stone. Through what feels like divine guidance, this story found its way back to the family. On 8 June 2026 , on the very anniversary of the boy’s death— my article - Unnamed boy of Mr. and Mrs. Too Joo Ting (published on 24 May 2026) managed to reached out to his younger brother, Henry Too, who was alerted about my blogpost by his niece. Henry (who now is based in Australia) reached out to me online and shared a precious recollection: their father had indeed given his elder brother who passed away a name— Junior Too . Junior Too has in total 3 brothers, 1 sister and many, many relatives. Divine Intervention What astonishes me most is not only that this mystery was ...

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...

Mr. Lim Teck Kin

An article that caught my eye which states that on 27 May 1951, more than 4,500 relatives and friends attended the funeral of the late Mr. Lim Teck Kin, a Chinese millionaire, pineapple magnate, rubber dealer and sole proprietor of Messrs. Teck Hin and Co. at Bukit Brown Cemetery, Bukit Timah . Another thing that caught my eye was that he was murdered under the orders of the Communist Party of Malaya also known as the Malayan Communist Party. Mr. Lim Teck Kin came to Singapore from Fukien (Fujian) in 1904. He owned the United Malayan Pineapple Growers and Canners Ltd. with a factory in Scudai, Johore. Beside pineapple (which the papers said that he once held a record sales of pineapples to Europe and America), he was one of the principal agents for Shell Company oil. He managed several benzine kiosk with the main one being in Beach Road (Kian Hin) and a dealer in motor tyres and spare parts. He was also well-known in Trengganu where he owned Teck Siong and Company, dealing in General m...

Valley of Death (Siglap)

There was a series of pictures that were recently published on PictureSG, donated by Foo Chin Hwa 胡拯华 1962 that got me curious. It was a series of pictures that shows and describes exhumation being carried out and bones found in Siglap. However nothing further was added in the description and credit line of this pictures except for a few. For this series of pictures, a few things were consistent, the year the pictures were taken and the donor, Foo Chin Hwa 胡拯华. Washing of bones from mass graves source: PictureSG Bones found in Siglap (source: PictureSG) Piles of discarded footwear source: PictureSG Storing bones in jar (source: PictureSG) Siglap's "Valley of Death" The newspaper article headline of 24 February 1962 caught my attention. It describes a recent sandwashing activity at 7.5 mile Siglap Road which led to a discovery of mass war graves. The location of this place is off Evergreen Avenue and very close to Puay Poon School. The Chi...

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 Paha...

Sheums Circus

Shanghai-born, Mr. Sheum Cheng Fook ( 沈常福 / Shen Chang Fu) first started out as a strongman in an acrobatic show in Hong Kong at the age of 19. In 1927, when the troupe performed in Penang, he decided to start his own circus in a small way- with a pair of tigers he bought with his life savings. Sheum Cheng Fook sought permission from his mother, Madam Cheng Kao Shih and stepfather, Sun Si Ting, both founders of Tan Thean Kiew circus to allow him to set-up his own circus. Both gave their blessing and from there was born another famous circus troupe, Chang Fu Circus or also known as Sheum's Circus. Half of the troupe from Tai Thean Kew went over over with him including his biological sisters and her daughters. Both troupe as we know it, continue to co-exist post war. Sheums Circus was popularly known as "Sim Siong Hock" in Hokkien (but i don't really know the reason why is this so and if anyone of you might know, do leave a comment below). Mr. and Mrs. Sheum Cheng F...

Mrs. Ang Kay Cheong nee Madam Tan Hong Neo (Bukut Brown)

Madam Tan Hong Neo nee Nya Nya passed away at the age of 48 at her residence, No. 1 Martaban Road on 18 April 1937. Mrs. Ang Kay Cheong nee Tan Hong Neo alias Tan Nya Nya leaves behind her husband, Mr. Ang Kay Cheong, her only brother, Mr. Tan Boon Chye, 7 sons; Ang Ann Hoe, Ang Ann Beng, Ang Ann Poh, Ang Ann Guan, Ang Ann Kiat, Ang Ann Lock, Ang Ann Liang 3 daughters; Mrs. Ong Kim Seng Miss Ang Leng Neo, Miss Ang Cheng Neo 1 son-in-law: Ong Kim Seng 2 grandsons and 1 granddaughter. Listed on her tomb are; Sons: Ang Ann Hoe, Ang Ann Beng, Ang Ann Poh, Ang Ann Guan, Ang Ann Kiat, Ang Ann Lock, Ang Ann Liang Daughters: Ang Phek Neo, Ang Leng Neo, Ang Cheng Neo Son-in-law: Ong Kim Seng Daughters-in-law: Margaret Pong, Tan Chwee Neo Grandchildren: Ang Eng Kim, Ang Boh Choo, Ang Kian Liam Mr. Ang Kay Cheong and family beg to tender their sincere and heartfelt thanks to the Staffs of Messrs.. Henry Waugh & Co., Ltd, The Government Architect, The C...

Ong Boon Tat (Bukit Brown)

Mr. Ong Boon Tat (1888-8 July 1941) is the son of Mr. Ong Sam Leong ). Born in Singapore in 1888, he studied in Raffles Institution and won a Guthrie Scholarship. Ong Boon Tat was a Justice of Peace and Municipal Commissioner for 5 years. He was the managing director of of New World Limited (New World Park) and a Director at Overseas Assurance Corporation (during the time where the Chairman was Mr. Lim Nee Soon ). In the early 1900's, a young Ong Boon Tat stepped into the offices of the Straits Times to apply for the position of shorthand reporter and did a good job of it during a time where the entire editorial team is made of Europeans. However his family business activities came calling and he had to leave. He however never lost interest and later in life became the director of the Malayan Tribune Press Ltd. As the head of the firm Ong Sam Leong and Co, who were the contractors for Christmas Island, he had to travel to Christmas Island to deal with workers unrest / riot the...

Wee Geok Hay - Bini Sayang (Bukit Brown)

Today i am able to see another rare tomb at the pauper section of Bukit Brown. It's a simple tomb but what captured my attention is - Bini Sayang . It is a malay word for my beloved wife. That is what makes this tomb so culturally unique. The headstone reads; Bini Sayang Wee Geok Hay Died on 3rd December 1955 Note: 1955 is a mistake and if you look closer at the headstone that i chalked, you can make out 3 numbers - 302. Bini Sayang - Wee Geok Hay / Beloved Wife -Wee Geok Hay Unfortunately, there is no information i can gather about her. Initially even her date of death etched on the tomb 3rd December 1955 does not match with anyone on the burial registrar. However thanks to Raymond Goh online burial registrar checker and also confirming it visually with the actual burial registrar, i found her burial entry. Wee Geok Hay passed away at the age of 43 and is buried on 4 December 1935 at Pauper IV, Division III, 302. This explains the small numbers 302 below died on...

Khoo Yang Tin and family (Bukit Brown)

Khoo Yang Tin was a rice trader and was a Director of the Chinese Commercial Bank where other prominent chinese pioneers were in the Board of Directors. They included Mr. Lee Choon Guan (Chairman), Dr. Lim Boon Keng (Vice-Chairman), Lim Nee Soon , S.Q. Wong, Lee Kong Chian and many others over the years. With his wealth, he also bought many land all over Singapore. Khoo Yang Tin passed away at the age of 87 at his residence, 358 River Valley Road on 25 December 2603 (1943). He is survived by; His 2 widows, 5 sons: Khoo Teck Soon, Khoo Teck Chuan, Khoo Teck Puat, Khoo Teck Imm, Khoo Teck Quee 5 daughters: Khoo Tiam Tee, Khoo Ai Tee, Khoo Suat Ngoh, Khoo Suat Khim and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. The funeral took place on 31 December 1943. The executors of the estate of Khoo Yang Tin were Messrs. Khoo Teck Soon, Khoo Teck Chuan and Khoo Teck Puat Khoo Yang Tian Wife: Madam Yeo Kim Chiam Mrs. Khoo Yang Tin nee Yeo Kim Chiam passed away ...

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Heritage in S'pore and M'sia

All things Bukit Brown
Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials 新加坡墓碑铭集录
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Focus Ubin
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