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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 October, 2026

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Mr. Red (紅) ? - Ang Peng Siong (Bukit Brown)

October 02, 2026

AI Assisted Translation block 2 Division H marble

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Madam Neo Ging Neng (Bukit Brown)

October 02, 2026

block 2 Division H marble

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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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Chua Hood Kye (Bukit Brown)

The marble tomb needed clean up as it was covered with moss. After some cleaning the tomb, it was all etched in English and it reads; In Loving Memory of Chua Hood Kye Beloved Son of Mr & Mrs Chua Teck Kim Who Passed Away 13-12-34 Age 4 Years. Chua Hood Kye was only 4 years when he passed away on 13 December 1934. In the burial registrar, the entry for his name is written as Chua Hock Kye Chua Hood Kye Possible Connection I really cannot be sure who Chua Teck Kim parents are, but within that timeline, this is a possible connection of his parents. If i follow this version, the possible story is this: Father: Chua Teck Kim Chua Teck Kim of No. 57 Killiney Road, Singapore , Clerk - a bankruptcy notice for him appeared on June 1937. Bankruptcy Ordinance Notice for Chua Teck Kim A bankrupt, Chua Teck Kim, attributed his insolvency to standing surety for his for mother for $26,00. This liabilities eventually snowballed to $33,000 when he eventually beca...

Children buried together in the Pauper Section 4 Division 3 (Bukit Brown)

While exploring Pauper Section 4, Division 3, we came across a clearing where there were no tombs in quite a large area except for 1 tomb (see below). That got us curious. The solitary tomb fortunately had a plot number attached. Nearby this solitary tomb were some visible plot markers - 711 (with the 7 broken), 721. 732 and 743. With this information, i am able to map who are the people buried here in Pauper 4 Division 3 . Let me start with the one with the solitary tombstone found first. Koh Chee Cheng - Male - 1 year and 1 month old - Hokkien - died 6 June 1941.v-plot 733 Koh Chee Cheng - passed away at the age of 1 year and 1 month old on 6 June 1941 Using the plot markers as evidence, i am able to uncover those who are buried nearby baby Koh Chee Cheng. They carry no tombs but only plot markers. Buried in the same plot of 733 plot marker, but subdivided are: Unamed child of Ng Chee Seng -Male- (age not stated) - Hokkien - died 6 June 1941 (plot 733A) Child of Seet...

Pauper 4 Section 3 - plot 592

The tomb is slowly enveloped by the roots of a huge fig tree. However there are words on the headstone that caught Raymond Goh's eye. The chinese character on the tomb of significance is possibly: 星洲碼头工友互助會 which i literally translate it to mean the Singapore Harbour Board Wharf Worker's Mutual Help Association Pauper 4 Section 3 -plot 592 - possibly Siu Yong Yeung Possible connection Using Gemini AI for assistance, the term breakdown is as follows: 星洲 (Xīngzhōu): "Singapore" (literally "Star Island," a historical Chinese name for Singapore) 碼頭 (mǎtóu): Wharf / Dock / Harbour 工友 (gōngyǒu): Workers / Labourers 互助會 (hùzhù huì): Mutual Help Association / Mutual Aid Union From the plot number -592, it is very likely this is the tomb of Siu Yong Yeung / Sim Yong Yeung who passed away at the age of 53 on 12 May 1941. In the burial registrar, he is listed as Hokchew. It is possible that he worked in the harbour docks and the tomb erected for him was one of the l...

Song Ong Siang and family (All Saints Memorial)

Sir Song Ong Siang was the the eldest son of Song Hoot Kiam and Phan Fung Lean. He served as a voluntary preacher and succeeded his father Song Hoot Kiam (when he died in 1900), as an elder of the church. He also served as Chairman of the Chinese Christian Association for many years and was a strong advocate for educational reform, helping in the formation of the Singapore Chinese Girls' School and becoming one of the members on the Board of Governors and its Vice-president. Sir Song Ong Siang achieved many first. He was as earlier mentioned, the first Chinese to be Knighted. As a young boy, he was a brilliant student. He excelled in his studies and was the first recipient of the Queen's Scholar but was disqualified due to the fact he was underage. The honor instead went to another distingushed person, Dr. Lim Boon Keng. He did eventually became a Queens Scholar in 1888 and was the first Queens Scholar to study law. He went on to establish the law firm, Aitken and Ong Siang...

Madam Tan Seok Neo (Bukit Brown)

Madam Tan Seok Neo passed away on 12 September 1935. From the burial entry, she was 48 years old when she passed away. Her name was spelt as Tan Shok New. She is the mother of; Wee Siang Teck Wee Lim Neo Wee Bee Neo Wee Chwee Neo Wee Bong Soo. Madam Tan Seok Neo Location of tomb Pauper 4 Division 2, plot 1112 Burial entry for Madam Tan Seok Neo

Lee Keng Chin (Bukit Brown)

Lee Keng Chin passed away at the age of 25 on 16 May 1941. His dialect was listed as Hokkien. Lee Keng Chin / 李慶春 Using Gemini AI as Assistance sparingly since i can't read chinese (do correct me if i am wrong, by commenting below) Top Left Column (Ancestral Home) 金竹 (Jīnjiú) Translation: Jinzhu (The ancestral village or region of the Li family in China). Main Central Column (The Deceased Name) 顯考慶春李公墓 Translation: Tomb of the late, respected father, Mr. Li Qingchun. Note: "顯考" (Xian Kao) is an honorific term for a deceased father. "李" (Li) is the surname, "慶春" (Qingchun) is the given name, and "公" (Gong) is a respectful term for a gentleman. Right Column (Date of Death) 卒民國辛巳年 Year: Died in the Xinsi Year of the Republic of China which corresponds directly to 1941. Left Column (The Family Line (Far Left, Bottom Inner Column)) This part is a bit tricky and i couldn't make sense of what was given to me and i am afraid that it hallucinat...

Madam Ang Poo Neo (Bukit Brown)

Madam Ang Poo Neo died at the age of 81 and is buried in Bukit Brown on 20 March 1935. In the burial entry her name seems to be spelt as Ong Poo Neo. Tomb of Madam Ang Poo Neo Location of tomb Pauper Section 4, Division 1, plot 839

Lim Nee Soon and family (Bukit Brown)

Mr. Lim Nee Soon's wife (Wee Pek Hay) and two of his son's ( Lim Chong Kuo and Lim Chong Pang ) tomb can be found in Bukit Brown, Block 4 Division A. Mr. Lim Nee Soon is not buried there but in Nanking, China. It is however difficult to write a story about Lim Nee Soon family members tomb cluster in Bukit Brown, without first introducing Mr. Lim Nee Soon first. Pineapple King and Patriot Mr. Lim Nee Soon (1879-1936) is the son of Mr Lim Peng Guan and was born in Kampong Glam, Beach Road in 1879. His father died when Lim Nee Soon was only 8 years old and was left in the care of his maternal grandfather, Mr. Teo Lee (Mr Teo Eng Hock's father). Lim Nee Soon received his early education in both St. Joseph Institution and Anglo-Chinese School and therefore proficient in both English and Chinese languages. A Teochew, he started from scratch, working as a shopkeeper assistant at the age of 18 and from there he climbed the rungs by next working for timber merchant Tan Tye a...

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...

Lee Ah Moey (Bukit Brown)

Lee Ah Moey passed away at the age of 19 and was buried in Bukit Brown on 15 March 1935. Lee Ah Moey - 19 years old in 1935 As the headstone carvings were clear, i decide to experiment with AI (something i seldom do, to give me more insights as i can't read chinese). I edited the results a bit for obvious errors, but this is what Gemini came back after i did my prompts. Key Details: Deceased Name: Li A-mei (李阿味) Ancestral Origin: Shajin Village, Chaozhou (Teochew region, Guangdong, China) 潮州邑獅沙金 Date Erected: Year 1935 (Republic Year 24, Yihai year in the Chinese sexagenary cycle), 民國乙亥年二月初十日立 specifically around 14 March 1935 in the Gregorian calendar. Plot Reference Number: 837 Note: Will try this approach sparingly and only for tombs that are clear and easier to be verified by humans (so do leave a feedback if you think there is an error). Location of tomb Pauper 4 Division 1, plot 837

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