Ong Sam Leong
Comments on article: InfopediaTalk
Ong Sam Leong (b. 1857, Singapore - d. 7 February 1918, Singapore) was a successful and respected Chinese businessman. He was the key contractor supplying labourers to the mines in the phosphate-rich Christmas Island. He also owned other businesses such as brickworks and plantations in the Straits Settlements. His remains are housed in the largest tomb at Bukit Brown Cemetery in Singapore. His two sons, popularly referred to as the Ong Brothers, built and owned the New World Theme Park.
Early life
Ong Sam Leong was born in 1857. He came from a humble background and had little education. Although he received little formal education, his perseverance and business acumen helped him build his fortune. He started a small commissions agent business at 21 years of age.
Business ventures
Early life
Ong Sam Leong was born in 1857. He came from a humble background and had little education. Although he received little formal education, his perseverance and business acumen helped him build his fortune. He started a small commissions agent business at 21 years of age.
Business ventures
Ong's early land transactions turned out profitably. He then became interested in timber concessions in Pahang and Kemaman. In 1899, Ong secured the contract with the Christmas Island Phosphate Company Limited to supply mining workers to Christmas Island, 400 kilometres south of Java. His company, Ong Sam Leong and Company, held the monopoly. They obtained the labour from coolie houses located along Pagoda Street in Singapore. Most of the labourers were from Guangdong or Guangxi, China. Ong also owned a sundry shop on Christmas Island. He made profits from supplying daily provisions to the coolies.
Ong also owned the brickworks in Batam, Indonesia. In addition, he held large interests in numerous sawmills in Singapore. He later became involved in the construction industry in and outside of Singapore.
By the time of his death in 1918, his estate consisted of substantial landed properties and rubber estates in Singapore and beyond it.
Personal life
Ong was a popular member of several old and respected Chinese clubs. For example, he was for many years the president of Ban Chye Hoe Club. He was also keenly interested in the patriotic movement of the Straits Chinese community during World War One. He contributed liberally to the fund raising efforts during the war. In appreciation of the Straits Volunteer Corps (SVC), which defended the Settlements by managing several outposts in the Settlements, he built a garage at the SVC Drill Hall at his own expense for use by the Corps' motor lorry.
Ong was a hardworking man who kept himself busy till his last days. The only known forms of relaxation he allowed himself were going on motoring and sea trips. Before his death, he built a fine house in Bukit Timah Road called Bukit Rose. This was where Ong entertained friends on a lavish scale.
Ong died of heart failure in 1918 at 60 years of age. His wife, Yeo Yean Neo, survived him and passed away at the age of 73 years in 1935.
The Ong tomb
The biggest tomb in Bukit Brown Cemetery (off Lornie Road) belongs to Ong and his wife. At the time of Ong's death, the burial place was restricted only to Hokkiens with the surname Ong.
Comparable to the size of ten typical three-room flats in Singapore, Ong's 600 m2 tomb was found in May, 2006. A pre-school principal and former employee of the National Archives discovered it. Then 51 year-old Tan Beng Luan promptly alerted her ex-colleagues at the National Archives when she found the tomb.
The Ong tomb is one of the grandest among the 100,000 tombs in the cemetery. It contained many ornaments typically found in Chinese tombs, except that most of the items were significantly larger. The earth deity shrine, which is about the size of a brick in most graves, was as big as a typical tomb in the Ong tomb. Similarly, the moat, which is usually a small ditch or groove in a typical tomb, was 15 metres long. Cemetery workers were said to have used it as a swimming pool. There was a pair of lion statues and a pair of Sikh guard figures watching over the grave. The figures of Sikh guards stood at two metres in the Ong tomb, unlike those at the tomb of Ong's son which were 30 centimetres tall.
The Singapore Heritage Society had been searching for the tomb for several years before it was discovered in 2006. By then, it was neglected and completely overgrown. The tomb was then cleared of weeds and other foliage by the National Environment Agency. The National Archives also produced a documentation of it.
The Ong Brothers
Ong had two sons, Boon Tat and Peng Hock, and a daughter (Mrs. Khoo Peck Lock). His sons, referred to as the Ong Brothers, were better known as the co-owners of the New World Theme Park in Jalan Besar (the other owners were the Shaw Brothers), which they built in 1923. The park closed in 1987.
Both sons were educated at Raffles Institution and became prominent men among the Straits Chinsese merchants. The elder son, Boon Tat, was born in 1888 and commenced his business training under Ong when he was 19 years old. Peng Hock was trained in the timber trade by Ong.
Sam Leong Road
Sam Leong Road is named after Ong. Located in Little India, it is a stretch of road about 200 metres long between Jalan Besar Road and Verdun Road. The road was originally named Paya Road; it was renamed Sam Leong Road by the Singapore Municipal Commissioners in 1928.
Ong also owned the brickworks in Batam, Indonesia. In addition, he held large interests in numerous sawmills in Singapore. He later became involved in the construction industry in and outside of Singapore.
By the time of his death in 1918, his estate consisted of substantial landed properties and rubber estates in Singapore and beyond it.
Personal life
Ong was a popular member of several old and respected Chinese clubs. For example, he was for many years the president of Ban Chye Hoe Club. He was also keenly interested in the patriotic movement of the Straits Chinese community during World War One. He contributed liberally to the fund raising efforts during the war. In appreciation of the Straits Volunteer Corps (SVC), which defended the Settlements by managing several outposts in the Settlements, he built a garage at the SVC Drill Hall at his own expense for use by the Corps' motor lorry.
Ong was a hardworking man who kept himself busy till his last days. The only known forms of relaxation he allowed himself were going on motoring and sea trips. Before his death, he built a fine house in Bukit Timah Road called Bukit Rose. This was where Ong entertained friends on a lavish scale.
Ong died of heart failure in 1918 at 60 years of age. His wife, Yeo Yean Neo, survived him and passed away at the age of 73 years in 1935.
The Ong tomb
The biggest tomb in Bukit Brown Cemetery (off Lornie Road) belongs to Ong and his wife. At the time of Ong's death, the burial place was restricted only to Hokkiens with the surname Ong.
Comparable to the size of ten typical three-room flats in Singapore, Ong's 600 m2 tomb was found in May, 2006. A pre-school principal and former employee of the National Archives discovered it. Then 51 year-old Tan Beng Luan promptly alerted her ex-colleagues at the National Archives when she found the tomb.
The Ong tomb is one of the grandest among the 100,000 tombs in the cemetery. It contained many ornaments typically found in Chinese tombs, except that most of the items were significantly larger. The earth deity shrine, which is about the size of a brick in most graves, was as big as a typical tomb in the Ong tomb. Similarly, the moat, which is usually a small ditch or groove in a typical tomb, was 15 metres long. Cemetery workers were said to have used it as a swimming pool. There was a pair of lion statues and a pair of Sikh guard figures watching over the grave. The figures of Sikh guards stood at two metres in the Ong tomb, unlike those at the tomb of Ong's son which were 30 centimetres tall.
The Singapore Heritage Society had been searching for the tomb for several years before it was discovered in 2006. By then, it was neglected and completely overgrown. The tomb was then cleared of weeds and other foliage by the National Environment Agency. The National Archives also produced a documentation of it.
The Ong Brothers
Ong had two sons, Boon Tat and Peng Hock, and a daughter (Mrs. Khoo Peck Lock). His sons, referred to as the Ong Brothers, were better known as the co-owners of the New World Theme Park in Jalan Besar (the other owners were the Shaw Brothers), which they built in 1923. The park closed in 1987.
Both sons were educated at Raffles Institution and became prominent men among the Straits Chinsese merchants. The elder son, Boon Tat, was born in 1888 and commenced his business training under Ong when he was 19 years old. Peng Hock was trained in the timber trade by Ong.
Sam Leong Road
Sam Leong Road is named after Ong. Located in Little India, it is a stretch of road about 200 metres long between Jalan Besar Road and Verdun Road. The road was originally named Paya Road; it was renamed Sam Leong Road by the Singapore Municipal Commissioners in 1928.
Author
Lee Hwee Hoon
References
Au Yong, J. (2006, June 4). Tycoon's tomb uncovered. The Straits Times. Retrieved February 16, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Death of Mr. Ong Sam Leong (Microfilm No. NL440). (1918, February 7). The Straits Times. p. 8.
Death (Microfilm No. 1499). (1935, May 26). The Straits Times, p.13.
Dunlop, P. K. G. (2000). Street Names of Singapore (p. 269). Singapore: Who's Who Publishing.
(Call No.: SING 959.57 DUN -[HIS])
Lee, K. L. (1984). Emerald Hill, the Story of a Street in Words and Pictures: The Story of a Street in Words and Pictures (p. 24). Singapore: National Museum.
(Call No.: RSING 959.57 LEE -[HIS])
Municipal affairs. (1928, November 7). The Straits Times, p. 12.
Savage, V. R. and Yeoh, B. S. A. (2003). Toponymics: A Study of Singapore Street Names (p. 340). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call No.: RSING 915.9570014 SAV)
Song, O. S. (1985). One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore (p. 97-100), Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call No.: RSING 959.57 SON)
Tsang, S. and Hendricks, E. (2008). Discover Singapore: The City's History & Culture Redefined (p. 19-20). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish.
(Call No.: SING 959.57 TSA)
The information in this article is valid as at 2011 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
Subject
Commerce and Industry
Ong, Sam Leong, 1857-1918
Businessmen--Singapore--Biography
Business, finance and industry