Serangoon

Serangoon is an estate located within the north-east region. The Serangoon area is made up of four sub-zones; Seletar Hills, Serangoon North, Serangoon Gardens, Serangoon Central. It is bounded by Yio Chu Kang Road to the north, Braddell Road and Bartley Road to the south, the Central Expressway (CTE) to the west and Yio Chu Kang Road, Upper Serangoon Road and Upper Paya Lebar Road to the east. It covers approximately 1,011 ha.

History
A road from the old town of Singapore to Serangoon, about 7 miles long, was constructed by the 1840s. In old maps of Singapore, the Serangoon district is dotted with plantations which included rubber plantations and other agricultural activities. The Sembawang Rubber Plantation was located in Serangoon Gardens. Along Plantation Avenue was a cemetery known in Chinese as si phua pak tiong or "cut stomachs of the dead cemetery" as most of the corpses buried here had undergone autopsies before burial. Until the 1960s, most of Serangoon was populated predominantly by Chinese with a few Malays and Hindus spread among old kampong settlements. They lived in small houses with compounds where they grew fruit trees and poultry with their own supply of well water. In the early 1960s, electricity was introduced to Serangoon North. The area has seen much progress and development since then. From 1970, roads were widened and housing in public and private areas were further developed.

Key Features
Located in the district of Serangoon are some of Singapore's well-known places including Little India, the original town and settlement for Indians, Bidadari Cemetery, Serangoon Gardens Estate, and today, the new Serangoon (HDB) Housing Estate.

Variant Names
Chinese names:
Serangoon
(1) In Hokkien and Teochew ow kang, and in Cantonese hau-kong means "back of the river" or "back creek".
(2) In Mandarin the word is Hougang. 

Serangoon Road
(1) In Hokkien and Teochew is Au Kang Lo, means the Au Kang Road or the road leading to Au Kang.

Malay name:
Serangoon is also thought to be derived from the ranggong bird, a species of stork which abounded in the reverine swamps around the Serangoon River or the Rangon River, its old name. The numeral "one" or satu in Malay abbreviated to sa, led to the name Serangoon. It was also known for a long time as Saranggong Road.



Author
Vernon Cornelius



References
Ramachandra, S. (1961). Singapore landmarks, past and present (p. 20). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.57 RAM) 

Turnbull, C. M. (1989). A History of Singapore 1819 - 1988 (p. 47). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING q959.57 TUR) 

Urban Redevelopment Authority (Singapore). (1995). Serangoon planning area: Planning report (pp. 4, 7, 8). Singapore: The Authority.
(Call no.: RSING q711.4095957 SIN)

Firmstone, H. W. (1905, February). Chinese names of streets and places in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 4, 183.
(Call no.: RSING 959.5 FIR)


Further Readings
Gopalakrishnan, V., & Perera, A. (Eds.). (1983). Singapore changing landscapes: Geylang, Chinatown, Serangoon: Based on the SBC TV documentaries (pp. 65-100). Singapore: FEP International.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 SIN)

Sheppard, M. (Ed.). (1982). Singapore 150 years (p. 216). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call No.: RSING 959.57 SIN)

Changing landscapes: Serangoon [Videotape]. (1988). Singapore: Singapore Broadcasting Corporation.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 CHA) 



The information in this article is valid as at 1999 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive and complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Streets and Places
Street names--Singapore--Serangoon
Urbanization--Singapore
People and communities>>Social groups and communities

Librarian Recommendations
>> Serangoon Road : general view
>> Bidadari Cemetery
>> Serangoon Garden Way roundabout


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