Duxton Road, a one-way street, connects Neil Road to Craig Road. Situated on Duxton Hill, this road was infamous in the 19th and early 20th centuries for its opium and gambling dens.
Description
Duxton Road was originally part of a nutmeg plantation owned by Dr William Montgomerie (b. 1797 - d. 1856). Dr Montgomerie was said to be the first to introduce gutta percha to Europe in 1842. Dr Montgomerie's plantation was made up of a portion of the current Tanjong Pagar Road and consisted of 13 ha. of land and 1800 trees. Two dwelling houses were nestled among the trees, namely the Craig Hill and Duxton House. Duxton House was built by Hugh Syme and was home to Dr. Montgomerie and his family. The plantation, along with the houses on it, were sold in an 1856's auction to Ker, Rawson & Co. and later demarcated into building lots. Duxton Road, Duxton Hill and Craig Road were presumably constructed after the 1856 sale and named after the houses that once existed on the hill.
All through the 19th and early 20th centuries, Duxton Road was notorious for its opium and gambling dens . Adding to this seedy reputation were many cheap brothels situated along the length of the street. These places were patronised by rickshaw coolies who lived in slums on Duxton Road and Duxton Hill. Many of the rickshaw pullers came from a place called Hui Ann in China, and they bore surnames such as Teo, Ho and Chng. Because of the strong clan ties, the rickshaw pullers created their own domain and fought whenever their domain was threatened. Such fights made Duxton Hill and Duxton Road a dreaded area. To make matters worse, the slums were home to many criminal elements. Despite the notoriety of the street, many wealthy Chinese families built and occupied beautiful residences and shophouses on Duxton Hill. Currently, the area is under the Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area.
Many conserved two and three-storey shophouses and terrace houses still exist on Duxton Road and Duxton Hill. Buildings in the vicinity of Duxton Hill include the Craig Place, Chinatown Plaza and Apartments and the Singapore Institute of Architects. A portion of Duxton Hill is currently a pedestrian mall. The Berjaya Duxton Hotel, a.k.a Duxton Hotel on Duxton Road, opened in the early 1990s, is made up of a row of converted shophouses.
Variant names
Chinese name: Gu-chhia-chui kia (Hokkien), meaning "at the side of Kreta Ayer (referring to Craig Road)". Duxton Road begins from Craig Road.
Tok-sun lut (Hokkien) and Tak-sun lut (Cantonese). Both these words were individual phonetic words that meant "Duxton Road".
Kam-kong-a lai (Hokkien), kampong kia nai (Hokkien), both meaning "within a little kampong". This term was probably used to refer to the slum dwellings of rickshaw pullers.
Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja
References
Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore: 1819-1867 (pp. 406, 636). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC)
Dunlop, P. K. G. (2000). Street names of Singapore (p. 71). Singapore: Who's Who Publications.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 DUN)
Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (p. 459). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 EDW)
Firmstone, H. W. (1905, January). Chinese names of streets and places in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 4, 86-87.
(Call no.: RSING 959.5 FIR-[IC])
Savage, V. R., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2003). Toponymics: A study of Singapore street names (pp. 113-114). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call no.: RSING 915.9570014 SAV)
Chan, K. S. (2002, June 17). Fares were haggled before the ride. The Straits Times, Life.
Chan, K. S. (1997, December 23). Yan Kit Road was a relatively safe locality. The Straits Times, Forum, p. 34.
Tan, C. (1999, October 28). Shophouses in Tg Pagar snapped up. The Straits Times, Money, p. 68
Duxton Hotel only one in S-E Asia to gain membership of small-hotels group. (1996, February 14). The Straits Times, p. 22.
The information in this article is valid as at 2003 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.
