Here is the
latest batch of photos received from Joe Elliott. They show the Koh Sek Lim
Road which ran from Upper Changi Road to the beach at Bedok. To help you to
orientate yourself, I made a scan from my 1963 street directory.
Explanatory notes by Joe Elliott
Photo (1) shows Upper Changi Road from left to right. In
front is the Koh Sek Lim Road leading to Bedok Beach and Padang Terbakar. The
sign at the start of the road is a Wimpey Sign for the Bedok Sand pit. (The
Chinese sign says “公立中莱公学” read from right to left – not very sure about the 4th
word)
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| Koh Sek Lim Road today |
Photo (2) – Walking up the road towards the beach.
Photo (3) - Coconut trees on both sides of Koh Sek Lim
Road leading to Bedok Beach.
Photo (4) – When you get to the beach, you see this Pill
box from the war on Bedok Beach.
Photo (6) - The beach at Padang Terbakar with the Pill
box behind us. To the right of this photo a few yards over the bank, are the
Attap Houses of Padang Terbakar. These are shown on photos 7 to 10.
If you look at the map you sent me of the Koh Sek Lim
Road - the top of the road shows a right turn - the Houses were on the dotted
section of the map and behind these houses was the river marked 'Sungei
Bedok'
Photos 7 and 8 are photos of the Attap House Church which
was the original Bedok Methodist Church from 1946 to 1952. In 1952 they had the
new church being built down Bedok Road. This was finished by the end of the
year. You can see this on the 1963 map.
I looked on Google for the Bedok Methodist Church, found
their website and contacted them. I then
sent these photos to the Pastor Rev. Sng Chong Hui. He was delighted to see
them and said they were going to use them for the 66th Anniversary Celebration
which was on 21 October 2012 which they did.
I noticed on one of your Blogs there was a Ron Ho who
knew this area and talked about Koh Sek Lim Road. I think he might like to see
these photographs as a memory of the past.
35 comments:
I think the 4th word is probably "華".
Yes, "華" seems more logical. But it doesn't look like it.
Fascinating photos and although a bit earlier that my time in Singapore in 1960 they certainly look more like the Singapore I remember! I wonder does Joe have any photos from a bit further north along the beach and just beyond what was then the Easter Dispersal are of RAF Changi? There were two or perhaps more large attap colonial houses on the edge of the airfield just off what was then the coastal road - my friend Kerry Tasker lived in one of them and my memory is of them being quite isolated in that area so very noticeable
My uncle used to live in Bedok Village, and the happiest days of my childhood were spent at the beach there. Thank you for these photos.
Hello Annette, if your Uncle is Freddie Fox (God bless his soul), he knows my family as we stayed like 200 yards from the house he lived in Bedok Village. My house was right behind Bedok Rest House, next to the ice seller. Freddie went to St Patrick's School and was the same class as my older brother. Ron Ho
Hello Lam and Elliott, many thanks for posting the pictures of Koh Seck Lim Road. I roamed there around 1955 to 1965 till we moved to Lorong Marzuki. My house was just behind Bedok Rest House. 6A Bedok Road. Koh Sek Lim Road and vicinity had several notable landmarks. There were two large ponds created as a result of sand mining. We used to take a dip there although it was forbidden. There was also a large tree which was made up of several trees clumped into one. Maybe it was a ficus tree. Very large and one could get to the main trunk. There was a Chinese Taoist shrine under the shade of branches and people used to go there to pray and ask for lottery numbers. We called it the Tua Pek Kong tree. If you look at the map you scanned and printed, the tributary river leading to the main Bedok River is still there. It is now facing the entrance of Laguna Country Club. Ron Ho
There are few side tracks from the old Koh Sek Lim Road leading to Gulega and Somapah,besides Mata Ikan.There are also official road names like Lorong Chabai etc .The old map only shows a straight road .
The Chinese character is " "華". I think the school(Chong Wah) was move further into the village, somewhere near Padang Terbakar off Siak Guan Road. See the bottom left corner of this map:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=432415043470511&set=a.370790389632977.89848.369240119788004&type=1&theater
Hi, i am glad to see the photos espacially the pill box and koh sek lim road they are my playground which are located at my kampong padang terbakar area also shop houses at kampong bedok where i use to park and repair my bicycle.am looking a fren name Brian Kenneth his my kampong fren and my classmate at bedok boys pri sch hope he aware of this blog
Kampong Padang Terbakar is my heritage,i born there since 1965 along the koh sek lim road it have many coconut trees and i often went there to plug the coconut and cashew fruits that area is a nice area for hunting fruits and birds now they known as bedok waste water area they have a small canal name sungei ketapang now the canal is a concrete canal leading to MRT area.
For those who stay or live at Koh Sek Lim,Kampong Padang Terbakar known as Siak Kuan Road, Telok Mata Ikan or Lorong Gulega can share our history in this blog it is very intresting to share for the memory..thanks.Me Abdul kampong boy..
Thanks for sharing your memories Abdul.
Just found out that Koh Sek Lim is named after my friend's grandfather. So his grandad does owned the road!
And I'm now staying less than 5km away from it.
Families living just at the atart of Koh Sek Lim road (at the beach end) were known for producing bean sprouts. In Teochew, the area was called "Tau Geh Law-ong".
To the South, it connected Siak Kuan Road to Mata Ikan Village to Somapah and Guillemard Rd, to "10 Mile Stone" (where there was a huge wet market and an open air cinema).
Along these connected roads, you will find Ming Chong School and then closer to the market, Red Swastika School. There was a PAP Community Centre and also a Catholic Convent (by the beach) along Siak Kuan Road, located just next to the mosque and a madrasah. I believe there was also a Muslim cemetery nearby. Call to prayers was before sunrise, about 5am in the morning (and before Singapore changed its time zone to fit into Hong Kong's?)
When one stood on any of the beaches, one would see a clear horizon and an occasional ship passing by. At night, the sound of the waves accompanied one to sleep. One could see the stars at night.
I too was born in 1965 and went to Bedok Primary School (now completely gone).
What price progress.
Diablo,
what is your friend's name? I am a descendant of KSL, further down the line, somewhere in the great, great grand level.. If KSL is your friend's granddad, that would probably mean he is a cousin of my grandmother (I think my grandmother has no brothers)
The family is quite huge, but I do not know more than just my grandmother.
I have very fond memories of Bedok Kampong, Padang Terbakar, Gulegar Road, Siak Kuan Road, Mata Ikan and of course, Koh Sek Lim Road. I grew up in those areas and had such a wonderful kampong life with those kampong boys. I guess I can paint "My Grandfather's Road" on Koh Sek Lim Road, and not get into any trouble with the authorities because I am indeed his grandson!
Oh dear, oh dear, this article sure brings back fond memories of my childhood days! Bedok Methodist church was the church that I went to & attended Sunday School along with my cousins. KSL is my Grandfather, such a pity I did not get to meet & know him as he had passed along then. Thank you for the opportunity to get a glimpse of my past.
15 March 2014
Haha. Daniel, Nancy. So glad that my post is read by the grandchildren of Koh Sek Lim; and bring back some fond memories for the two of you. I guess you should be siblings or cousins.
Yes indeed, Mr. Chun, Daniel is my brother. He forwarded me your interesting article which I happily showed to both my husband & son! :))m
Good to hear comments from Daniel n Nancy. It's been so long since Bedok days, both of u incl Dennis was just in their early teens when I knew them, am married to one of your cousins Dollie n we used to live next door.
Reading all the postings here..it really rekindle all the memories on my kampung days..all the memories..just like Anonymous,i was from Kampung Padang terbakar too..born in 1965..was from Bedok Girls School..just a few days ago after 34 yrs i revisit the old site of my kampung with a group of my KPT friends..
Hmmm .. then Nancy and Daniel should be my Granduncle/GrandAunt, cousins to my Grandma...
I am told my Grandmother was Nancy Mary Koh Keow Neo...
My grandma was Koh Kau Nia.
wow....good to be connected. my grandpa was Koh Kong Wee
"wow....good to be connected. my grandpa was Koh Kong Wee"
then you would be my uncle level? If I remember correctly, Koh Kong Wee had 4(5) daughters .. my grandma was one of the daughters
was told 1 was adopted..
Hi Michael, I remember my cousin Dolly. I was a little girl then & I had always thought that Dolly was so pretty.
Anonymous, your grandma Koh Kau Nia was my aunt. She was my Dad's sister. As a child, I found her to be kind & I liked her.
Hi everyone out there, just just to check if anyone used to study at Bedok Chong Wah Public School (新加坡公立中華公學)?
hmm .. the Koh family tree was huge.. but i wonder, how many of my generation can trace back to the family..
Koh Sek Lim (great-great-grandfather)
-> Koh Kong Wee (great-grandfather)
--> Koh Keow Neo (grandmother)
---> my Dad (Tan)
----> me
there is an will/trust that is still in place till this date, and it was only because of the will/trust, that my dad realised that we branched out from the Koh line.
Hi Christopher, so have you found out your GreatGreat grandmother belongs to which wife of KSL?
Hi there. So KSL has a few wives? I have his photo that was taken by my husband. My husband is the great grandson of KSL. I am not sure if my husband’s grandfather is from the official / main wife. His surname is Lim and not Koh. I think the family tree is quite huge. Anyway, glad to know that this post existed. So I can show my daughter the history of her father’s ancestors.
Anonymous :
let me go back check the will .. KSL is my great-great grandpa, so you mean which wife was Koh Kong Wee's mother, aka my great-great grandmother?
Anonymous (27-July-2020)
supposedly 2 wives and probably 'small wives' as well, as if i recall correctly, the will only states 2 wives officially..
the KSL family tree is quite big.. cause he has in total 25 (must confirm again) children.. the boys are Koh Kong * and girls are Koh ** Nia (where ** is number based)
going by his 25 children, and each have may 4-6 children each, and each of those children have another 4-6 (this is up to my dad's level only).. there is at least a possible 400 plus descendants of KSL running around)
Hi, I'm Daniel Koh and Koh Sek Lim is my grandfather. My dad is Koh Kong Thian. We used to live in KSL estate and it was the second house from the Bedok River. There was this big butter fruit tree in our garden and the sea was just about 100 metres away.
I am pleased to see some postings here from my KSL relatives whom I have never heard of or even met before. That's how big our family tree really is and we are all scattered around the world. Perhaps, it will be a good idea if we can start a Facebook Group Chat (Koh Sek Lim Clan?) where all relatives (either by blood or by marriage) can join in and get to know one another?
KSL was my great grandfather. My dad Gary Koh Boon Teck lived in Bedok and grew up with Uncle Daniel, Dennis and Aunty Nancy mentioned above.
Planning to visit the area later this year. We lived in Opera Estate for a while.
Hello, I'm Abel Koh and KSL is my great grandfather. I recently got curious about my family lineage and how huge it is, and I'm interested in finding my long lost relatives and getting to know all of you
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