Johannes Widodo, Associate Professor with NUS Dept of Architecture took a group of LAS members on a walking tour of Kallang, Beach Road and Jalan Sultan on 19 September 2009.

There was a heavy downpour at the start of the tour but we gamely carried on with our umbrellas up and rain gear on. From Lavendar MRT we crossed over to Rochor and heard from Prof Widodo about the bustling metropolis that existed along the coast and Kallang River. He brought history to life as he described the Javanese, Bugis and Boyan communities and the activities like ship building, brick making, rice cultivation during the period Raffles landed in Singapore.

We crossed over to Beach Road and stopped at the Hajjah Fatimah mosque with its distinctive tower and mix of architecture styles. Due to the soft nature of the ground the tower could be called Singapore’s “Leaning Tower of Pisa”.

Fortunately the rain stopped soon after and we continued our journey to the Istana at Kampong Glam. There is a banyan tree on the street called Sultan Gate and within the tree are the remains of the original gate post of the Istana.

We proceeded to the Sultan Mosque and walked through streets that were formerly part of the palace compound. The names of the street reflected the history with the areas that used to be the gardens in the palace such as Jalan Pisang (banana) and Jalan Pinang (betel nut). At Haji Lane, we heard about how Singapore was a stopover for Indonesian Muslims who were on their way to Mecca and the area had lodging houses for the pilgrims with a thriving business by the Javanese acting as guides and agents.

Crossing over Victoria Street, we ended our tour at the royal cemetery. There is a raised area marked by yellow tiles containing the tombstones of the royal family. Prof Widodo had many engaging stories to tell of the period and we enjoyed the tour. He strongly encouraged librarians to collect and to make available the primary and secondary sources on the history of Singapore of which much has been torn down and no longer exist.

Contributed by Yeo Pin Pin