Thursday, February 22, 2018

[Roads] Lorong Hablor (Yio Chu Kang, 10 Milestone)

What do we know about the area of Lorong Hablor

LORONG HABLOR

Meaning of name: Road of Ducks?

Lorong Hablor appeared in official road maps from 1969.

The road has been replaced by the Seletar Expressway and Tampines Expressway. The road Lorong Hablor now no longer exists. In the past, Lorong Hablor was split into two separate dirt tracks that adjoined Boh Sua Tian Road. The area saw the establishment of various villages including one Chinese village called Lak Xun (六巡) Village. (Li, Ng, Mae, & Zhu, 2017) 

Shops

Most of the amenities were located along the main road of Yio Chu Kang Road, while Lorong Hablor was about one kilometre away. Thus, those staying around that area had to be self-sufficient. This meant that located around Lorong Hablor were sundry shops, repair shops and even three Chinese temples just along the same lorong. There was also a company selling cylinder gas called Swee Bee Wireless Company, located at 79 Lorong Hablor. (Advertisement, 1983)

Live animals, fishes and crops

There were fish ponds where villagers grew their fishes for sale. (Map, 1970) The villagers had also rare pigs, chickens and geese. (Yap, 2015) There were also rubber and coconut trees.

People

The villagers who stayed around Lorong Hablor included small time farmers and poultry owners to fishermen. There was a mention in the newspaper of a Malay fisherman who stayed at 179-A Lorong Hablor who drowned in the Seletar River while pushing his sampan out to sea. (Fisherman's fatal fall, 1982)

Toh Clan


Mr Toh Ngo Tong in his interview with interview with National Archive of Singapore claimed that most who lived around Yio Chu Kang 10 milestone had similar surnames – Toh. (Toh, 1985)   

School

Sin Cheng Chinese School was located along Lorong Hablor. The school could have been named after a Hokkien Chinese businessman Tan Sin Cheng who owned trading companies and a rubber factory in Penang, Malaya in the 1900s. (Ho, 2009)
Environmental Issues

The government had not forgotten the villagers who were staying in the rural area. The then Minister of Health Chua Sian Chin mentioned that in the spirit of keeping Singapore pollution free, the government had already replaced the bucket and overhanging latrines with “water-seal latrines or septic tanks where feasible”. (Clearing the air for a healthier Singapore, 1971)

Weather

It was reported that a sudden Sumartran squall ripped through the village in 1983. The strong easterly winds packed speeds of 80 km/h and lasted for an hour, brought down coconut trees that damaged the roofs of at least two houses. (Mohan, 1983) One of the homes affected was the Ong family. (This week, 1983)

Temples

The three temples found along Lorong Hablor were Feng Shan Tang (凤山堂), Fa Jin Dian (法进殿), and Quan Sheng Gong (全盛宫). In 1945, the three shrines came together to form the Hong San Chin Huat Temple Association, or Feng Shan Tang. As the Association was not able to buy their own plot of land, they then combined with Sam Ann Fu (三安府) and the Longxuyan Jinshuiguan Temple (龙须岩金水馆) to form the united temple Liuxun Sanhemiao Temple (六巡三合庙), named so as the other two temples were also previously located in Lak Xun Village. They are now located at 8 Ang Mo Kio Street 63 Avenue 9. (Li, Ng, Mae, & Zhu, 2017) 

In 1983, a mosaic layer broke into the Hong San Temple and took away a donation box containing about $200. He was arrested shortly after. (Mosaic layer jailed for stealing temple money, 1983)
References