Choa Chu Kang

History
Between the late 18th to early 19th century, Chinese immigrants settled along the river, Sungei Berih. These settlers were called Kangchu, where chu was an established clan name, thus the name Choa Chu Kang. Choa Chu Kang was a small remote rural district with old kampong housing, rubber and coconut plantations. Residents relied on boats or bullock carts for transportation. The Chinese district that grew out of that community included Kampong Belimbing and Kampong Choa Chu Kang. Most of the early inhabitants belong to the Teochew clan who were mainly farmers growing ganmi and pepper. The Hokkiens, who settled later, started pineapple, rubber and coconut plantations as well as vegetable farms and poultry farms. Choa Chu Kang was infamous for wild tigers with the last tiger in Singapore shot here in the 1930s.

The plantations, old attap houses, street hawkers and Chinese kampongs have since disappeared making way for a modern HDB housing estate with ample community, institutional, recreational, commercial and industrial facilities. The Choa Chu Kang and Yew Tee MRT Train Stations, and the easy access road expressways make movement convenient to and from the area.

Variant names
Chinese Names: 
(1) The name Choa Chu Kang is derived from the word kang chu, a reference to the early settlers where kang means "river" and chu being the "clan name" of the first headman in charge of the plantations in the area.
(2) In Hokkien Chua-chu kang means "Chua-chu creek".
(3) In Hokkien Kang-kia means "Little Creek".



Author
Vernon Cornelius



References 
Firmstone, H. W. (1905, February). Chinese names of streets and places in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 42, 152.
(Call no.: RSING 959.5 JMBRAS)

Ramachandra, S. (1961). Singapore landmarks, past and present (p. 33). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 RAM)

Urban Redevelopment Authority (Singapore). (1996). Choa Chu Kang planning area 1996. (pp. 4, 6, 8). Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority.
(Call no.: RSING 711.4095957 SIN)



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 or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

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



All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2004.