Ann Siang Road

History
Ann Siang Hill was originally known as Scott's Hill and was owned by Charles Scott who cultivated a nutmeg and cloves estate on it. He sold it to John Gemmil who re-christened the place as Gemmil's Hill. The hill's name was changed again when it came to be owned by Chia Ann Siang, around the turn of the 20th century and the hill was renamed as Ann Siang Hill. A Cantonese burial ground, one of the oldest Chinese burial grounds in Singapore, used to be located at the foot of this hill where it met Mount Erskine and was in use until 1867. This graveyard was exhumed in 1907 and a portion of it was developed as a part of the Telok Ayer reclamation project. In the 1890s, when this hill was known as Gemmil Hill, a Malay college and high school was moved to this place from Telok Blangah to provide education to the son of the Temenggong of Johor and other young tungkus and ungkus. Apparently Ann Siang Hill and Ann Siang Road, being situated atop a hill, did not probably share the camaraderie of the 19th century Chinatown with its hustle and bustle and was a rather quiet, predominantly residential, place. The roads, presently, are under the Chinatown conservation area.

Description
Both Ann Siang Road and Ann Siang Hill are today still lined with quaint old restored shophouses and richly decorated terrace houses. Most of these buildings were constructed between 1903 and 1941 and are today home to offices and enterprises. The layout of the streets are informal. Eating places, commercial units, trendy bars, restaurants and eating places on the streets have made the roads popular upmarket places. Efforts are being done by the Singapore Tourism Board to boost tourism and bring business to leisure pursuits such as the bars and eating places located here. The Damenlou Hotel, a small hotel opened in the 1994, is located at the junction of Ann Siang Road and Ann Siang Hill. Ann Siang Hill Park in the vicinity of the road, constructed in early 1980s, was renovated in 2003. The first Anglo-Chinese School in Singapore is located in the vicinity of Ann Siang Road at number 70, Amoy Street. Started by Methodist missionaries on 1 March, 1886, it is now called ACS House and has been gazetted as a historic site since the late 1990s. Another historic site, the Pondok Peranakan Gelam Club or Pondok Gelam is located at Club Street near Ann Siang Hill. Home to a Bawean-Malay community from 1932 to 2000, this last pondok building in Singapore was declared a historic site in 2000.

Variant names
Chinese name: Chui-lan teng (Hokkien), Sui-lan theng (Cantonese), meaning "Chui-lan pavilion". A club or meeting place named Chui-lan used to be situated on this hill.



Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja



References
Dunlop, P. K. G. (2000). Street names of Singapore (p. 8). Singapore: Who's Who Publications.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 DUN)

Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1996). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (p. 452). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 EDW)

Savage, V. R., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2003). Toponymics: A study of Singapore street names (pp. 39-40, 136). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.
(Call no.: RSING 915.9570014 SAV)

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, 56-57.
(Call no.: RSING 959.5 FIR)

Facelift for two more parks in Chinatown. (2002, June 22). The Straits Times, Singapore. 

Gwee, M. (2001, February 17). A legacy, not for the greedy. The Straits Times, Life, p. 6.

Lee, T. (1996, August 20). Small hotels, booming business. The Straits Times, p. 23.

Siti, Andrianie. (2000, January 31). Singapore's last pondok named a historic site. The Straits Times, p. 42.

Wong, K. (1997, December 10). History lesson. The Straits Times, Home, p. 44.


Further Readings
Gwee, M. (1999, April 29). World class? Dunno lah. The Straits Times, Life, p. 6.

Koh B. S. (1992, July 20). Where do you stay? The Straits Times, Life, p. 7.

Koh, B. P. (1999, February 8). Chinatown: The debate. The Straits Times, p. 35.



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 project. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Streets and Places
Street names--Singapore
Historic sites--Singapore
Arts>>Architecture>>Public and commercial buildings

Librarian Recommendations
>> Chinatown


All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2004.