Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: My Primary School

Teck Ghee Primary School.

The Primary School that I had studied in was previously located at the very same spot where Teck Ghee Primary School now stands.

I was a student of Townsville Primary School from 1986 to 1991. Back then, it was a relatively new school in the Ang Mo Kio area. According to Townsville Primary School's website,

Townsville Primary School started functioning at its former premises in Ang Mo Kio, Street 32, in 1983. The school was officially declared open on 25 July 1985 by BG Lee Hsien Loong, then the Minister of State for Defence, Trade and Industry and Member of Parliament for Teck Ghee Constituency. The school moved to its brand new premises at 3 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 in December 2000.

Today, I understand that Townsville Primary School has established itself as one of the better Primary schools in the Ang Mo Kio neighbourhood.

The former school building of Townsville Primary School that I had once studied in no longer exist now. I can still remember the quadrangle of the former school building. To some extent, I felt it was like a white elephant most of the time. While it allowed for ventilation, the quadrangle was usually not my favourite place to be at since it was either too hot due to the tropical sun or too wet due to seasonal rain. However, strangely, I missed it after I had graduated from my Primary School partly because my Secondary School compounds had no quadrangle.

By the way, there was a distinguished visitor, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who had visited Townsville Primary School in the year 1989. I was one of those students who had to go through a few rehearsals to prepare for the visit of our very distinguished guests. My role, like many of my fellow schoolmates, was to line at specified location of the school and wave our hands at our distinguished visitor when she walked past us.

Today, the school building that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited no longer exist, but the school's motto "Do Out Best" remains unchanged. There were a number of changes though. For example, other than the change in the location of Townsville Primary School, the school song that is now being sung by current students of Townsville Primary School is different from the one that I had sang when I was just a student of the school.

While I don't have any emotional attachment to the new school building, at the very least, I can still remember the name of my Primary School.

The current Townsville Primary School premises at 3 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10.

By the way, Townsville Primary School was not the only school in Ang Mo Kio that has moved its location. Teck Ghee Primary School was one other one. I remember it used to be located nearby Teck Ghee Secondary School.

Bowen Secondary School used to be located in Ang Mo Kio but it later moved to Lorong Napiri. Mayflower Primary School used to be located at 20 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, and today, it sits at 200 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5.

Is your Primary School still in the same location that you had once studied in?

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: From bus interchange to AMK Hub

AMK Hub

AMK Hub is a building that houses the supermarket (NTUC Xtra), many retail stores, a food court, an intergrated Entertainment Centre on the 4th floor, and an airconditioned bus interchange.

Many years ago, before the year 2002, there stood a humble, non-airconditioned bus interchange approximately where AMK Hub now stands. There was a NTUC supermarket that stood just beside the non-airconditioned bus interchange but it was demolished around year 2002, I vaguely recall.

The humble bus-interchange back then had a simple canteen which I recall was on the second floor. There was an underground linkway from the bus-interchange to the Ang Mo Kio MRT station. I vaguely recall that when I was in Secondary School, I would wake up early every school-day, walk past the then non-airconditioned bus-interchange to take a bus to school. Early in those mornings (about 6.25 a.m.), there would already be a lot of commuters and bus-captains at the bus-interchange.

However, back then, I did not have an urge to take photograph and as such have no particular photo of the then non-airconditioned bus interchange to show you.

I only have a photo that gives a glimpse of the temporary bus interchange located nearby the Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic. The temporary bus interchange served commuters when the old bus interchange building was demolished sometime around the year 2002. Some residents would recall that there used to be a temporary NTUC supermarket just beside the temporary bus interchange. The temporary NTUC supermarket closed sometime after the NTUC Xtra supermarket was in operation.


The temporary bus interchange. Now demolished too.

If anyone enjoys seeing glimpses of the construction of AMK Hub, after the non-airconditioned bus-interchange located at Ang Mo Kio Central was demolished, here is a short photo presentation for your viewing pleasure:









I can't remember the date that the airconditioned bus-interchange within AMK Hub started its operation. However, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang_Mo_Kio_Bus_Interchange, it could be 28 April 2007.

Does anyone have any stories to share about their growing-up years in Ang Mo Kio? I would care to hear from you.

(This post was first published on Yesterday.sg on 1 Jul 2008.)

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: memories of Kachang Puteh

A stall selling Kachang Puteh (assorted nuts).

Taken at "Yesterday Once More" carnival at Imbiah Lookout on 25 Nov 2007.

For reasons I do not know, seeing Kachang Puteh stalls somehow reminds me that when I was a child, there used to be a few kachang puteh stalls selling kachang puteh (assorted nuts) in Ang Mo Kio Town Centre. I do not seem to see as many kachang puteh sellers in Ang Mo Kio Town Centre nowadays.

Anyway, in the past, there used to be a number of cinemas operating in Ang Mo Kio Central. These cinemas were: Broadway Cinema, Jubilee Cinema, New Town & New Crown Cinema.

Broadway Cinema
Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore. http://www.a2o.com.sg
PhotoCD Number : 19980007383
Image Number : 0109

Jubilee Cinema
Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore. http://www.a2o.com.sg
PhotoCD Number : 19980005811
Image Number : 0034

New Town and New Crown Cinema at Ang Mo Kio Town Centre
Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore, http://www.a2o.com.sg

PhotoCD Number : 19980005811
Image Number : 0033

I remember that popcorns were not quite popular in those days when I was much younger. There was a kachang puteh stall at Broadway Cinema about more than a decade ago, and I remember that one of the delights of going to the cinema was to get one serving of kachang puteh from the stall. (Admittedly, I was not so keen in watching movies than the side-perks than came with it.) There was quite a lot of variety of nuts to choose from, and just deciding which variety of nuts to choose for the day was part of the fun of ordering kachang puteh.

The funnel-like looking paper which was used to hold the kachang puteh could also bring some interesting surprises. Sometimes the paper used were just plain white paper, but at other times, there were comics on it!

In terms of affordability, I could say that the kachang puteh was much cheaper than the popcorns that are sold in cinemas of today.

If my memory does not fail me, about more than a decade ago, nearby the Jubilee Cinema, just outside the former Oriental Emporium, there was also another kachang puteh stall operating from time-to-time.

With kachang puteh stalls that operated within close proximity to the cinemas of Ang Mo Kio Town Centre, as a child, I seem to have associate kachang puteh with cinemas. Do you have similar association like mine?

**
Related blog post by other bloggers worth a read:
From Kachang To Popcorn (Part 1)
From Kachang To Popcorn (Part 2)

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: Jubilee - a place for kindergarten graduation ceremonies

JUBILEE CINEMA AT ANG MO KIO AVENUE 8 (ANG MO KIO TOWN CENTRE)
Source: National Archives of Singapore. http://www.a2o.com.sg
PhotoCD Number : 19980005811
Image Number : 0034


Today, it is common to see cineplexes where several movie-theatres are found within one building. When I was just a young child of about five to six years old, it was common for one large movie-theatre to be located within one single building. One example was the Jubilee Cinema. I still have vague impressions of the large capacity of the theatre of the Jubilee Cinema of the 1980s in my memory.

When I was six-years-old, I had my kindergarten graduation ceremony held at the Jubilee Cinema. I recall seeing many students from various classes of the nearby PAP (People's Action Party) kindergartens having their graduation ceremony there. If I remember correctly, after the graduation ceremony and the prize-giving ceremony, all those who have attended the event were treated to a cartoon movie.


JUBILEE CINEMA. 1990s.
Source: National Archives of Singapore. http://www.a2o.com.sg
PhotoCD Number : 19980007383
Image Number : 0106

Today, on the exact site where Jubilee Cinema had used to stand is Jubilee Complex. The movie-theatres in Jubilee Complex aren't as large as the movie-theatre of the Jubilee Cinema in the 1980s. However, societal needs and expectations have changed and it seems that it could be more cost-effective to operate several smaller movie-theatres than a single large movie-theatre at a given location.

One question that came to my mind as I was writing this post is: Where do the graduating PCF (PAP Community Foundation) kindergarten students from the kindergartens in Ang Mo Kio of today have their graduation ceremonies?

Please tell me if you should know the answer.


Jubilee Complex. Taken in year 2007.

Meantime, for the movie-lovers, you may wish to read From Kachang To Popcorn (Part 1) by laokokok to have an appreciation of cinemas of the past.

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First posted on Yesterday.sg

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: Here comes the MRT!

Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore, http://www.a2o.com.sg

MRT STATION AT ANG MO KIO
PhotoCD Number : 19990001354
Image Number : 0116

In 1987, as a resident of Ang Mo Kio, I was introduced to a totally new way of travelling about from one place to another. This was the year when the Mass Rapid Transit system became accessible to the people in Singapore. One of the first few stations that went into operation was the Ang Mo Kio MRT station.

I was a fairly young child back then, but I can still remember vaguely that my mother purchased the MRT Commemorative Tickets for the family to travel on the MRT on the first day of the operation of the train service. It was an exciting experience having to travel on the MRT, furthermore on the first day of its operation.

As each of the Commemorative tickets were meant for one round trip, my family would alight from the train at each station from Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh, but without going out of the stations through the fare-gates. This was so that we could see how different each station looked.

The Primary School that I studied in was located pretty nearby part of the MRT train tracks. Perhaps the MRT train was such a new mode of transport for me and my classmates back then in 1987, when the MRT system first started its operation, my classmates and I would have the tendencies to look out of the classroom windows to take a peep whenever we hear a MRT train passing by. Our teachers would have to remind us to pay attention in class. Soon after, the sense of novelty wore off.

The commemorative ticket issued in year 1987 for travel on the first day of operation of the SMRT train system. Thanks to my dear mother who has actually kept this ticket for twenty years!

MRT train approaching Ang Mo Kio MRT station. Taken in 2007.

Today, the SMRT train system has become my main mode of transport. Perhaps this is so because there is a MRT station right in Ang Mo Kio, very accessible from where I have been living for the past two decades and more.

What was it like for you when the MRT first started its operation in the year 1987? If you have a personal story to share on Yesterday.sg, do check this page to find out how you could do so.



First posted on Yesterday.sg

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Ang Mo Kio New Town

Source:
National Archives of Singapore
Access to Archives Online
PhotoCD Number : 19980007518
Image Number : 0084


On 10 Oct 1989, a distinguished guest, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, visited Ang Mo Kio New Town.

The preparations for her visit had probably started weeks and even months before her actual visit. I remember that void decks, lifts, stairways and so forth of the vicinity that she would be visiting were cleaned with lots of pride in preparation for her visit. On the day of her visit, the walkways of the selected HDB flat that she used were laid with red carpet. Even the floor of the lift itself was carpeted, I had heard.


Source:
National Archives of Singapore
Access to Archives Online
PhotoCD Number : 19980007518
Image Number : 0082


Townsville Primary School that I was studying in, was selected to be the school that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would visit. Her visit was a grand event for the school. I recalled that the students were asked to line ourselves up at various locations of the school so that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would be greeted by orderly lined-up students when she tours the school compounds. I vaguely remember that there was a couple of rehearsals to prepare for this special occasion.

One of the instructions that were given to us, the students, was that our back should not face the queen when she tours the school compound. We were told to smile too. I think any children would smile if we were told that we can look forward to a treat to ice-cream after Her Majesty's visit. Of course, there wasn't such a treat for us, but we tried to be on our best behaviours that day.


Source:
National Archives of Singapore
Access to Archives Online
PhotoCD Number : 19980007518
Image Number : 0085


From the photos from the National Archives of Singapore found on this post, we can see that the residents of Ang Mo Kio were excited to welcome Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

On the side, the photos from 1989 have made me realised that Ang Mo Kio has changed quite a far bit over the past 18 years.

Note: This post is yet another post of the series: Growing up in Ang Mo Kio. First posted on Yesterday.sg.

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: Tip Top Curry Puffs

One of the things that I remember about my growing up years in Ang Mo Kio was that I had enjoyed the occasional treats to Tip Top Curry Puffs. The stall that is located at Block 722 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8. It is quite interesting to take a closer look at how this food establishment has changed over the years. Afterall, Tip Top Curry Puffs stall has withstood the tests of time, and has been operating in Ang Mo Kio for more than two decades.

My mother told me that Tip Top Curry Puffs was already operating in Ang Mo Kio in the early 1980s when my family first moved in to Ang Mo Kio. Back then, one piece of Tip Top Curry Puffs had cost 35 cents. I vaguely remember that when I was at Primary-school-going age, each piece of Tip Top Curry Puffs would cost about 50 cents.

As a child, I was quite delighted to receive occassional treats to the curry puffs. I like the crispy crust of the curry puffs. In addition, each curry puff would have a very generous helping of chicken chunks and a fairly large slice of hard-boiled egg. I am biased (and possibly nostalgic). My tastebuds seem to prefer the Tip Top Curry Puffs that I have eaten when I was a child, than the curry puffs from this same stall that I would get today.

Today, the curry puffs from Tip Top Curry Puffs are halal-certified. In fact, perhaps because of the popularity of the curry puffs, the moment that the curry puffs are made, there would be customers to ready to buy them. As such, customers can get piping-hot curry puffs freshly made at the stall nowadays.



Back in the 1980s, Jubilee Cinema was located very nearby the Tip Top Curry Puffs stall, and one of the favourite stalls for me to ask my parents to bring me to after watching a movie at Jubilee Cinema was Tip Top Curry Puffs. I would also be quite fascinated with watching how the stall-assistants of Tip Top Curry Puffs make the dough, shape the dough, put in the fillings and cook the curry puffs. It was exciting to see how the curry puffs were made by hand, with tender loving care.

By the way, nearby the then Jubilee Cinema and Tip Top Curry Puffs was a playground. If you have guessed it, yes, I was guilty of asking for Tip Top Curry Puffs many of the times when I had played at that playground.

If a resident of Ang Mo Kio wishes to have an appreciation of how the costs of living have increased over the years, one way to do so would be to look at how the price of one piece of Tip Top Curry Puffs have increased from 35 cents in the early 1980s to $1 in the year 2007. Well, the price won't stop me from treating myself to one of its curry puffs occasionally. I still like to enjoy the sense of nostalgia that eating the curry puffs may bring.

Also read Hawkers - Curry Puff (By the ST Foodies Club) for information on where to get good curry puffs in Singapore.

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: a toy from the early 1980s

My family moved to live in Ang Mo Kio in the early 1980s when I was about one years old. According to my mother, the shape-sorter in the above photo was a present to me from my father when I was about one years old. It was one of the very few toys that my parents have still managed to keep and have not thrown away over the decades.

Did anyone who read this post play similar shape-sorter when you were a child?

As I write about a toy that was given to me in the early 1980s, I began to wonder how Ang Mo Kio had looked like in those days. I had not been a child who have actively taken photographs and I don't have readily available photos of Ang Mo Kio in the 1980s to share.

In hope to find photographs of Ang Mo Kio that were taken in the early 1980s, I searched Access to Archives, and selected the following photo:


Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore, http://www.a2o.com.sg
A TEMPORARY WAYANG STAGE AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF HIGHRISES AT ANG MO KIO AVENUE 1.
PhotoCD Number : 19990007547
Image Number : 0056
Taken in the year 1980.

Having realised that I actually do not have much clue how Ang Mo Kio had looked like in the past, I began to appreciate how invaluable an exercise it can be to take photographs of the surrounding neighbourhoods where one grew up in. I am sure having such photographs would lend one insights to how the environment has changed ever since one was born.

If you care to, start taking a few photographs of the places nearby your place of residence and then schedule to look at these photographs a few decades later to see if there would be any difference.

Below is a photograph of a part of Ang Mo Kio taken in the year 2006. Shall we schedule to look at this photo twenty years later?

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio: A place to take a ride

Several weeks ago, I walked past a part of Ang Mo Kio central and saw children taking rides. In the above photograph, the building in the background used to serve as a cinema (Broadway Cinema).

Right below is a photo of Broadway Cinema which I have found from Access to archives that was taken in 1984.


Photo credits: National Archives of Singapore, http://www.a2o.com.sg
BROADWAY CINEMA AT ANG MO KIO AVENUE 6
PhotoCD Number : 19980005811
Image Number : 0039

There used to be a park that looks like a mini road-safety park just next to Broadway Cinema. Its approximate location is to the right of the second photo, and exactly where the children were seen riding the motor-carts in the first photo.

I vaguely remember that when I was a child, I would occasionally get a treat to a ride at that park. There was a vendor that would rent out bicycles and carts that look like mini-cars to children. There was a zebra crossing at that park and children who were riding in the park were expected to observe the road safety rules. At times, the children would compete with each other to see who would be the first to complete one round of the road-circuit. In the middle of the park were seats, usually occupied by parents who wish to supervise their children.

I do not have and could not find any photo of that mini road-safety park. I could only vaguely remember that I have had some fun cycling and taking rides there. The park was nearby the hawker centre, so I would usually ask to buy a drink after taking my rides.

Interestingly, even though that mini road-safety park has been demolished, that very same site seems to continue performing similar function today, as seen on the first photo. It seems that children do generally enjoy taking rides and exercising their limbs? Were you one of those who have enjoyed taking a ride at that mini road-safety park many years ago?

If you have a photograph of the road-circuit of the mini road-safety park that used to be located in front of the previous Broadway Cinema, please share it with me. Thank you.


Previously Broadway Cinema. KBox Plaza today.
No more road-circuit.

Also posted on Yesterday.sg, on October 31, 2007

Growing up in Ang Mo Kio

In what I hope would eventually develop to become a series of posts, I shall embark on recollecting some of my memories growing up in this place in Singapore called Ang Mo Kio.

I have spent more than two decades of my life in Ang Mo Kio. While I won't be able to claim that I know every area of Ang Mo Kio, I could say that I do have memories growing up in this place. I have no idea what journey I will be embarking on right here, but hopefully readers of my posts would get a glimpse of Ang Mo Kio from my perspective.

According to Singapore: The Encyclopedia, Ang Mo Kio is the seventh 'new town' (comprehensive town) developed by the Housing & Development Board (HDB).

From what I have read, Ang Mo Kio can be literally translated as "red-haired man's bridge" in Hokkien. In one of the entries on Singapore Infopedia, it was noted that 'ang mo' was a colloqial term for a Caucasian person. Several sources pointed that the bridge that was referred to by the name Ang Mo Kio could be the bridge built by John Turnbull Thomson. However, according to the entry in Singapore: The Encyclopedia, it seemed that maps that predate Thomson's arrival in Singapore had already recorded the name of the area that is known today as Ang Mo Kio as "Amokiah".

Whatever it is, while it satisfies my curiosity to explore how the name Ang Mo Kio had came about, it is not the objective of this series of posts to explore how the name came about. Instead, this series of posts attempt to put down some of my memories of growing up in Ang Mo Kio into words. If this subject matter should interest you, please stay tuned for more posts.

If you would like, you could also join me to contribute posts about your memories of living in Ang Mo Kio.

***

Image credits:
The National Archives of Singapore. Access to Archives Online Singapore (a2O).
http://www.a2o.com.sg
Chingay Rehearsal at Ang Mo Kio. Year 1980.
PhotoCD Number : 19980002009
Image Number : 0057

Sources
Singapore: The Encyclopedia. (2006 edition)
http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_230_2005-01-25.html

Also posted on: Yesterday.sg, Growing up in Ang Mo Kio