Factories around P.E.E. (4) - Amoy Canning Corpn

Amoy Canning Corpn was built in 1951 at the 8ms. Upper Bukit Timah Road. It was considered to be at the southern end sector of the 'Colonial Industrial Estate'. Across the road was the Singapore Cold Storage Magnolia Factory.

I do not know much about this factory, only that I used to pass it everyday on my way to school in those days. The factory started off processing soya sauce but its most famous product was the 'Green Spot' orange drink.

In fact, the most prominent thing about this factory was a giant replica of the Green Spot bottle facing Upper Bukit Timah Road. Travelers going down the road cannot fail to notice this landmark. It was astute advertising even in those days! The bottle was on a revolving platform and that made it stand out even more.

Amoy Canning with its giant revolving Green Spot bottle 

Taken in 1993.  Sadly, Green Spot was no longer produced by then.

Amoy Canning Corp was located opposite the junction of today's Old Jurong Road and Upper Bukit Timah Road, next to the former Bukit Timah Fire Station.  Springdale Condominium now sits on its former site.

Upper Bukit Timah Road. Building is the Hock Soon Ind Warehouse
located next to the Amoy Canning factory.

The former Chinese kampong originally called Kg Quarry
and later Yuasa Barracks was down the road from Hock Soon Warehouse.

Beside Amoy Canning was a former rubber factory but this was later replaced by the Hock Soon Industrial Warehouse. I remembered that Kah Motors had one of its Honda showroom at Hock Soon Warehouse.
Further down was a Chinese kampong originally called Kg Quarry but later known as Yuasa Barracks.
Today, this entire stretch has been completely replaced by condominium developments.

An old advertisement by Amoy Canning Corp.

A grave discovery beside St Mary Church at Old Jurong Road.

In 1990,  during a land survey of the area that used to be where the defunct Old Jurong Road ran, an old Japanese war grave was discovered in the foliage.

The exhumed grave memorials to the Japanese soldiers.

This was at the edge of an untouched forest area beside St Mary's Church and the discovery created quite a stir and lots of speculations. It was believed to be the grave of a Japanese soldier ( a corporal Esaki Ujiro, according to the Kanji inscription) from World War II. Bukit Batok was an area that saw some of the biggest firefights in the battle for Singapore.

On the night of Feb 10 1942 and the early morning of the 11th (the day the Japanese captured Bukit Timah Village), the hill where the Japanese corporal was later buried was the high ground being defended by the Special Reserve Battalion, formed by the Australian 8th Div A.I.F.
The hill, beside Jurong Road, was directly in the path of the Japanese Army heading towards Bukit Timah Village.

This unit had fallen back from the Kranji-Jurong Defence Line at Bulim and was defending the hill, together with the 15th Indian Brigade at Bukit Batok.

As the encroaching Imperial Japanese Army was coming down Jurong Road, the SR Battalion together with the 15th Indian Brigade, planned to withdraw south towards Ulu Pandan.
Just before the withdrawal started, the Special Reserve Battalion did a charge at the Japanese soldiers at the bottom of this hill, succeeding in killing many and forcing the Japanese to retreat backwards while the Allied units made their withdrawal.

Perhaps, Corporal Esaki was one of those killed during this charge?

During further clearing of the site, another Japanese war memorial belonging to 2lt Fujinosuke Tomita was also discovered nearby.

The graves of Corporal Esaki and 2lt Fujinosuke were exhumed and the memorial stones were later handed over to the Japanese Embassy in Singapore.

Today, Bukit Batok HDB apartment Blk 287 now sits over the spot where the old graves were lying.

Hillview Avenue to Jurong Road

The development of Hillview Avenue

Hillview Avenue and Hillview Road were built in 1947 to provide access to the two new post-war factories that was being built at Hillview Ridge. These were the Union Carbide and Malayan Guttas factories.
It was extended in 1951 when the small SIT estate of Princess Elizabeth Park was constructed for housing, at the same time that it was extended another kilometre to service the new factories that were being built in the 'Colonial Industrial Estate in Bukit Timah' after 1951.
It was still a cul-de-sac that started as Hillview Road at the junction with Upper Bukit Timah Road. 

(A parallel narration of the development of Jurong Road at this stretch follows in the captions for the street directory maps) 

The original Jurong Road started from Bukit Timah Village (7-1/2 ms Bukit Timah Road)

Hillview Ave was further extended in 1965 during the construction of Popular Estate and ended at the Cycle & Carriage new car assembly plant. Beyond this laid the kampongs and farms of Jurong. 

Jurong Road was diverted in the early 1960s to connect to Upper Bukit Timah at 8ms near Lorong Sesuai
The original stretch of Jurong Road from Bukit Timah Village to the 'new'
diverted Jurong Road was renamed Jalan Jurong Kechil

In post 1965 independence period, Jurong Industrial Estate was the major focus of economic development. As a result, critical access to Jurong Industrial Estate were necessary and Jurong Road was widened, re-aligned and improved.

In 1967, Jurong Road was widened and re-aligned and a section
became the 'Old Jurong Road' (coloured orange above map)

By the early 1970s, Hillview Avenue was extended to join Jurong Road by connecting it to Jalan Perang. It became an alternative bypass between Jurong and Woodlands, provided you were able to get under the girder bridge at Hillview Road.

Hillview Ave connected to Jurong Road by joining it to Jalan Perang

In the early 1980s, HDB built the Hillview Estate to the north of P.E.Estate.
While to the southern end of Hillview, Bukit Batok New Town was beginning to be developed by the mid 1980s.

In the  late 1980s, with the construction of the Bukit Batok New Town, 

a section of Hillview Ave was renamed Bukit Batok East Ave 2, 

while the part of Jurong Road that ran through the new Bukit Batok Town was renamed 

Bukit Batok East Ave 6 and Bukit Batok West Ave 6.

The stretch between Upper Bukit Timah Rd and Jalan Jurong Kechil
was renamed 'Old Jurong Road' (in orange).
The original Old Jurong Road was expunged with the re-development of Bukit Batok Nature Park

By early 2000, factories along Hillview Ave were replaced by condominiums

Old Jurong Road was like this in the 1960s.

The only remnant of Jurong Road today now lies parallel  to the PIE from Bukit Batok Road to the PIE ramp at Jurong West Ave 2. The stretch that was previously known as Jurong Lama. It is still functioning as a minor roadway today.

Videos

PRINCESS ELIZABETH ESTATE REVISITED



HILLVIEW RAILWAY BRIDGE



BUKIT BATOK NATURE PARK



OLD JURONG ROAD



DAIRY FARM NATURE TRAIL


SINGAPORE QUARRY NATURE PARK