pioneer Lim Nee Soon<\/span><\/a>. The Yishun Ring route traces the modern ring road to reveal the legacy of the former Chye Kay Village.<\/p>\nThe self-guided trail spans 17 landmarks, with eight information markers along the way.<\/p>\n
Five of the markers are at new sites that were not marked on the former Sembawang-Yishun heritage trail, which was launched in 2010 and retired in 2021.<\/p>\n
The new standalone Yishun trail showcases the area\u2019s evolution \u2013 from the home of the Orang Seletar, to a hub for rubber and pineapple cultivation, and finally into today\u2019s Yishun New Town.<\/p>\n
Among the newly marked sites is Yishun\u2019s only Roman Catholic church, the Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea. Its origins date back to 1926, when masses were held for Catholic Tamil and Malayalee dock workers at Sembawang Naval Base.<\/p>\n
A permanent church was dedicated in 1953 before the congregation relocated to Yishun in 1992. The building\u2019s design reflects its maritime roots, and it can host over 1,500 people at a time.<\/p>\n\n\nA marked site on the new standalone Yishun trail is the Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Yishun Street 22, which was not marked on the former Sembawang-Yishun heritage trail.<\/p>\n
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Another new stop is Sree Maha Mariamman Temple, a Hindu shrine founded by rubber estate workers in the 1930s in Nee Soon Village before it moved to Yishun in 1997.<\/p>\n
Its rajagopuram, an ornate golden entrance, was restored in June, and the temple\u2019s annual Aadipoora silver chariot procession continues to unite Yishun\u2019s communities.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Sree Maha Matiamman Temple, a new stop on the trail, was a Hindu shrine founded by rubber estate workers in the 1930s in Nee Soon Village.<\/p>\n
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The neighbouring Masjid Ahmad Ibrahim and Spiritual Grace Presbyterian Church share a trail marker.<\/p>\n
The mosque was the first in Nee Soon Village built by Muslim residents in the 1950s. The church relocated to its present site, provided by the pioneer Lim, in 1967.<\/p>\n
The other marked additions are Gurwara Sahib Yishun, a Sikh place of worship, and institutions serving the community \u2013 Nam Hong Siang Theon Mutual Aid Organisation, Ho Pek San Temple and Seng Pang Tua Pek Kong Temple.<\/p>\n
Oh Ghim Ho, chairman of Ho Peck San Temple, said that although the temple has grown from a small hut when it was established in the 1990s into a larger place of worship, the public\u2019s devotion to it has remained unchanged.<\/p>\n
Oh\u2019s father helped with the temple\u2019s upkeep and met his friends at a local coffee shop every day to discuss matters regarding the temple. This responsibility was passed down through the generations.<\/p>\n
On his time growing up around the temple, Oh, 70, said: \u201cI miss the kampong spirit and the atmosphere \u2013 walking here and there, greeting people and asking if they have eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nOh Ghim Ho, chairman of Ho Peck San Temple, grew up around the temple.<\/p>\n
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
A landmark carried over from the retired Sembawang-Yishun trail is the former Nee Soon Post Office, located at the junction of Upper Thomson, Sembawang and Mandai roads.<\/p>\n
Built in 1939, it is the only surviving pre-war structure from Nee Soon Village. Now repurposed as a pet sanctuary, the building retains its colonial-era architecture, with a wall-embedded letterbox bearing the logo of the former Telecommunication Authority of Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\nThis pre-war building, formerly Nee Soon Post Office, in Mandai Road is a landmark on the Yishun heritage trail.<\/p>\n
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Until the post office closed in the 1990s, it was part of the bustling heart of the village, serving people and businesses across the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n
Former Nee Soon resident Asokan Raghavan, 74, recalled posting letters to his friends before moving away in 1975.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a different planet now,\u201d he said when comparing Yishun New Town to Nee Soon.<\/p>\n
In 1986, when Raghavan last visited the lane where his childhood home was located, it was deserted. But a nearby stream where he used to play at with his friends was still there.<\/p>\n
\u201c(My old house) doesn\u2019t exist any more… but I like to think back to those days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\nAsokan Raghavan, 74, is a former Nee Soon resident who moved away in 1975.<\/p>\n
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Read Full Article At Source <\/a>SINGAPORE \u2013 Yishun\u2019s newly refreshed heritage trail now features two curated routes, each offering a different window into the neighbourhood\u2019s past. The Rockets and Reservoirs…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}