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Bukit Ho Swee Fire
The Bukit Ho Swee fire was a conflagration that broke out in the squatter settlement of Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore on 25 May 1961. This fire resulted in 4 deaths and injured another 54. It also destroyed more than 2,800 houses around the Bukit Ho Swee area, leaving around 16,000 people homeless. The cause of this conflagration was never established. The Bukit Ho Swee fire was the biggest outbreak of fire in Singapore's history. The fire was a pivotal point in Singapore's contemporary history. The scale of the destruction sparked an emergency project to swiftly construct accommodation and resettle the people affected by the disaster. This first public housing project, led by the newly formed Housing and Development Board, would eventually lead the way to the development of public housing throughout the country in decades to come. Background After World War II, many low-income Chinese families were forced to move out of Singapore's city centre. Coupled with the rise in the number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bukit Ho Swee
Bukit Ho Swee () is a subzone within the planning area of Bukit Merah, Singapore, as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Its boundary is made up of the Alexandra Canal in the north; Kim Seng Road and Outram Road in the east; Zion Road and Jalan Bukit Ho Swee in the south; Delta Road and Lower Delta Road in the west. Etymology Bukit Ho Swee means “Ho Swee Hill” in Malay. The name was derived from ''Bukit'' (Malay for hill) and ''Ho Swee'' from Tay Ho Swee (1834- 1903), an influential Chinese opium and spirit farmer, timber merchant and ship owner.Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), ''Toponymics – A Study of Singapore Street Names'', Eastern Universities Press, He was also the son of Tay Han Leong, the first opium and spirit dealer in Singapore. When Bukit Ho Swee got its official name in 1907, it was an area with many plank and attap houses. History Bukit Ho Swee had a prominent Chinese community dating back to the days when Singapore was under British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singapore Improvement Trust
The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) is a former government organisation that was responsible for urban planning and urban renewal in Singapore. Formally established in 1927 under the Singapore Improvement Ordinance, it was modelled after similar organisations in India. The SIT initially carried out back lane improvement schemes and marking out unsanitary buildings for demolition, but began constructing public housing from 1935. After 1945, the SIT initially focused its efforts on the repair of its residential developments. It resumed constructing public housing in 1947 but was unable to keep up with demand. The SIT was also involved in the development of a "Master Plan", which set out Singapore's developmental direction, from 1952 to 1958. In the late 1950s, plans were set out to replace the SIT with two departments—housing and planning—culminating in two bills that were passed in 1959. With the establishment of the successor organisations by the government of Singapore, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firebreak
A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon. Firebreaks may also be man-made, and many of these also serve as roads, such as a logging road, four-wheel drive trail, secondary road, or a highway. Overview In the construction of a firebreak, the primary goal is to remove deadwood and undergrowth down to mineral soil. Various methods may be used to accomplish this initially and to maintain this condition. Ideally, the firebreak will be constructed and maintained according to the established practices of sustainable forestry and fire protection engineering, also known as best management practices (BMP). The general goals are to maximize the effectiveness of the firebreak at slowing th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established on 15 July 1845 as ''The Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce''. ''The Straits Times'' is considered a newspaper of record for Singapore. The print and digital editions of ''The Straits Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' have a daily average circulation of 364,134 and 364,849 respectively in 2017, as audited by Audit Bureau of Circulations Singapore. Myanmar and Brunei editions are published, with newsprint circulations of 5,000 and 2,500 respectively. History The original conception for ''The Straits Times'' has been debated by historians of Singapore. Prior to 1845, the only English-language newspaper in Singapore was ''The'' ''Singapore Free Press'', founded by William Napier in 1835. Marterus Thaddeus Apcar, an Armenian mer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Library Board
The National Library Board (NLB) is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Communications and Information of the government of Singapore. The board manages the public libraries throughout the country. The national libraries of Singapore house books in all four official languages of Singapore; English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Other than paper books, the libraries also loans CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, VCDs, video cassettes, audiobooks on CDs, magazines and periodicals, DVD-videos, Blu-rays and music CDs. Its flagship institution, the National Library, Singapore, is based on Victoria Street. History Although the NLB was first formed on 1 September 1995, its history had begun way back in the 1820s when Stamford Raffles first proposed the idea of establishing a public library. This library was to evolve into the National Library of Singapore in 1960, before expanding into the suburbs with the setting up of branch libraries in the various new towns throughout the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Tender
A water tender is a type of firefighting apparatus that specialises in the transport of water from a water source to a fire scene.Pelastusajoneuvojen yleisopas: säiliöauto (A general guide for rescue vehicles: water tender) (In Finnish). Ministry of the Interior, Finland. Retrieved on April the 28th, 2007 Water tenders are capable of drafting water from a , or hydrant. This class of apparatus does not necessarily have enough pumping capacity to power large [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geylang
Geylang is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore, bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west. Geylang is perhaps best known as a red-light district, particularly the areas along Geylang Road. Geylang is also where one of Singapore's oldest Malay settlements, Geylang Serai, is located. During Ramadan, the neighbourhood is famous for its popular and iconic Ramadan lights and bazaars. Etymology The word ''Geylang'' is found early in Singapore's history and also in early topographical maps showing marsh and coconut plantations beside and adjacent to the mouth of the Kallang River, home to the Orang Laut (sea gypsies) called ''orang biduanda kallang'' who inhabited the area at the time of Raffles' arrival in 1819, and after whom the river is named. ''Geylang'' may be a corruption of ''Kallang.'' The place name appeared in an 1830 survey map of Singapor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bugis Street
Bugis (Kampong Bugis in Malay) is an area in Singapore that covers Bugis Street now located within the Bugis Junction shopping mall. Bugis Street was renowned internationally from the 1950s to the 1980s for its nightly gathering of transvestites and transsexuals, a phenomenon that made it one of Singapore's most notable destinations for foreign visitors during that period. In the mid-1980s, Bugis Street underwent major urban redevelopment into a retail complex of modern shopping malls, restaurants and nightspots mixed with regulated back-alley roadside vendors. Underground digging to construct the Bugis MRT station prior to that also caused the upheaval and termination of the nightly transgender sex bazaar culture, marking the end of a colourful and unique era in Singapore's history. Today, the original Bugis Street is now a cobblestoned, relatively wide avenue sandwiched between the buildings of the Bugis Junction shopping complex. On the other hand, the lane presently toute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firewood
Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can be seasoned and heat treated (dry) or unseasoned (fresh/wet). It is generally classified as hardwood or softwood. Firewood is a renewable resource. However, demand for this fuel can outpace its ability to regenerate on a local or regional level. Good forestry practices and improvements in devices that use firewood can improve local wood supplies. Moving firewood long distances can potentially transport diseases and invasive species. History For most of human history firewood was the main fuel, until the use of coal spread during the Industrial Revolution. As such, access to firewood was a valued resource, wood botes or the right to gather firewood being a significant aspect of many medieval leases. As late as 19th C America, Thoreau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joss Paper
Joss paper, also known as incense papers, are papercrafts or sheets of paper made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship (such as the veneration of the deceased family members and relatives on holidays and special occasions). Worship of deities in Chinese folk religion also uses a similar type of joss paper. Joss paper, as well as other papier-mâché items, are also burned or buried in various Asian funerals, "to ensure that the spirit of the deceased has sufficient needs in the afterlife." In Taiwan alone, the annual revenue of temples received from burning joss paper was US$400 million (NT$13 billion) as of 2014. Traditional Joss paper is traditionally made from coarse bamboo paper, which feels handmade with many variances and imperfections, although rice paper is also commonly used. Traditional joss is cut into individual squares or rectangles. Depending on the region, Joss paper may be decorated with seals, stamps, pieces of contrasting paper, engraved des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joss Sticks
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be used as a simple deodorant or insect repellent. Incense is composed of aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms taken by incense differ with the underlying culture, and have changed with advances in technology and increasing number of uses. Incense can generally be separated into two main types: "indirect-burning" and "direct-burning". Indirect-burning incense (or "non-combustible incense") is not capable of burning on its own, and requires a separate heat source. Direct-burning incense (or "combustible incense") is lit directly by a flame and then fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smoulders and releases a smoky fragrance. Direct-burning incense is either a paste formed around a bamboo stick, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Housing Development Board
The Housing & Development Board (HDB) (; ms, Lembaga Perumahan dan Pembangunan; ta, வீடமைப்பு வளர்ச்சிக் கழகம்) or often referred to as the Housing Board, is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development responsible for Singapore's public housing. Founded in 1960 as a result of efforts in the late 1950s to set up an authority to take over the Singapore Improvement Trust's (SIT) public housing responsibilities, the HDB focused on the construction of emergency housing and the resettlement of kampong residents into public housing in the first few years of its existence. This focus shifted from the late 1960s, with the HDB building flats with improved fittings and offering them for sale. From the 1970s, it initiated efforts to improve community cohesion in its estates and solicit resident feedback. In the 1990s and 2000s, the HDB introduced upgrading and redevelopment schemes for mature estates, as well as new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
