Bukit Merah, also known as Redhill, is a

planning area Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is co ...

and

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

situated in the southernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. the planning area borders Tanglin to the north, Queenstown to the west and the Downtown Core, Outram and Singapore River planning areas of the Central Area to the east. Bukit Merah shares a maritime boundary with the Southern Islands planning area located beyond its southernmost point. It is the most populated planning area in the Central Region, and the 12th most populated planning area in the country overall, being home to more than 150,000 residents.

Etymology

''Bukit Merah'' translates to “ red hill” in Malay, and is a reference to the red-coloured

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop b ...

soil found on the hill. According to the '' Sejarah Melayu'', Singapore used to be plagued by

swordfish Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...

attacking the people living in the coastal regions. A young boy named Hang Nadim proposed an ingenious solution, to build a wall of banana stems along the coast at the present location of Tanjong Pagar. When the swordfish attacked, their snouts were stuck in the stems. With the swordfish problem solved, Hang Nadim earned great respect from the people, but also jealousy from the rulers. The fourth King of Singapura, Paduka Seri Maharaja, finally ordered his execution, and it was said that his blood-soaked the soil of the hill where he was killed, giving rise to the red-coloured hill. The hill was eventually trimmed to its current state in 1973, when it made way for Redhill Close and what would eventually become the now defunct Henderson Secondary School. During its existence, a Chinese cemetery was situated on the reverse side of this hill, which is today, the location of Tiong Bahru.

History

Keppel Harbour dates back to the 14th century when an ancient Chinese traveller, Wang Dayuan named the harbour as ''" Long-Ya-Men" or "Dragon Teeth Gate"'' after two rock outcrops located near Labrador Park, which resembled dragon's teeth. The two rock outcrops were subsequently blown up by the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

Surveyor, John Thomson, in August 1848 to widen the entrance a new harbour. Mount Faber was once known as Telok Blangah Hill. Its name was changed to Mount Faber after Captain Edward Faber cut the road up to the top in 1845 to set up a signal station. The Singapore General Hospital site dates back to 1882. Labrador Nature Park was used as a defence outpost in the 19th century until World War II. With the earliest records of Bukit Merah's existence in the

Malay Annals The ''Malay Annals'' (Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'', Jawi: سجاره ملايو), originally titled ''Sulalatus Salatin'' (''Genealogy of Kings''), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and demise of the gr ...

, the town had a huge role to play in the early maritime trade of the Kingdom of Singapura. The town's fertile red soil was employed to great effect, when it was a district rich in gambier cultivation during British colonial rule. Even before the industrialisation of Jurong, Bukit Merah already had a small head start in the emerging heavy industry market in Singapore. With the first brickwork factories and mills emerging in the precincts of Henderson Hill and Redhill as early as the 1930s. The town is also home to the first housing estate in the country, Tiong Bahru, which was developed by the

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 sim ...

in the backdrop of a rapidly growing population in post-war Singapore. The estate later became the basis of what would eventually become the first new town in the Republic, Queenstown.

Geography

According to the various master plans laid out by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Bukit Merah is bounded by

Alexandra Canal Alexandra Canal may refer to: *Alexandra Canal (New South Wales), in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *Alexandra Canal, Singapore Alexandra Canal is a 1.2-kilometer long functional and concrete canal in Singapore which stretches from Tanglin Roa ...

and the Singapore River to the north and HarbourFront and Keppel Bay to the south, Kim Seng Road, Outram Road and Cantonment Road to the east and Alexandra Road to the west. There are several subzones within the planning area, namely

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

, Bukit Ho Swee, Bukit Merah Central, Depot Road, Everton Park, HarbourFront, Henderson, Redhill, Singapore General Hospital, Telok Blangah and Tiong Bahru.

Subzones

Transportation

Mass Rapid Transit

The namesake Redhill MRT station was the first MRT station to open in area, in 1988. Today, there are currently 7 MRT stations that serve the planning area across 4 lines, the East West line, Circle line, North East line and the Thomson-East Coast line. HarbourFront MRT station is an interchange station between the North East line and the Circle line, which is also the current terminus for both lines. Outram Park MRT station was inititally a double-line interchange station between the East West and North East lines but became a triple-line interchange station after the commencement of the third stage of the Thomson–East Coast line in 2022. The 7 stations are: * Havelock * Outram Park * Tiong Bahru * Redhill *

Labrador Park Labrador Nature Reserve (Chinese: 拉柏多自然保护区, Malay: Kawasan Simpanan Alam Semulajadi Labrador), also known locally as Labrador Park (拉柏多公园, Taman Labrador), is located in the southern part of mainland Singapore. It is home ...

* Telok Blangah * HarbourFront Future stations that are currently under construction include: * Keppel *

Cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...

The future stations, Keppel and

will be located within the new town as part of Stage 6 of the Circle line that will be completed by 2026.

Bus

There are two bus interchanges and one bus terminal in the new town. The

Bukit Merah Bus Interchange Bukit Merah Bus Interchange is a bus interchange located in the Bukit Merah Town Centre, along Bukit Merah Central in Bukit Merah, Singapore. The interchange serves the nearby residential estates of Telok Blangah and Bukit Purmei and also the c ...

, which serves Bukit Merah, is located at Bukit Merah Town Centre. Service Number 132 links the Interchange to Redhill MRT station while bus services 5, 16, and 851 links the interchange to Tiong Bahru MRT station. There are two feeder services originating from the interchange which serves the Telok Blangah estate. The

HarbourFront Bus Interchange HarbourFront Bus Interchange is located within HarbourFront along Seah Im Road off Telok Blangah Road in Bukit Merah planning area, Singapore. The interchange serves the nearby residential estates of Telok Blangah and Bukit Purmei and also the ...

is located at the southern part of Bukit Merah, serving nearby amenities such as the HarbourFront Centre and VivoCity, the largest shopping mall in Singapore. The Kampong Bahru Bus Terminal is located along Spooner Road, near the vicinity of the Singapore General Hospital.

Education

Primary schools

*Alexandra Primary School * Blangah Rise Primary School *Cantonment Primary School * CHIJ Kellock *Gan Eng Seng Primary School * Radin Mas Primary School *Zhangde Primary School

Secondary schools

* Bukit Merah Secondary School * CHIJ St. Theresa's Convent *

Crescent Girls' School Crescent Girls' School (CGS) is a government autonomous girls' school along Tanglin Road, Singapore. Founded in 1956, it is one of the schools under the Worldwide Microsoft Innovative Schools Programme. History CGS's was founded in 1955 as Alexa ...

Gan Eng Seng School Gan Eng Seng School (GESS) is a co-educational government secondary school in Bukit Merah, Singapore. Founded in 1885 by philanthropist Gan Eng Seng, the school is the first school established by the overseas Chinese community in Singapore and is ...

Tertiary Institutions

* Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School

Other schools

* APSN Tanglin School * ISS International School (Preston Campus) *Shelton College International

Amenities

Places of Worship

Buddhist Temples

Wat Ananda Metyarama Thai Buddhist Temple Wat Ananda Metyarama Thai Buddhist Temple is a Theravada Buddhist monastery and temple in Singapore. The monastery was originally set up by Venerable Luang Phor Hong Dhammaratano with his disciple Samanera Boonler. The temple is located at 50 ...

Kwan Yam Theng Buddhist Temple Kwan may refer to: People * Kwan (surname) (關), a Chinese surname * Kwan Cheatham (born 1995), American basketball player for Ironi Nes Ziona of the Israel Basketball Premier League * nickname of Kwandwane Browne (born 1977), Trinidadian field ...

* Buddhist Fellowship West Centre, in Yeo's building

Chinese Temples

* Ban Siew San Kuan Imm Temple (1880) * Giok Hong Tian Temple (1887) * Hock Teck Tong Temple (1932) * Kai San Temple (1904) * Kim Lan Beo Temple (1830, relocate in 1984) * Leng San Teng Temple (1879) * Koon Seng Ting Temple (1880) * Lei Yin Temple (1957) * Qi Tian Gong Temple (1920) * Qi Tian Tan Temple (1949) * Tai Yeong Kon Temple (1947) * Tang Gah Beo Temple * Telok Blangah Ting Kong Beo Temple (1923)

Chinese Clan Temples

* Lim See Tai Chong Soo Kiu Leong Tong Temple * San Jiang Gong Ci Temple

Chinese Combined Temples

* Chia Leng Kong Heng Kang Tian Temple * Chin Leng Keng (Leng San Teng, Chin Lin Keng & Ban Sian Beo) * Temple of Liang Hong Sze Kong Hock Keng Heap Hoe Keng

Churches

* Grace Assembly of God 1 * Church of God Singapore * Church of St. Teresa * Danish Seamen's Church * Grace Methodist Church * Pasir Panjang Tamil Methodist Church * St. Matthew's Church *

Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church (Abbreviation: TACMC), (Simplified Chinese, Chinese: ) is located on Telok Ayer Street within the Downtown Core of Singapore's central business district. The church is approximately 450 metres from Telok Aye ...

Hindu Temples

* Sri Ruthra Kaliamman Temple

Mosques

* Masjid Al-Amin Mosque * Masjid Jamiyah Ar-Rabitah Mosque * Masjid Kampong Delta Mosque * Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim

Sikh Temples

* Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road

Shopping Centres

* Alexandra Central * Alexandra Retail Centre * Concorde Shopping Centre * Depot Heights Shopping Centre * HarbourFront Centre * Tiong Bahru Plaza * VivoCity

Parks

* Alexandra Canal Linear Park * Alexandra Hill East Neighbourhood Park * Bukit Purmei Hillock Park * Henderson Park * Labrador Nature Reserve * Mount Faber Park * Rumah Tinggi Eco Park *

Telok Blangah Hill Park Telok Blangah Hill Park is a park situated at Telok Blangah Green, off Henderson Road, in Bukit Merah. It connects Mount Faber Park via Henderson Waves Bridge (274m, 899ft). Standing at 36m (118ft) above Henderson Road, it is the tallest pedestr ...

Tiong Bahru Park Tiong Bahru Park is a public park between Henderson, Bukit Merah Bukit Merah, also known as Redhill, is a planning area and new town situated in the southernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. the planning area borders Tanglin to t ...

Community Centres/Clubs

* Bukit Merah Community Centre * Henderson Community Club * Kim Seng Community Centre * Leng Kee Community Centre * Radin Mas Community Club * Telok Blangah Community Club * Tiong Bahru Community Centre

Sports facilities

Delta Sports Complex Delta Sport Centre, formerly known as Delta Sports Complex and Delta Sports and Recreation Centre, is located in Bukit Merah, Singapore. It is centrally located beside the Redhill MRT station. It also has a field hockey pitch, which has contribu ...

* SAFRA Mount Faber * Sports Lifestyle Centre

Politics

Bukit Merah belongs to six political divisions in four constituencies. A large portion of Bukit Merah is under Tanjong Pagar GRCwith some areas under Jalan Besar GRC , Radin Mas SMC and West Coast GRC, served by the People's Action Party. As of the

2020 General election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

, the Members of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC are Indranee Rajah for Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru division, Joan Pereira for Henderson-Dawson division and Eric Chua for Queenstown division. Melvin Yong is the current Member of Parliament for Radin Mas SMC,

Rachel Ong Rachel Ong Sin Yen (; born 1972) is a Singaporean politician and businesswoman. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Telok Blangah division of West Coast GRC since 2020 ...

for Telok Blangah division of West Coast GRC and Josephine Teo for Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng division of Jalan Besar GRC. The planning area is overseen by three town councils, namely Tanjong Pagar Town Council (TPTC), West Coast Town Council (WCTC) and Jalan Besar Town Council (JBTC). Bukit Merah is covered by two Community Development Councils (CDC), Central Singapore District and South West District. Denise Phua is the current mayor for Central CDC and

Low Yen Ling Low Yen Ling ( zh, s=刘燕玲, p=Liú Yànlíng; born 1974) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Mayor of South West District since 2014, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth and Minister of State for Trade and Indu ...

is the current mayor for South West CDC.

References

Sources

*Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), ''Toponymics – A Study of Singapore Street Names'', Eastern Universities Press, *https://lostnfiledsg.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/bukit-merah-town-centre/ *http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_779_2005-01-26.html

External links

Legend of Bukit Merah at the Singapore Museum website
{{Places in Singapore Central Region, Singapore Hills of Singapore Places in Singapore