Geylang Bahru is a subzone within the planning area of
Kallang
Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore.
Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, as defined by the
Urban Redevelopment Authority
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore.
Mission
The authority was established on 1 April ...
(URA). It is bounded by the
Pan Island Expressway
The Pan Island Expressway (Abbreviated as: PIE) is the oldest and longest expressway in Singapore. It is also Singapore's longest road. The expressway runs from the East Coast Parkway near Changi Airport in the east to Tuas in the west and ha ...
(PIE) in the east; the Pelton Canal in the south; the
Kallang River
The Kallang River (, ms, Sungei Kallang) is the longest river in Singapore, flowing for 10 kilometers. from the Lower Peirce Reservoir (originally named "Kallang River Reservoir") to the Kallang Basin. It originates in the planning ...
in the west; and
Serangoon Road
''Serangoon Road'' is an Australian-Singaporean television drama series which premiered on 22 September 2013 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and HBO Asia. It is a detective noir drama set in the 1960s, revolving around Serang ...
in the north.
Previously, "Kolam Ayer" encompassed an area that included present-day Geylang Bahru subzone and the adjacent Kallang Way subzone, the latter of which is officially organised under
Geylang Planning Area. Several places within Geylang Bahru still retain this name: Kolam Ayer Community Club and Kolam Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post, as well as the road Jalan Kolam Ayer. Made up of both residential and industrial developments, other notable places in Geylang Bahru include the Kallang Basin Swimming Complex, Kallang Distripark, the main office of Jalan Besar Town Council, the office of the
Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board
The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Education of the Government of Singapore.
SEAB was established on 1 April 2004 as a statutory board to develop and conduct national examinations i ...
(SEAB) and
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Services Centre.
Geylang Bahru MRT station
Geylang Bahru MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Downtown line in Kallang, Singapore.
The station is located under Kallang Bahru, at the junction with Geylang Bahru, hence its name. Nearby developments are ...
along the
Downtown Line serves this subzone.
Geylang Bahru is also the name of a two-way road in the area. This road connects Bendemeer Road in the north with Upper Boon Keng Road in the south, with major junction located at
Kallang Bahru. This road is unique as it is one of the few roads in Singapore to have a
name without any generic element. The name of the subzone was derived from this road.
Etymology
The name. Kolam Ayer, was derived from the
Malay phrase "''kolam air''", which translates to "pond water".
The subzone's current name, Geylang Bahru, came from a road in the area; "
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 perha ...
" is a place in Singapore, now considered a separate planning area from Kallang, while "Bahru" is the old Malay spelling for "''baru''", meaning "new".
Geylang Bahru first appeared as a proposed road in a street directory in 1969. It is worth noting that the road marked as Geylang Bahru in the 1969 map (and numerous revised editions released in the following years) roughly corresponds to the modern-day Upper Boon Keng Road. By 1975, Geylang Bahru, the current road was completed.
History
Kolam Ayer roughly covers the modern-day subzones of Geylang Bahru and Kallang Way, part of the
Kallang
Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore.
Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the ...
and
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 perha ...
planning areas respectively.
Before the development of Kallang, Kolam Ayer (as it was known at the time) had numerous
Malay kampong
A kampong (''kampung'' in Malay and Indonesian) is the term for a village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "port" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especially of the indigenous people, and has also been used ...
s. The precinct was mainly served by a main road called Jalan Kolam Ayer before the 1960s. This road was eventually merged to form part of the present-day
Pan Island Expressway
The Pan Island Expressway (Abbreviated as: PIE) is the oldest and longest expressway in Singapore. It is also Singapore's longest road. The expressway runs from the East Coast Parkway near Changi Airport in the east to Tuas in the west and ha ...
(PIE).
During the dredging of the
Kallang River
The Kallang River (, ms, Sungei Kallang) is the longest river in Singapore, flowing for 10 kilometers. from the Lower Peirce Reservoir (originally named "Kallang River Reservoir") to the Kallang Basin. It originates in the planning ...
in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Singapore government filled and leveled up the surrounding riverside with red mud that was carried by trucks from a nearby hill called ''Ang Chiang San'' (modern-day
Toa Payoh
Toa Payoh (, ta, தோ பாயோ) is a planning area and matured residential town located in the northern part of the Central Region of Singapore. Toa Payoh planning area borders Bishan and Serangoon to the north, the Central Water Catc ...
). These areas formed what are today
Bendemeer,
Kallang Bahru and the old Geylang Bahru estate.
Since then, the precinct was connected with the Kolam Ayer
Community Club
Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...
and the
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
Kolam Ayer Branch.
After the 1980s, the
Jalan Besar
Jalan Besar (; literally "Large Road" in Malay, but taken to mean "Main Road") is a one-way road in Singapore, connecting Lavender Street in Kallang and Rochor Canal Road in Rochor.
See also
*Jalan Besar Stadium
Jalan Besar Stadium, officia ...
Town Council relocated its office in
Kallang Bahru. It was later renamed
Moulmein-Kallang between 2011-2015 after the redrawing of
GRC boundaries. The old name was then restored following the
2015 general elections.
In April 2008, the Kolam Ayer ABC
Waterfront was officially opened to the public as the first project under the
Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters programme handled by
Public Utilities Board
The Public Utilities Board (PUB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment of the Government of Singapore responsible for ensuring a sustainable and efficient water supply in Singapore.
The PUB regulates an ...
.
Today, residents of Geylang Bahru are managed by the
People's Association
The People's Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) of the Government of Singapore that oversees neighbourhood grassroots communities and social organisations. Established in 1960, it ...
under the Kolam Ayer Geylang Bahru Residents Committee.
References
External links
{{Public housing in Singapore
Places in Singapore
Roads in Singapore
Central Region, Singapore
Kallang