Kranji is a suburb in northwestern Singapore, bounded by

Sungei Kadut Sungei Kadut is an industrial estate and planning area located in the North Region of Singapore. It is bounded by Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang to the south, Mandai to the east, as well as Lim Chu Kang and the Western Water Catchment to the w ...

to the north, Turf Club to the east, as well as Lim Chu Kang and the Western Water Catchment to the west. It is located about from the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

and it came from Malay word "Buah Keranji" due to pronunciation by local Malay, it became "Kranji".

Etymology

Kranji is named after a local tree, ''pokok'' ''kranji'' or ''keranji'' (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

for '' Dialium indum'', velvet tamarind tree).

History

Kranji served as a military camp before the

Japanese invasion of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire o ...

in 1942, and is now the home of the Kranji War Cemetery and

Kranji War Memorial The Kranji War Memorial (Chinese: 克兰芝阵亡战士公坟; ms, Tanah Perkuburan Perang Kranji; ta, கிராஞ்சி போர் நினைவு) is located at 9 Woodlands Road, in Kranji in northern Singapore. Dedicated to the me ...

, commemorating the 30,000

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

personnel who died in Singapore,

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, Java and

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

during World War II. In addition, it is now a prime residential area comprising mostly stand-alone properties. There are no towering apartment blocks, unlike most suburbs of Singapore. It is also an industrial area.

Highlights

The Singapore Turf Club operates Kranji Racecourse, the only

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

race course in Singapore. It is located next to the Kranji MRT station. There is also a reservoir known as Kranji Reservoir, which was formed by the damming of the Kranji River. Bollywood Veggies is an organic farming collective and information centre open Wednesdays - Sundays.

Transportation

In 1903, the Singapore-Kranji Railway was launched with four stations, running from Tank Road to Kranji. It is connected to Kranji MRT station and is one of the main boarding and alighting stops to and from Johor Bahru for Bus Service 160 and 170/X.

References

*Romen Bose (2006), "Kranji - The Commonwealth War Cemetery and the Politics of the Dead", Marshall Cavendish Editions,

External links

Kranji War Cemetery and Singapore MemorialSingapore Turf Club
Places in Singapore {{Singapore-geo-stub