Everything about Punggol totally explained
Punggol, or
Ponggol, is a neighbourhood in
northeastern Singapore. Presently, much of Punggol is undeveloped, although plans to turn the area into a residential
new town (
Punggol New Town) under the
"Punggol 21" initiative have begun to take place in the south-eastern parts of the area bordering neighbouring
Sengkang.
Etymology
Punggol Point or Tanjong Punggol appears as Tanjong Rangon on Franklin and
Jackson's
1828 map of Singapore.
Punggol, also spelt as Ponggol, means "hurling sticks at the branches of fruit trees to bring them down to the ground" in
Malay. It could also refer to a place where
fruits and
forest produce are offered
wholesale and carried away. These possible names indicate that Punggol was a fruit growing district. The place is said to take its name from the river
Sungei Ponggol. Yet another interpretation is that it's a
rendezvous point for those who await the wholesale agent who buys and takes the produce to the market.
Ponggol also means "a stump of a tree", especially "a high stump". There are suggestions that the word is
Tamil (
Pongal, "the feast of the boiling rice", is celebrated when the sun enters the sign of
Capricorn), but the word is clearly Malay and not Tamil.
History
The Punggol area used to be a well-established
rural district dotted with
farmhouses and
farm structures, which were serviced by roads and dirt tracks. Many of the Chinese villagers were engaged in
poultry,
pig or
fish farming, as well as
plantation and farm produce. The last pig farm closed down in
1990.
Hydroponic non-pollutive
vegetable farms and
orchid farms used to flourish along the Cheng Lim Farmways and Buangkok Farmways, along with old
kampongs and low-rise residential areas. Most of these farms have given way to the high-rise
HDB flats of
Sengkang New Town and
Punggol New Town.
Historically, Punggol was populated mostly by
Teochews and
Catholics. The end of Upper Serangoon Road is known to Teochews as
kangkar or "
river bank" or "
river mouth".
Ferries were used on the
Serangoon River as transport. An old
market was also located here. The Catholic
missionaries arrived here 140 years ago and set up
churches and schools. A Malay kampong, which has since been cleared, could also be found at Tanjong Punggol. At the end of Punggol Port Road,
Indonesian and
Malaysian fishermen auctioned their catch at the wholesale fish market.
During the
Second World War in
1942, about 400 Chinese civilians were
massacred by the
Japanese military forces at Punggol Point, the northern tip of the area, in what was to be known as the
Punggol Beach Massacre as part of the
Sook Ching Massacre. Today, that location has been marked as a national
heritage site.
For Singaporeans, the place is well-known for its
seafood restaurants but these too are giving way to new
sea sports developments. Punggol is also popular for
water skiing,
skin diving and
boating.
Also see:Punggol Road End
Further Information
Get more info on 'Punggol'.
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