Punggol
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| English | Punggol |
| Chinese | 榜鵝 |
| (Pinyin | Bǎng'é) |
| Malay | Punggol |
| Tamil | பொங்கோல் |
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 under the "Punggol 21" initiative have begun to take place in the south-eastern parts of the area bordering neighbouring Sengkang.
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[edit] 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 is 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Transportation
Urban development into the area has been accelerated with the introduction of better transportational options. The Tampines Expressway links up the area with the expressway network. In terms of public transport, the opening of the North-East Line, the Punggol LRT Line in January 2005, and a temporary bus interchange adjacent to the Punggol MRT Station was a great improvement over what was once a single bus route, SBS Transit's Service 82, to the area along Punggol Road.
Current buses available at the Punggol Bus Interchange are: 3, 34, 43, 83, 85, 62, and 136.
[edit] Commercial facilities
Strategically located near Coral Edge LRT Station, Punggol Plaza offers residents the convenience of fulfilling all their marketing needs at one place. There is an NTUC FairPrice supermarket located on the third floor of the plaza, and a food court operated by Koufu located on the ground floor. There are also clinics offering general practitioner and specialist medical services. Free shuttle services between Punggol Plaza and Sengkang New Town have been provided since September 2004.
[edit] Educational institutions
There are currently two primary schools and two secondary schools in Punggol New Town.
- Primary schools
- Edgefield Primary School 育德小学
- Mee Toh School 弥陀学校
- Secondary schools
- Greendale Secondary School 绿苑中学
- Punggol Secondary School 培道中学
[edit] Trivia
- Several places in Punggol have reputations as being haunted. See also Singapore Paranormal Investigators.
[edit] References
- Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1
[edit] External links
- Punggol 21 - A waterfront town of the 21st Century.
- Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council
- Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Town Portal
- Punggol.sg - Community forum for Punggol Residents
- Punggol.org - Forum for Punggol residents
[edit] Paranormal
- Tracing the Brutal Evidence of 50,000 Chinese Massacre
- Decoding Secret Message at Punggol Kampong House
- Punggol Slaughtering Station
