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Bukit Brown Cemetery

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Coordinates: 1°20′10″N 103°49′23″E / 1.3361°N 103.8230°E / 1.3361; 103.8230
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Bukit Brown Cemetery
Bukit Brown Cemetery in 2011
Map
Details
Established1 January 1922
Closed1973
Location
36C Lor Halwa, Singapore 298637
CountrySingapore
Coordinates1°20′10″N 103°49′23″E / 1.3361°N 103.8230°E / 1.3361; 103.8230
TypeChinese
Size200 ha (490 acres)
No. of graves100,000

Bukit Brown Cemetery, also known as the Bukit Brown Municipal Cemetery or the Bukit Brown Chinese Cemetery, is a cemetery in Singapore. Originally owned by George Henry Brown, he purchased the land on hilly terrain and it became known as Brown's Hill, translated locally to Bukit Brown.

After ownership for the land was passed around, it was eventually acquired by the government, who opened Bukit Brown Cemetery there in 1922. The cemetery acted as a Chinese burial ground until its closure in 1973, with about 100,000 graves.

In 2011, the government designated the area for residential development which was met with backlash from activists and, in 2012, exhumed 3,700 graves to build an 8-lane highway. Bukit Brown Cemetery is suspected to be the largest Chinese cemetery outside of China and is also the location of many of Singapore's earliest pioneers.

Etymology

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The cemetery and the surrounding area are referred to as Bukit Brown, after George Henry Brown (1826–1882), a British merchant and ship owner. He had purchased land on hilly terrain and the area became known as Brown's Hill and was translated locally in Malay to Bukit Brown, bukit meaning hill.[1]

The hill where the cemetery is located is referred to as Mount Pleasant, which Brown named. It is also referred to locally as Coffee Hill or Kopi Sua, after coffee plantations that used to be on the hill.[2]

History

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Early establishments (19th-century)

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Brown in 1863 with his daughter Charlotte Ellen.

Bukit Brown Cemetery was named after 19th-century British merchant and ship owner George Henry Brown (1826–1882). He arrived in the Straits Settlements (present-day Singapore) in the 1840s and lived there till his death after an accident in Penang on 5 October 1882.[1]

Brown purchased land on a hill which he called Mount Pleasant and built a cottage on it called Fern Cottage. He had also tried planting nutmeg and coffee on Mount Pleasant but was unsuccessful. As the land belonged to him, it was commonly referred to as Brown's Hill, translated locally in Malay to Bukit Brown.[1]

Brown sold the land to Mootapa Chitty, a Chettiar, and Lim Chu Yi who later sold the land to three Hokkien Ong clan members – Ong Hew Ko, Ong Ewe Hai, and Ong Chong Chew – who, in the 1870s, turned the land into a private cemetery for Chinese people of the Ong clan and became known as the Seh Ong Cemetery.[3] All 3 of them were buried at Bukit Brown Cemetery after their deaths.[4]

Government acquisition (20th-century)

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The first mention of a municipal Chinese cemetery was in 1906, where Peranakan physician and social activist Lim Boon Keng suggested at a municipal meeting for a proper burial site for the Chinese, which was unanimously agreed upon by the commission.[5] Singaporean politician Tan Kheam Hock was also a supporter of establishing a public Chinese cemetery and, in 1917, asked about whether progress had been made in acquiring land at Bukit Brown and repurposing it as a Chinese burial ground.[6] When Bukit Brown Cemetery was opened, he managed the cemetery till his death.[7]

Aerial photograph of Bukit Brown Cemetery in 1946.

In 1919, the government acquired the land through compulsory acquisition after pressure had been put on them to open a municipal cemetery for the Chinese despite the resistance from the Ong clan, who owned the land at the time.[8] Seh Ong Cemetery was merged with Bukit Brown Cemetery and is known as Greater Bukit Brown.[9] In 1921, by-laws for Bukit Brown Cemetery were established to regulate burials for the Chinese.[10]

It was then opened as Bukit Brown Municipal Cemetery on 1 January 1922. In 1923, the road leading up to Bukit Brown Cemetery was named Bukit Brown Road, after Brown, and another road leading up to the cemetery was named Kheam Hock Road, after Tan.[8]

When it was opened, Bukit Brown Cemetery was not very popular with the Chinese, having its first burial in August 1922. The municipal president stated that it was "not utilized to the extent which we had anticipated", siting the main reason being the grave plot layouts. They later consulted with the Chinese Advisory Board and changed plot layouts to better account for the Chinese. This helped Bukit Brown Cemetery to become more popular amongst the Chinese community.[11][12]

Colored papers placed on a grave during a Qingming Festival at Bukit Brown Cemetery.

The Qingming Festival is also held regularly at Bukit Brown Cemetery, usually requiring traffic police to regulate the high traffic flow into the cemetery.[13][14][15]

By 1929, 40% of Chinese deaths in Singapore were buried at Bukit Brown Cemetery.[3] In 1941, Choa Chu Kang Cemetery was established as Bukit Brown Cemetery and Bidadari Cemetery were both running out of space.[16] In 1946, more grave plots at Bukit Brown Cemetery were released for people's whose reservations had been taken up during the Japanese occupation and used for pauper burials.[17][18]

In 1947, Bukit Brown Cemetery and Choa Chu Kang Cemetery were brought up in a municipal meeting by L. Rayman, concerned about the land use occupied by the cemeteries. An amendment was passed that limited the size of burial plots.[19] In 1965, the Public Works Department (PWD) exhumed 237 graves to realign Lornie Road off Adam Road.[20][21] Bukit Brown Cemetery was closed in 1973 with about 100,000 graves.[3]

Redevelopment plans for Bukit Brown and conservation efforts (2000–present)

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A banner at Bukit Brown Cemetery, opposing the building of Lornie Highway through it.
A notice at Bukit Brown Cemetery about the exhumation of graves.

From 2011 to 2012, the area was designated for residential development and many activists were upset by this decision as Bukit Brown Cemetery was "a distinctive slice of the multi-ethnic country's fast disappearing heritage"[22] and that it should be preserved.[23][24][25] This included exhuming 3,700 graves to make space for an 8-lane highway.[26]

In 2012, it was announced by then-Minister of State for National Development, Tan Chuan-Jin, that 5,000 graves would be exhumed to make way for a new 8-lane highway, Lornie Highway, that would cut through the cemetery.[27] This number was later reduced to 3,746 on 19 March 2012.[28][29][30] Construction for Lornie Highway began in 2011 and was expected to be completed by 2016 but was eventually completed in 2018.[31] During construction, Bukit Brown Road was replaced by a section of the Lornie Highway.[32]

It was also revealed that the rest of the cemetery would make way for a new public housing town in about 40 years time.[33] In 2014, Bukit Brown Cemetery was named on the World Monuments Watch as an 'at risk site'.[34]

The National Archives of Singapore (NAS) digitised and released the burial registers of Bukit Brown Cemetery between April 1922 and December 1972 online, as well as a map of the cemetery to help descendants check if their ancestor's graves were affected by the development.[35]

In 2016, Bukit Brown Cemetery's gates that were installed back in the 1920s were removed from their original posts, cleaned and repaired, and reinstalled at the mouth of a new access road near its original location.[36][37]

In 2017, the Singapore Heritage Society launched a self-guided trail through Bukit Brown Cemetery that takes visitors through 25 gravestones.[38] A grave belonging to Chen Yi Kuan collapsed due to nearby construction works for Mount Pleasant MRT station on the Thomson–East Coast MRT Line.[39]

In July 2024, it was announced that an outdoor display, Sounds of the Earth, would be opened in August by Bukit Brown conservation groups. The display features 80 unclaimed artifacts that were collected in 2013, during the construction of Lornie Highway.[32][40]

Notable burials

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The gravestone of Ong Sam Leong (1857–1918), the largest gravestone in Bukit Brown Cemetery.[38]

Due to Bukit Brown Cemetery's long history and multiple graves, it is suspected to be the largest Chinese cemetery outside of China with about 100,000 graves.[22] It is also the location of many of Singapore's earliest pioneers.[41][42]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Savage, Victor R.; Yeoh, Brenda (15 October 2022). Singapore Street Names (4th edition): A Study of Toponymics (4th ed.). Marshall Cavendish. p. 70. ISBN 9789815009231.
  2. ^ Lim, Kwan Kwan (25 September 1984). "The dead and the living side by side". The Straits Times. p. 12. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  3. ^ a b c d Tsang, Susan (2007). Discover Singapore: The City's History & Culture Redefined. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 18–22. ISBN 9789812613653.
  4. ^ Yong, Clement (17 March 2021). "Remains of Chinese pioneer merchant, who donated land for Bukit Brown, moved from cemetery". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  5. ^ "The Municipality". Straits Echo. 15 December 1906. p. 5. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  6. ^ "Municipal Commission". Malaya Tribune. 29 December 1917. p. 5. Retrieved 15 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  7. ^ a b "FINAL RESTING PLACES". The New Paper. 21 March 2010. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  8. ^ a b Savage, Victor R.; Yeoh, Brenda (15 October 2022). Singapore Street Names (4th edition): A Study of Toponymics (4th ed.). Marshall Cavendish. p. 71. ISBN 9789815009231.
  9. ^ Zaccheus, Melody (3 May 2017). "Forest at Greater Bukit Brown holds graves of early Singaporeans". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  10. ^ "CHINESE BURIAL GROUND". Malaya Tribune. 30 August 1921. p. 7. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  11. ^ Yeoh, Brenda S. A. (2003). Contesting Space in Colonial Singapore. Singapore University Press. pp. 302–304. ISBN 9789971692681.
  12. ^ Chong, Guan Kwa; Bak, Lim Kua (21 June 2019). A General History of the Chinese in Singapore. World Scientific Publishing Company. pp. 170–171. ISBN 9789813277656.
  13. ^ "Cheng Beng traffic plans". The Straits Times. 25 March 1961. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  14. ^ "'Avoid traffic hold-up on Cheng Beng' call". The Straits Times. 3 April 1972. p. 7. Retrieved 13 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  15. ^ Chia, Laura (5 April 2016). "Keeping traditions alive at Bukit Brown for Qing Ming". The New Paper. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  16. ^ "SINGAPORE'S NEW BURIAL GROUND". Malaya Tribune. 25 February 1941. p. 2. Retrieved 15 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  17. ^ "New Grave Plots At Bukit Brown". The Straits Times. 9 September 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 15 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  18. ^ "GRAVES DECISION". The Singapore Free Press. 4 September 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 15 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  19. ^ "S'PORE SHORT OF BURIAL PLOTS". The Straits Times. 29 March 1947. p. 7. Retrieved 13 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  20. ^ "237 GRAVES ON STATE LAND AT BUKIT BROWN TO BE EXHUMED". The Straits Times. 25 December 1964. p. 4. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  21. ^ "GRAVES TO BE EXHUMED FOR ROAD ALIGNMENT". The Straits Times. 17 December 1964. p. 5. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  22. ^ a b Lim, Rebecca (6 April 2012). "Singapore to drive road through historic cemetery". BBC News. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  23. ^ Lee, Zhiwang (28 October 2011). "Taoist Mission supports preservation of cemetery". TODAY. p. 26. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  24. ^ Tan, Danny G. (2 November 2011). "WERE LOCAL GROUPS EVEN CONSULTED ABOUT BUKIT BROWN PLAN?". TODAY. p. 22. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  25. ^ "Heritage society 'disappointed' with Govt's Bukit Brown decision". The Straits Times. 6 February 2012. p. 7. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  26. ^ Han, Kirsten (7 August 2015). "Land-starved Singapore exhumes its cemeteries to build roads and malls". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Road through Bukit Brown to go ahead as planned". asiaone.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  28. ^ "Development should not come at expense of heritage: Tan Chuan-Jin". Channel NewsAsia. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  29. ^ "LTA announces finalised alignment for Bukit Brown road project". Channel NewsAsia. 19 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  30. ^ "LTA finalises alignment of new road across Bukit Brown". ura.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  31. ^ Tai, Janice (28 October 2018). "First section of Lornie Highway, formerly Bukit Brown Road, opens to traffic". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  32. ^ a b c d Ng, Keng Gene (8 July 2024). "New outdoor display at Bukit Brown Cemetery to open by August". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  33. ^ Hoe, Yeen Nie (5 December 2011). "New alignment for road cutting through Bukit Brown?". Archived from the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  34. ^ Zaccheus, Melody (9 October 2013). "Bukit Brown Cemetery named on global list as a site at risk". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  35. ^ "Burial Registers of Bukit Brown Cemetery". National Archives of Singapore. Archived from the original on 23 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  36. ^ Zaccheus, Melody. "Bukit Brown's iconic gates to be refurbished, relocated". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  37. ^ Zaccheus, Melody (29 August 2016). "Bukit Brown gets back its 1920s gates". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  38. ^ a b c Hio, Lester (18 November 2017). "New Bukit Brown Cemetery self-guided trail takes visitors through 25 tombs". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  39. ^ Guan, Zhen Tan (12 March 2017). "Bukit Brown Cemetery grave collapses due to Thomson-East Coast MRT Line construction works". Mothership. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  40. ^ Martens, Hannah (8 July 2024). "New installation at Bukit Brown Cemetery to feature artefacts recovered from graves". Mothership. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  41. ^ Sajan, Chantal (13 September 2020). "Heritage activists: Bukit Brown more than just a cemetery; it's a 'living museum' of Singapore's pioneers". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  42. ^ Lock, Clara (18 March 2021). "On the trail of secret spots". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  43. ^ "Simple funeral for Lark Sye on Sunday". The Straits Times. 13 September 1972. p. 10. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  44. ^ "FUNERAL ANNOUNCEMENT". The Straits Times. 22 July 1941. p. 2. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  45. ^ "Colony Horse Owner Dies". Sunday Standard. 22 July 1956. p. 1. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  46. ^ "DEATH". The Straits Times. 9 September 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  47. ^ "DEATH OF MRS. LIM BOON KENG". The Straits Budget. 28 December 1905. p. 3. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  48. ^ "100 cars in bus owner's funeral procession". The Straits Times. 4 February 1957. p. 7. Retrieved 14 August 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
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