First and foremost I need to confess that before embarking on the heritage trail in Balestier I knew nothing about Balestier, absolutely nothing. Never heard of their famous Bak Kut Teh, didn't know Shaw's defunct Jalan Ampas studio (which I studied on for last semester's exam) was actually there and I had zero idea which part of Singapore it was in. And also I only found out on that day of my trip that my mother grew up studying in a primary school in Balestier about 40 years ago! Well ok I maybe ignorant but then Balestier never came across to me as a interesting place which is so rich in history.
And so I begin the trail with an open or rather 'empty' mind, hoping that I would be learning and discovering the special places in Balestier. The following will be my reflection of some of the memorable sites we visited in Balestier.
The Novena church. I read about the church when it made news headlines no thanks to the exorcism case against its priests a couple of years back. The high court has since thrown out the case. One interesting fact I found out was that the MRT station and roads surrounding the church were named after the church. I have always thought that Novena church was named after the location not the other way round. Though this is one of the earliest churches built after the second world war, it hardly looks its age with its clean and neat hall and well painted walls.
At the Sun Yat Sen memorial hall, we went on a journey of China history. Going through all the exhibits and magnificent paintings in the museum made me felt for a moment that I am learning more about China history than I am learning Balestier. To know that Singapore had played a part in assisting Dr Sun during his quest to revolutionize China I feel is something worth knowing and to be proud of. I was also impressed with how well this building has been maintained, the exhibition halls are all air-conditioned while the exhibits well organized making our tour of the memorial hall very comfortable, well worth the $3 student entry fee I paid.
I was full of anticipation walking into the lane of Jalan Ampas, having read and studied on this once famous Shaw studio I was looking forward to visiting it. I was hugely disappointed when I finally reached 8 Jalan Ampas, the site was fenced like a construction site but there were obviously no construction going on inside. Except for a lone information marker, there were nothing else there to indicate the illustrious past of the Shaw studio at 8 Jalan Ampas. Peeking through a gap between the metal fence, I see a dismal piece of land with a few crates and a tree. 'Is this all that was left? Are they going to just let this place fade into history?' I strongly believe more could have been done to develop this site.
Many of the shophouses along Balestier still retained its original decor and the designs blended in very well with its building. I hope the young people nowadays would be able to appreciate the unique art on these buildings as it could tell us so much about our past and heritage.
The trail was enriching for me. Not only have I visited places that I have not known existed but also attained knowledge about the area's heritage. The National heritage board did a decent job in putting up information markers at various landmarks. However I still feel that more could be done in restoring and preserving certain sites such as the Jalan Ampas site.
