Research A PLACE IN SINGAPORE (on the ground) and discover something you didn’t know about it.
I continued my research of Hillview on ground. As Hillview is more well known for the rail-way bridge, railway mall and salvation army, I decide to head to the area my parents lived as I have never set foot at there before. We started from Hillview MRT and my mother already noticed the changes around such as the highway tracks.
We walked on foot, heading to Hillview avenue. I decided to map out the pics I have taken onto the map of 1993 I found through research by former Hillview resident (specifically the Princess Elizabeth Estate), Lam Chun See, as well as the 2008 archival map from NAS for easier reference.
My mother’s first reaction on our way to Hillview Avenue was saying these two bus stops and the nearby condo Hillview Heights (though some renovations have been done) are still here.
The first thing we noticed was the roundabout road my father talked about when he saw the map. It’s still one of the iconic or memorable things he remembers about the place he lived.
The old food centre and market was demolished and over it the HillV2 mall stands as shown. I was excited to see what took over the land where my father once lived, to only see it still in construction for the Midwood Condo. Beside that is the Hillview Community Centre, which seems to be rather new as my mother did not remember it being there back then.
Clearer pics
I expected the place to be more desert as it was more isolated, but it gave a sense of peacefulness and the area was more occupied by condoes and semi-detached houses.
Most of the condos were new and there were one or two of the factories (such as the Malayan Guttas, Union Carbide and Hong Kong Rope Factory) are no longer around/moved out, and builded over the land is Hillington Green( and Summerhill Condos), Hillview Heights and Glendale Park respectively.
https://sgfilmhunter.wordpress.com/tag/hillview/
https://ijamestann.blogspot.com/2012/10/factories-around-pee-7-union-carbide.html?m=1
https://ijamestann.blogspot.com/2012/01/factories-around-pee-5-malayan-guttas.html?m=1
One of the buildings that still remains is the Lam Soon Industrial Building, which previously was a factory my grandmother and grandaunt used to work at where they made soups and oil. Now it is for rent and sale, consisting of small shops.
https://ijamestann.blogspot.com/2011/12/factories-around-peestate-1.html
My mother’s initial house was the one in white, since then it has been sold at least twice and another floor has been built.
The houses beside it both still remain the same.
It has quite a steep uphill to Hillview Mansion, and the area is blocked off by the iron gates.
Clearer pics
More pics on the journey along the Hillview Avenue road between where my parent’s lived
A dog running around Jalan Gumilang 🙂
Would have been a better idea to do a short sound recording of the place itself as well, as it was super serene you could get a better sense of the place on ground rather than online.