Where in Singapore is Pulau Kayu??

I've been confronted with a mysterious island by the name of Pulau Kayu[1]. Apparently it is a island of the Selat Sembilan (Nine Straits) group, meaning one of the islets that became what is now Jurong Island. I can't seem to locate it on any of the maps that I have.

I suspect it could be a tiny one?

As of 1957, population census states that Pulau Kayu has 311 people, which is what Pulau Seraya has in another literature[2]. But this island cannot be Pulau Seraya, as P. Seraya is mentioned in this thesis paper.

The total area of this island is 49.47 acres (0.0773 sq. miles), out of which approximately 16 acres is habitable.

[1] is a good read as it is written before development is even mentioned. It tells of an island lifestyle that is very slow and simple.

Reference:

[1] Abdul Rahman, A. (1960). The island Malays : a study of a group of Malays in an island off Singapore: their life, customs, beliefs, and the degree to which they communicate with other places to meet their various needs.

[2]Chia, L. S. K., H. (1987). Utilization of Islands Off An Urban Waterfront: The Case of Singapore. Coastal Zone '87, Seattle, WA.

Pulau Bukom Hospital + Pulau Senang detainee

There was a case of rayfish sting by a prisoner at Pulau Senang. He "suffered excruciating pain after being stung on the sole of the foot, despite his wearing a thick pair of leather boots at that time"[1].

Oh my! I wonder if this detainee was one of those released successfully after going through rehabilitation, or is he one who revolted against the authority? And if he did, was the one of them who was hanged, or was meted with life imprisonment or was released after some time in jail?

[1] Phoon, W. O. and E. R. Alfred (1965). "A Study of Stonefish (Synanceja) Stings in Singapore with a review of the venomous fishes of Malaysia." Singapore Medical Journal 6(3): 158-163.

Pulau Bukom

What started my interest in Pulau Bukom was this journal paper:

Phoon, W. O. and E. R. Alfred (1965). "A Study of Stonefish (Synanceja) Stings in Singapore with a review of the venomous fishes of Malaysia." Singapore Medical Journal 6(3): 158-163.

I got referred to it from:

Sharma, R. E. (1973). Noxious and Toxic Animals. Animal life and nature in Singapore. S. H. Chuang. [Singapore], : Singapore University Press: 229-250.

So the paper talked about 81 cases of stonefish stings at Pulau Bukom Hospital.

Pulau Bukom had a hospital! :) What I knew about Pulau Bukom was that it a petroleum installation owned by Shell Oil Company. There the people who work there, live there. There are homes, places from recreation, to do your groceries etc. It was self-sustained. But since went? Is there still a hospital there?

Pulau Bukom was the first islet to be leased by the colonial government. The oil fuel reserves were own by the Asiatic Petroleum company. Apparently, before the fall to the Japanese, the British tried to destroy these resources, afraid what would have become of them if they fell into the Japanese hands. Though the British were also hesitant as that would lower the morale of the people. They went ahead and prisoners of war had to rebuild the oil facility and other buildings.

So that's what I gathered in a few google searches. Hmmm... There was this ghost story about a man being sent to Pulau Bukom Hospital...

But... What I am concerned with is, what was P. Bukom like, before it was a petroleum refinery?

The hospital probably would still be useful now, as P. Bukom is still heavily populated. But why is it that a google search does not churn out any results about the present hospital? Should I try RedNano?

Pulau Senang - Island of ironies

My Dad mentioned of Pulau Senang and with some googling, I discovered a little more about its dark secrets.

Pulau Senang Rehabilitation Settlement in the 1960s was a noble experiment of a prison without walls. Pulau Senang is located in the South Western Islands of Singapore, near to Raffles Lighthouse.

Criminals, made up of secret societies members, were brought to this island to be made good citizens again through their creativity and hard work of building up a settlement. They build their own dormitories, a canteen, roads, a community hall, terraced vegetable gardens etc. Paid 30 cents a day, they toiled and were supposed to learn how work is more meaningful than being in a gang.

These prisoners were led by Superintendent Daniel Dutton and other wardens.

Around noon time on the 12th of July 1963, a group of warders retaliated and rioted against authority, killing off Dutton and three of his wardens. They brutally set Dutton on fire and hacked him in many places. They carried on to destroy the settlement that took them three years to build. All these in less than 40 minutes. They proceeded to celebrate their victory through singing and guitar, awaiting their arrest.

Imagined, had this not happened, we could have showcased the Pulau Senang experiment as a successful method to rehabilitate criminals! :) Something that made us proud, instead of something we wished to forget. I imagine if this were the case, many of our offshore islands could potentially have been used in different ways.

This is a tragic story of Singapore's past. There was an episode of True Files in 2005 that documented this Pulau Sekang Trails. The irony is that Pulau Senang means "the island of ease", yet it was transformed into an island of hard work and painful memories. It was left empty for 5 years before being turned into a live-firing area for the army.

References
Josey, A. (1980). Pulau Senang : the experiment that failed. Singapore, : Times Books International.
Lim, K. T., C. Chew, et al. (2005). True files. E, Sr. 3, ep. 1 , [The Pulau Senang trial]. Singapore, MediaCorp Studios Pte Ltd.

The Lost Islands of Singapore

I just created this blog to chronicle my adventures in hunting down lost islands of Singapore.

I was about to blog in another education blog of mine, when I realized, there is quite a fair bit of information about the lost islands. For this reason, I decided to do this.

I am just slightly overwhelmed by the interesting theses there are in the Central Library of the National University of Singapore. Academic exercises done by social science students of ages past. I've learnt a little to observe the writing quality of the students, of various abilities, some more impression than others, but all definition a rich source of information. (I am actually in no position to judge)

I hope this blog will bring to attention scenes of the past that people do not talk about anymore!