Punggol

SG neighbourhood
image

englishname=Punggol
chinesename=榜鵝
pinyin=Bǎng'é
malayname=Punggol
tamilname=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 (Punggol New Town) under the "Punggol 21" initiative have begun to take place in the south-eastern parts of the area bordering neighbouring Sengkang.

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.

Double name

The name Punggol is used in Punggol Road, Punggol New Town and its nearby facilities. The older name Ponggol is still retained in two of the street names: Ponggol Seventeenth Avenue and Ponggol Twenty-Fourth Avenue.

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 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.

"Also see:Punggol Road End"

References

*Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), "Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names", Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1

External links

* [http://www.ura.gov.sg/dgp_reports/punggl21/main.html Punggol 21 ] - A waterfront town of the 21st Century.
* [http://www.prpg-tc.org.sg/ Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council]
* [http://www.punggolforum.com/ Punggolforum.com] - a forum for residents to make friends & community bonding.
* [http://www.northeast.org.sg/pasirris_new/ Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Town Portal]
* [http://www.punggol.sg/ Punggol.sg] - Community Portal for Punggol Residents
* [http://www.punggol.org/ Punggol.org] - Website about Punggol Town. With all the latest updates on upcoming developments, neighbourhood news as well as pictures of Punggol Town

Paranormal

* [http://www.spi.com.sg/spi_files/massacre/main00.htm Tracing the Brutal Evidence of 50,000 Chinese Massacre]
* [http://www.spi.com.sg/spi_files/punggol_kampong_house/main00.htm Decoding Secret Message at Punggol Kampong House]
* [http://www.spi.com.sg/haunted/haunted_houses/punggol_farm.htm Punggol Slaughtering Station]