Shedding Some Light: Rifle Range Road
by Kevin Lee
Leading into a quiet residential area in posh Bukit Timah is a road that doesn’t conjure up images of quiet or residents: Rifle Range Road.
But the area does seem to have been a residential area even before the present houses there were built - except that early residents, though living on landed property, were less well-heeled. The area was actually occupied by squatters, who were resettled about fifty years ago (Singapore Improvement Trust, 1955).
The area seemed to have been the site of a granite quarry too, supposedly “one of the deepest quarries in Singapore … It was later filled, converted into flat land and used for building development work.†(Naidu, undated).
The road then leads past Rifle Range Link, which is passable on foot, before coming to a dead end.
While explosions must have rocked the area while the quarry was in operation, there were other things that also went “boom!” around Rifle Range Road. Before the Japanese occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945, the British had used the site where the Singapore Gun Club currently stands as an ammunition depot, and remnants of its presence were left behind.
“Over the years, World War II grenades, bombs and even pistols have been uncovered from within the shooting range†(Singapore Gun Club, undated).
The Singapore Gun Club started in the early 1950s, operating initially “from a tiny zinc-roofed wooden shed of about four square metres†(Singapore Gun Club, undated).
If “club†sounds odd when used together with the word “gunâ€, it should be noted that shooting was - and still is - not just restricted to war, but also a peacetime leisure activity similar to golf. After all, both pursuits involve long metal things to launch projectiles. In fact, NTUC launched its inaugural shoot at the club in 1991 (Singapore Government, 1991).
About the writer: Kevin Lee enjoys journeys to wide open spaces and into the past by bicycle. He rides around Singapore occasionally to “paint with light”, photographing scenes that may shed light on bits of the island’s past. This way, he can relive in future memories of the past even when what has been photographed has disappeared. After all, when things are gone, all we have left are memories which may dim with time - and photographs.
Also read Kevin’s previous contributions on Jalan Kampong Chantek and the Singapore Quarry.
References
Naidu, RT, undated, Dunearn Road, Singapore Infopedia.Retrieved 3 Aug 07 from http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_294_2005-01-26.html
Singapore Government, 1991. Speech by Mr Ong Teng Cheong, Deputy Prime Minister, at the NTUC inaugural shooting at the Singapore Gun Club, Rifle Range Road on Sunday, 10 February 1991 at 10.00 am.
Singapore Gun Club, undated. Retrieved 3 Aug 07 from http://www.singaporegunclub.com/
Singapore Improvement Trust, 1955. Agricultural Squatters Resettlement Scheme - Rifle Range Rd Area 42. Retrieved 4 Aug 07 from http://www.a2o.com.sg
Informative and precise…
Its difficult to find informative and accurate information but here I found…
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
sopa pipa bill…
[...]the following news from the courts is now anticipated in the [...]…
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Yahoo results…
While browsing Yahoo I found this page in the results and I didn’t think it fit…
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Cheap Yankee Candles…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]…
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
abide…
Great submit, Though I wasn’t altogether comply on some points initially, onerous by rendering until end, factual seems taking….
Yahoo results…
While browsing Yahoo I discovered this page in the results and I didn’t think it fit…
Yahoo results…
While searching Yahoo I discovered this page in the results and I didn’t think it fit…
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
News info…
I was reading the news and I saw this really interesting info…
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Resveratrol…
[...]Resveratrol supplement is actually a poly - phenolic compound found in many meals for example grapes[...]…
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
abhenrys…
roughly around 200 dollars give or take…