{"id":9523,"date":"2014-11-22T02:03:20","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T18:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/?p=9523"},"modified":"2015-03-23T00:22:14","modified_gmt":"2015-03-22T16:22:14","slug":"the-descendants-stories-2-sat-8-nov14bukit-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bukitbrown.com\/main\/2014\/the-descendants-stories-2-sat-8-nov14bukit-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour Report – The Descendants’ Stories 2: Sat 8 Nov’14@Bukit Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sally T.<\/p>\n

One recent Saturday, some friends and I had the pleasure of being guided around Bukit Brown Cemetery on a special tour led by three descendants of notable people buried there. The Descendants Tour was presented in partnership with the National Library of Singapore – a great community initiative on the part of the library. A few seasoned guides helped lead the group, which really helped to add insight and context along the way.<\/p>\n

\"Claire,<\/a>

Claire, a Bukit Brown volunteer guide gave a brief introduction on the history of Bukit Brown Cemetery and Singapore’s pioneers (photo by Simone)<\/p><\/div>\n

Each of the three descendants had fascinating stories to share and we were treated to what I would describe as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Hearing them so passionately and proudly tell familial histories and sing songs in honour of their ancestors, many of whom were pioneers of early modern Singapore, will be something I look back on as a highlight of my time living here. We visited the resting places of enterprising business people, diplomats and philanthropists – the type who have streets named in their honour.<\/p>\n

In recent years I had heard a lot about Bukit Brown, a national treasure that had been rediscovered by a caring community and was being hard fought for. Despite my curiosity I\u2019d never visited, perhaps not wanting to feel inappropriate or as an invasive foreigner, but a conversation with a friend who is a passionate historian prompted me to look up the next tour available. The fact that three descendants were taking the tour alongside a few experienced Brownies seemed like a unique opportunity and one not to be missed. I was right.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A door deity guards a tomb (Sally T)<\/p><\/div>\n

Our meeting point was just near the LTA temporary set-up, which we figured was the site headquarters for the current exhumation works taking place in certain sections of Bukit Brown. There\u2019s no denying that it\u2019s a confronting reality. While I\u2019ve known for a while that exhumation is fairly common here, I learned that it has a relatively long history in Singapore and happened under British rule too, as one of the graves we visited had actually been moved there from somewhere else in the 1930s or 40s. The current works were well underway when we visited, with high fences erected throughout. From the main road, you would easily have mistaken it for any construction site.<\/p>\n

Once the large group of about 30 was assembled, we walked a short distance to the tomb of Chia Hood Theam, who was a respected businessman with a lovely black and white home called Rosedale at the corner of Devonshire and Killiney Roads. Chia\u2019s maternal great-great granddaughter\u00a0Noreen Chan, along with some other family members present, shared a series of beautifully preserved photographs and stories that had been passed down through the generations. Noreen described how as well as being a \u2018comprador\u2019 \u2013 the business relationship managers of the old banking regime – her Peranakan grandfather was an early champion of women\u2019s education in Singapore. The tomb was well preserved and had beautiful tiling work.<\/p>\n

\"Noreen,<\/a>

Noreen, a descendant of Chia Hood Theam, showing pictures of her family (photo by Sally T)<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Some<\/a>

Some of the beautiful tiles on a tomb (photo by Sally T)<\/p><\/div>\n

Next stop was the tomb of one of\u00a0Dr Lim Su Min\u2019s several ancestors buried at Bukit Brown. On this mother\u2019s side, Dr Lim\u2019s lineage can be traced back to Tan Tock Seng, a prominent merchant and philanthropist who of course the hospital is named after. We visited the tomb of a relation of Tan Tock Seng. An impressive tomb turned a rusty orange from the lichen, the resting place was a little way up a small hill. After sharing his fascinating family history, Dr Lim treated us to an intimate and special moment as he sang a song he had written in his ancestors\u2019 honour. Standing there with only jungle noises to compete with the ukulele, we knew we were witnessing something heartfelt.<\/p>\n

\"Lim<\/a>

Lim Su Min shows his family tree at Seow Poh Leng’s mother’s tomb (photo by Simone)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The third tomb we visited was tucked much further into the jungle, and on the way we passed some extraordinary tombs, all with different style and character. Clearly, grieving family members had gone to a great deal of trouble to put their loved ones to rest in a place of beauty. The third descendant to share with the group, Serene Tan, went on a mission to find her family\u2019s cluster of tombs after being visited by a man in Mandarin robes in her dreams who encouraged her to visit. After a long search and some coincidences that could only have been fate, one of the Brownies came across the tomb of Serene Tan\u2019s ancestors, including Tan Quee Lan, which were in somewhat of a rundown state. Together with family members, the Tans have done an magnificent job of restoring the tombs with an impressive marble structure.<\/p>\n

\"Descendant,<\/a>

Descendant, Serene at Tan Quee Lan’s family cluster (photo by Simone)<\/p><\/div>\n

Dr Lim Su Min once again led us to the last tomb of the tour, which belongs to the eldest son of Tan Tock Seng called Tan Kim Ching, who was successful in further expanding the family\u2019s business empire with rice mills and tin-mining in Siam. The size and stature of the tomb was very impressive and Tan Kim Ching was clearly an important man. After gaining the trust and respect of the King of Siam, Tan Kim Ching was appointed a Singapore-based diplomatic representative of the court of Siam. We learned that he also represented Japan and Russia in diplomatic relations in Singapore. One of the most intriguing things I learned was that Tan Kim Ching was responsible for the posting of British governess Ann Leonowens to Siam to famously teach the children of the King.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A group photo at Tan Kim Ching’s tomb<\/p><\/div>\n

I found Bukit Brown majestic in both the grandeur of the tombs and the beauty of nature which has enclosed or almost seemingly protected the site in its forgotten years. When one of my friends who came along mentioned that he was visiting Bukit Brown to some Singaporean business associates, he was met with wide eyes and trepidation! While I wouldn\u2019t want to go there at night, it wasn\u2019t as eerie as I suspected so I would strongly encourage those with an interest in Singapore\u2019s history and culture, and strong sense of family values, to visit this special place. My friends and I will pass the word on about the tour to our friends – foreigners and locals alike – in the hope that more people will come and experience Bukit Brown. Who knows whether they will find an ancestor of their own.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A stream in Bukit Brown (photo by Sally T)<\/p><\/div>\n

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______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

The Descendants\u2019 Stories \u2013 A Guided Walk at Bukit Brown (English)<\/span><\/p>\n

Saturday, 8 November 2014, 4 pm \u2013 6.30pm.<\/p>\n

All Things Bukit Brown* is pleased to curate a guided walk in conjunction with the roving exhibition \u201cBukit Brown: Documenting New Horizons of Knowledge\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n

Registration is required and all queries is through the NLB website here<\/a> , spaces are limited to 28.
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About the Walk:<\/p>\n

News that a highway was to be built across Bukit Brown in 2011 led some descendants who had lost touch with their ancestral tombs to embark on a quest to find them. Some of those who were successful shared their stories of reconnecting with their ancestors and family oral history with the volunteers on the ground, called Brownies.<\/p>\n

For this special walk, 3 descendants of prominent figures in business, philanthropy and diplomacy in the 19th<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup> centuries will be sharing their stories first-hand at the tombs of their ancestors.<\/p>\n