Queenstown, Singapore

Queenstown was named after Queen Elizabeth II to mark Her Majesty's coronation in 1953. The area was previously known by the Mandarin Chinese name Wu-wei-gang (Wade Giles: Wu-wei-kang), or in Hokkien as Boh Beh Kang. The arterial road Queensway was officially named in 1954. ==History==

Previously, the area which Queenstown currently occupies was a large swampy valley with a channel running through in a southeastern direction. On either side of this agricultural area were hills – feng xing and feng ling. The former was a rubber plantation and the latter, a cemetery also known as boh beh kang. By late 1953, a preliminary batch of 3-room flats was ready for occupation. By 1956, work on the Princess Margaret Estate (later shortened to Princess Estate) had more than 1,000 flats comprising one, two and three-room units and 68 terrace houses. A ceremony was held in October that year for Forfar House, a 14-storey block which was a prominent landmark in those days as it was the tallest HDB flat at that point of time. The area continued to develop as a self-contained community. Some of the facilities and amenities developed included the Town Centre and the Swimming and Sports Complex. The former was fully completed in 1969 with three cinemas and a variety of outlets including an emporium, a fresh food market, a maternity and child health centre, a bowling alley and a nightclub cum restaurant. The swimming complex was completed in August 1970. In the 1970s, the success of the new town led to the development of Buona Vista and Holland Village, using the older neighbourhoods of Queenstown as a model. However, by the 1980s, the area had become a mature estate with a higher proportion of senior citizens residing in the area than elsewhere, and a gradual migration of the younger generation into other HDB new towns. ==Geography==

and Queenstown meet. Beyond the lane to the left is Alexendra Hill in Bukit Merah while the area beyond the right lane is located in Queensway, Queenstown. The total population (1990 census) is 126,071 with 31,131 housing units. It consists of 16 subzones, namely Ghim Moh, Holland Drive, Commonwealth, Tanglin Halt, Margaret Drive, Mei Chin, Queensway, Portsdown, Buona Vista, Singapore Polytechnic, Dover, National University, Kent Ridge, Pasir Panjang, Pasir Panjang II, and the Port. Pasir Panjang lies to the south of Queenstown (Pasir Panjang in Malay means "long sandy beach"). The coastline was dotted with Malay villages, the main economic activities being fishing and small-scale agriculture. Only after the war, did the development of the area begin, with bungalows along the coastline being built in the 1950s. Today, Pasir Panjang is a popular recreational area for sea sports and attractions such as the Haw Par Villa. ==Main housing estates==

The main housing areas within Queenstown include: • Princess Estate is the first subdistrict of the Queenstown District consists of several precincts like Strathmore and Dawson. It is also the first rebuilt estate under SERS. • Duchess Estate is the second subdistrict of Queenstown district which consists of Queenstown Centre and Margaret Drive. Several blocks of 2-storey and 3-storey flats are located in this area. It is also the second rebuilt estate under SERS. • Tanglin Halt consists of rows of ten storey flats. The remaining HDB flats at Tanglin Halt will be demolished by 2021. It is also the third rebuilt estate under SERS. • Commonwealth Estate is located near Commonwealth MRT station and consists of precincts like Commonwealth Close and Commonwealth Crescent. It is best known for having a fantastic view of Singapore's Downtown. It is also the fourth rebuilt estate under SERS, to be demolished together with Tanglin Halt. • '''Queen's Close''' is a cluster of flats bounded by Mei Ling district, Portsdown Road and Alexandra Road. Queen's Crescent is now demolished and redevelopment will only begin in 2021. • Mei Ling/Mei Chin is built from the excavation of two hills, Hong Lim and Hong Yin Hill which are used for cemetery purposes. It is also where Queenstown district got its name Boh Beh Kang, or a river with no source. • Buona Vista is the last district built in Queenstown. However, it has developed a distinct and unique identity today that is commonly not linked with Queenstown. • Dover is a small neighbourhood located in the south of Buona Vista. It is also commonly not associated with Queenstown despite being under its planning area. Dover is known to have many schools around its neighbourhood and National University of Singapore and Singapore Polytechnic is also located in this region. • Ghim Moh is an estate located beside Buona Vista known for its attractive food. It consists of 28 blocks. • Margaret Drive: Penrith an upcoming private condominium development in the Margaret Drive area, adding modern residential options to this historic district. Forfar Heights Forfar House, or Block 39, was built in 1956 by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) as a 14-storey block (which at that time was the tallest residential building in Singapore, holding the record until the building of a 20-story block at Selegie in 1963). Also known as Chap Si Lao, it was an early part of the mixed height development of the area. The new blocks at Forfar Heights are featured with blue glazing and blue floodlights at the roofline, reminiscent of the early days, where many units were characterised by the blue glass in their windows, by which the district was acquired its Hokkien name Lam Po Lay. Block 39, Forfar Square, had 106 three-room-flats, four shops, and an eating house, until it was demolished in the early 2000s together with the surrounding SIT blocks under the Selective en bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS). Currently, the new Forfar Heights consists of two 40-storey blocks (Blk 48, 52) and three 30-storey blocks (Blk 49–51). Residency was offered to residents from the old Forfar House and Blocks 6A & 6B Margaret Drive in 1996, and residents from Block 172–175 Stirling Road & Block 96 Margaret Drive in 2001. The new blocks were launched on Tree Planting Day 2005 and SERS Completion Ceremony on 6 November 2005 with guest of honour, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC. The name for Forfar Heights had its origin from Forfar Square, which like most Queenstown street names, was connected to the British royal family. The name Forfar comes from The Royal Burgh of Forfar, a Scottish town near the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. ==Demographics==

Being the first satellite HDB town in Singapore, Queenstown has one of the highest proportions of elderly aged 65 and above. Many of the residents live in smaller 2-room and 3-room flats. As a result, Queenstown earned its reputation as an "elderly town". Further developments in Dawson located in Princess Estate have attracted many young Singaporeans to this area in the 2000s as part of the urban renewal efforts. It was announced in 2006 that Margaret Drive will be developed into a modern district with amenities. Due to the comparatively longer heritage of Queenstown district, local community has flourished. Various online communities such as MyQueenstown have been introduced by the local, independent parts of the district. This has certainly changed the image of the district. ==Transportation==

Mass Rapid Transit There are 9 Mass Rapid Transit stations that serve the planning area, across 2 lines, the East West Line and the Circle Line. Both lines have an interchange station at Buona Vista station. The 9 stations are: • Queenstown • Commonwealth • Buona Vista • Dover • Holland Village • one-north • Kent Ridge • Haw Par Villa • Pasir Panjang Bus There are 3 bus terminals within the planning area. Buona Vista Bus Terminal is located along Holland Drive while Ghim Moh Bus Terminal is located along Ghim Moh Road. Both of which are near to the Buona Vista MRT Station. Kent Ridge Bus Terminal is located within the vicinity of the Kent Ridge campus of the National University of Singapore, at the western portion of the planning area. All three bus terminals within the planning area are anchored by Clementi Bus Package under Bus Contracting Model. Roads Queenstown planning area is connected by road to the rest of Singapore via the Ayer Rajah Expressway, a major expressway connecting western Singapore to the Central Area, and also to Johor via the Tuas Second Link. Major roads in the planning area include Queensway, which is part of the Outer Ring Road System (ORRS), a semi-expressway, together with Portsdown Avenue. Queensway intersects with Commonwealth Avenue, a major road that parallels the East West Line and continues into Commonwealth Avenue West at Buona Vista. At the southern portion, the West Coast Highway is a major arterial road that links the district of Pasir Panjang to the Jurong Industrial Estate to the west and the Central Area to the east. At the eastern border with Bukit Merah, Alexandra Road is a major road that connects Pasir Panjang Road with Ayer Rajah Expressway, Queensway and Commonwealth Avenue. Port The Pasir Panjang Container and Multipurpose terminals, which opened in phases from 2000 to 2017, was built off reclaimed land along the coast of Pasir Panjang and supplements the older City Terminals. Located along Harbour Drive in Pasir Panjang, it is currently the largest port facility in the Port of Singapore, operated by PSA. All Pasir Panjang terminals are expected to close by 2040 as operations will be consolidated at Tuas Port. ==Education==

Primary schools • Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) • New Town Primary School • Queenstown Primary School Secondary schools • Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) • Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) • New Town Secondary School • Queenstown Secondary School • Queensway Secondary School • School of Science and Technology, Singapore Tertiary institutions • Anglo-Chinese Junior College • National University of Singapore (Kent Ridge Campus) • Singapore Institute of Technology (Main Campus until September 2024) • Singapore Polytechnic Other schools • Anglo-Chinese School (International) • Dover Court International School • ESSEC Business School • INSEAD Asia • Rainbow Centre • S P Jain School of Global Management • Tanglin Trust School • United World College of South East Asia • MDIS UniCampus ==Other amenities==

Places of worship Chinese temples • Phoh Teck Siang Tng Temple • Poh Ern Shih Temple • Tiong Ghee Temple Churches • Aldersgate Methodist Church • Church of Christ, Pasir Panjang • Church of our Saviour • Church of the Blessed Sacrament • Church Of The Good Shepherd • Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church • Faith Methodist Church • Free Community Church • Holy Covenant Methodist Church • Living Waters Methodist Church • Nazareth Bible-Presbyterian Church • New Creation Church • Norwegian Seamen's Mission • Pasir Panjang Christ Church • Pasir Panjang Hill Brethren Church • Queenstown Lutheran Church • Reformed Evangelical Church (Singapore) • St. John's - St. Margaret's Church • The 'Fisherman of Christ' Fellowship Hindu temples • Sri Muneeswaran Temple Mosques • Masjid Ahmad • Masjid Hang Jebat • Masjid Hussain Sulaiman • Masjid Jamek Queenstown • Masjid Mujahidin • Musollah Prayer Hall • Surau Ghim Moh Shopping centres • Alexandra Retail Centre (ARC) • Anchorpoint • Dawson Place • Holland Piazza • Holland Road Shopping Centre • Margaret Market • One Holland Village • Queensway Shopping Centre • Raffles Holland V • Rochester Mall • The Star Vista • Viva Vista Shopping Mall Parks • Alexandra Canal Linear Park • Canterbury Park • HortPark • Kent Ridge Park • one-north Park • Pasir Panjang Park Connector • Ridout Tea Garden • West Coast Park Community centres/clubs • Buona Vista Community Club • Dover Community Centre • Queenstown Community Centre • Ulu Pandan Community Club Sports facilities • Queenstown ActiveSG Stadium • Sports @ Buona Vista • Winchester Tennis Arena Hospitals • Alexandra Hospital • National University Hospital Tourist attractions • Haw Par Villa • Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum • NUS Museum • Reflections at Bukit Chandu ==See also==