Jalan Besar
| Jalan Besar | |
|---|---|
| Name transcription(s) | |
| • Chinese | 惹兰勿刹 |
| • Pinyin | rělánwùshā |
| • Malay | Jalan Besar |
| • Tamil | ஜாலான் புசார் |
Jalan Besar
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| Country |
 Singapore
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Jalan Besar (literally Malay for "large road", but taken to mean "Main Road") is a street in Kallang, Singapore.
Jalan Besar only appeared in the 1880s, when the Municipality constructed it through nipah land and called it Jalan Besar, meaning "big or wide road" in Malay.
The area belonged to Richard Owen Norris from the 1830s to 1865, before he moved to Paya Lebar. Later, Syed Allie (1814-1858) bought 70 acres of land in this area and filled in what was predominantly swamp land.
The site where Beatty School was and the HDB flats are was a big expanse of open ground. A rubber factory stood on the field, and another in Kitchener Road. The place was full of snipes and a favourite haunt of hunters.
The other side of Jalan Besar between Lavender Street and Syed Alwi Road was swamp land. Flying ducks, snipe, fish, mud lobsters and multi-coloured snakes thrived there. The area was slowly reclaimed by dumping refuse. In 1923, the New World Amusement Park located off Jalan Besar was opened by the enterprising sons of Ong Sam Leong (after whom nearby Sam Leong Road is named), Peng Hock and Boon Tat.
A peculiarity of the street names in Jalan Besar is that many bear the names of World War I British generals and admirals and two French generals — Allenby, Kitchener, French, Maude, Jellicoe, Tyrwhitt, Foch, Sturdee, Beatty and Petain. The names of battle places such as Flanders, Somme and Verdun are also reflected. Today, Jalan Besar is a gazetted conservation area.
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