Map of Nee Soon
Yishun was originally called Nee Soon. The development of Yishun started in 1976 with the first HDB apartments being built at the Chong Pang area. Yishun Neighbourhood 1 was developed in 1981, followed by Neighbourhood 7 and Neighbourhood 2. Neighbourhood 6, 8 and 9 were developed in 1987, together with the Town Centre. Neighbourhood 3 and 4 followed slightly later in 1992. Construction of Neighbourhood 5 was started in 2009 and was completed in 2015.
These are a few images of Nee Soon
Yishun is special to residents for many reasons such as the activities and places. A few of the activities that took place around Nee Soon were Rubber Factories, growing of pineapple plantations and relaxing in Sembawang Hot Springs.
Sembawang Hot Springs
Yishun, proved to be one area in Singapore where the iconic rubber plant was rivalled in prominence by a zesty and quirky tropical fruit – the pineapple. More than just an exotic crop, pineapples were prized by the British as a tangible expression of the wealth and fecundity of their tropical imperial possessions. This makes Yishun Special to the people living there because the plantation produced the most pineapples in Malaya in 1910 or 1911 and most of the workers there moved to Nee Soon.
This image shows Mr Nee Soon standing in front of a pineapple truck
Sembawang Hot Springs lies in a wooded area about 100 metres off the main road. The spring is believed by locals to have healing properties, and its water has been bottled commercially by Fraser and Neave, under the brand name of Seletaris. Since its discovery in 1909, the spring, now on land belonging to a military air base, has gone through several changes of ownership and abortive redevelopment plans. The hot spring retains a rural rustic feel for nature visitors to unwind. It is special because Sebawang Hot Spring Park is the only natural hot spring in Singapore and villagers frequently sought the waters for their supposed healing powers.
Mr. Lim founded Lim Nee Soon & Co. in 1911 and ran a successful rubber enterprise amongst other commercial interests. Besides the factory, Mr. Lim also owned vast tracts of rubber plantations in Seletar. The factory was considered a modern facility, with processing machines and pipes carrying water from the nearby Seletar River for the treatment of rubber. This is special because it even attracted tourists to visit the factory. This and the plantation developed the Nee Soon village.
Rubber Factory
According to students from 2E1 of Ahmad Ibrahim secondary school, Yishun is unique and special because of the strange incidents that Yishun is notorious for. Although it is not something to be proud of, students feel that this sets Yishun apart from other places in Singapore. It also feels like a place where they belong.
Survey Reflections:
Harith: while conducting the survey, my cousin was confused at what i was doing at first. I explained I was doing a school project and finally took me seriously
Roysius: Whilst conducting the survey,I was asking my friend the question over the phone,he was reluctant but eventually did the survey after i explained the reason what i was doing which was for a school project.
Yuthika: I asked my mum about Yishun for the project and I found out that she had lived in Yishun for almost whole her life,she only lived in woodlands for 1 year and she’s 40,it’s mind blowing
Anushsri: Conducting the surveys was very terrifying if me as at first i wad too shy to go up to a random stranger to conduct the surveys. Many people rejected the request and were reluctent which was another struggle.
Sadhana: I surveyed my friend so it was easy for me to get her to answer the questions and the online platform helped me a lot because it provided me with many questions to ask. I could easily access the page too.
What makes Yishun Special 