Sembawang
Encyclopedia : S : SE : SEM : Sembawang
| Singapore Estates and Towns | |
| |
| Chinese Name: 三巴旺 (Pinyin: Sānbāwàng) Malay Name: Sembawang Tamil Name: 'To be filled in' | |
| Founded | To be filled in |
| List_of_neighbourhoods_in_Singapore>Town Centre | Sun Plaza |
| List_of_neighbourhoods_in_Singapore>Commercial District | To be filled in |
| Land Area | To be filled in km² |
| Population | To be filled in |
| Town Council>Town Council Administration - Chairman - Vice-Chairman Properties Managed - Residential - Commercial - Social - Market & Hawker | [Sembawang] Hawazi Daipi Ong Ah Heng 112,1751 1,3521 2431 4671 |
| Notes: 1 Statistics based on the entire town council. | |
Republic of Singapore | |
The incumbent MP for the Sembawang Constituency is Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan. The constituency jurisdiction extends into the Woodlands New Town, bordering the Woodlands, Marsiling and Admiralty constituency.
Towards the north-west lies the new residential town of Sembawang, replacing the previous satellite town of Sembawang Road End, of which the latter was phrased out in early 2004 under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme.
Despite the relatively large development in the new residential area, Sembawang remain a largely suburban residential area with military, industrial and recreational facilities at its margins. It has hosted a major naval base and port facilities since the early 20th century, and continues to handle regular shipping traffic today.
Etymology
The earliest reference to Sembawang is found in Franklin and Jackson's 1830 Map of Singapore, which refers to the River Tambuwang. The place is said to have got its name from the sembawang tree (Kayae ferruginea).Bereft of its particle, sem, the second word, bawang, means "onion" in Malay.
History
The Sembawang area in the early twentieth century was the site of the Nee Soon Rubber estate.In colonial times, the area was home to a major British naval base, construction of which began in 1928 and was completed in 1938. [link] The base included dockyards, wharves and workshops, as well as supporting administrative, residential and commercial areas. The Naval Base has since been handed over to the Singapore government, which in 1968 converted it into a commercial dockyard that went on to become Sembawang Corporation, a major state-owned industrial conglomerate listed on the Singapore stock exchange.
Many roads in Sembawang are still named after various Royal Navy Dockyards, warships, Admirals, countries and cities. Examples include Wellington, Canberra, Canada, Gibraltar, Kenya and Falkland. These names were given during the previous British administration, and reflect the town's history as a British naval base.
Present day
Sembawang Road End
Extensive land reclamation throughout Singapore has left Sembawang Beach one of the country's last natural beaches,[link] although the surrounding area remains highly developed.[link] Today, the vegetable farms, rubber plantations and Chinese graveyards surrounding the former naval base have given way to modern housing, especially in the 1990s during the development of a New town public housing program by the Singapore Housing and Development Board. The town remains a major port, with Sembawang Wharves handling a high volume of bulk commodities cargo, such as timber and rubber. [link]As part of a 1990 agreement between Singapore and the United States, American military forces (primarily naval and air force) have been making use of Sembawang's base facilities. The Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific (COMLOG WESTPAC) command has been headquartered in Sembawang since 1992, providing logistic support for the U.S. 7th Fleet in its operations in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. [link]
Sembawang New Town
The new town contains some of the most common communal facilities found in Singapore, such as:
- Sembawang MRT Station.
- Shopping centres, including the Sun Plaza shopping centre next to the MRT station.
- Three primary schools (Canberra Primary School, Sembawang Primary School and Wellington Primary School), and two secondary schools (Canberra Secondary School and Sembawang Secondary School).
- A filler school to accommodate schools which are undergoing the PRIME (Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing Schools) programme, which upgrades schools to improve learning conditions.
- A town bus interchange, strategically located next to Sun Plaza, was completed in December 2005.
Reference
- Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 9812102051
External links
- [Sembawang Town official website]
- [Sembawang Town Council official website]
- [USN Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific official website]
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