[We Like It Rare] Photograph of Municipal Abattoir and its Staff, Singapore, 1932
What lies in the Rare Materials Collections of the National Library, Singapore? In this series, we explore the gems of this treasure trove to uncover their fascinating stories.
Inspired by a photograph, Senior Librarian Makeswary Periasamy explores the origins and developments of Singapore’s Municipal Abattoir at Jalan Besar in the early 20th century.
As a young child growing up in the 1980s, I used to accompany my mother to the wet market. At the poultry stall, she would select a live chicken and the hawker would slaughter it right away, just behind his stall. I would look on from a safe distance, with both wonder and trepidation.
The slaughtering of live poultry at wet markets was slowly phased out from 1991 till March 1993 when it was completely halted. Poultry hawkers were now required to use the poultry service abattoirs to slaughter their poultry instead.¹
As a librarian taking care of rare collections, I came across this photograph featuring staff from the municipal abattoir at Jalan Besar. It was donated by the Malay Heritage Foundation in 2022.
Though I have never visited an abattoir before, seeing this photograph of the staff from the municipal abattoir rekindled memories of accompanying my mother to the wet market. Interestingly, a colleague recalled his own childhood memories (late 1970s to early 1980s) of staying over at his grandfather’s place in a kampung along Yio Chu Kang Road which was next to a butcher’s house. Occasionally, he would hear the blood-chilling squeals of a pig in the early hours of the morning as it was being slaughtered.
The photograph was likely taken in 1932 at the front of the abattoir building at the Jalan Besar area, after its renovation earlier that year. The date “15.4.1932” and words “Municipal Abattoir, Singapore” are inscribed by hand on the decorated board the photograph is pasted upon. The staff in the photograph are not identified but comprise a mix of British and locals.
The abattoir was built by the Municipal Commission in Jalan Besar at Kampong Kapor in the Rochore district in the late 19th century. The abattoir building was sited between Rowell Road and Desker Road and came under the supervision of the Municipal Health Department. Over the years, staff quarters that spanned Rowell Road to Upper Weld Road were also built next to the abattoir. Literally translated as “big road” in Malay, Jalan Besar was also called “kam kong ka poh thai tu long” (the slaughter pig depot in Kampong Kapor) by the Hokkiens in reference to the busy abattoir in the vicinity.²
The matter of building a municipal abattoir to counter the unhygienic practices of both licensed and unlicensed private slaughterhouses was first raised at municipal meetings around 1886.³ The Municipal Commissioners had petitioned the Government to provide land and funds to construct the proposed abattoir. However, construction was delayed due to a lack of sufficient funds and opposition from the butchers and private slaughterhouses, who feared the increase in costs and the longer time it will take to transport animals to and from a central abattoir.⁴
Under the Municipal Ordinance 1887 (IX of 1887) – implemented in January 1888 – the Municipal Health Department was formed in May 1888 to oversee public health and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The Government medical officer, Dr Gilmore Ellis, was appointed the Health Officer and he immediately began his inspection of cattle sheds and slaughterhouses.
He reported that 89 of the 102 slaughterhouses in town were “very filthy” and welcomed the Municipality’s decision to build an abattoir and recommended shutting down the “small slaughter houses”.⁵ Subsequent inspections of private slaughterhouses by health officers revealed that sick or diseased animals were being slaughtered and sold for human consumption, while residual animal matter from the slaughter were allowed to flow into public drains.⁶
While the initial site identified for the abattoir was Pulau Saigon (an island that used to be in the Singapore River), the Rochore district and Brick Kiln Road were proposed as additional sites in 1890 and 1891 respectively. It was noted that an abattoir at the Rochore area would be more convenient for pig dealers as it would be nearer their shops.⁷ Eventually the Brick Kiln Road was deemed unsuitable due to the presence of flies as it was also being used as a rubbish dump.⁸
Construction of both the Pulau Saigon and Jalan Besar abattoirs were completed in 1893 but were left unopened as the hiring of staff and the drafting of rules had not yet been completed.⁹ The Jalan Besar abattoir (identified as a branch) and the Pulau Saigon abattoir (identified as the central abattoir) were eventually opened in January 1894, within a few days of each other.¹⁰
Pigs, cattle, sheep and goats were slaughtered at designated areas in the two abattoirs at various times of the day. Pigs were slaughtered in the early hours of the morning (between 1am to 5.30am) while the rest of the animals were slaughtered during the day. After its renovation in 1932, the Jalan Besar abattoir slaughtered cattle, sheep and goats while the Pulau Saigon abattoir only slaughtered pigs.¹¹
To mitigate opposition from butchers, especially from the Chinese community, fees for slaughtering and storage of animals were waived for the first year and a small fee was charged from 1895 onwards. To maintain hygiene standards, the abattoirs adopted strict guidelines recommended by the Ministry of Health in the United Kingdom. In the 1930s, an “electrical stunning apparatus” was acquired for use in the pig abattoir.¹²
A footbridge was constructed in 1890 to link the abattoir at Pulau Saigon to the livestock butchers on the mainland. It was also known as the “Butcher Bridge”.¹³ The abattoir on Pulau Saigon was closed at the end of 1932, and its pig slaughtering services were taken over by the new, modern abattoir at French Road at the Kampong Kapor area, while the newly renovated Jalan Besar abattoir focused on the slaughter of cattle, sheep and goats. The footbridge to Pulau Saigon was demolished in 1986 and the island was eventually merged with the mainland in 1991.
HDB flats now occupy the former abattoir site in Jalan Besar, a far cry from its past as a bustling and noisy abattoir.
The abattoirs in Jalan Besar and French Road were eventually closed from 1960s to 1970s when new, more modern and automated abattoirs were built in Jurong and Kim Chuan Road. When the Jurong abattoir became fully operational in October 1967, the Jalan Besar abattoir was decommissioned and its building was torn down after 1971 to make way for residential flats as part of urban renewal. The Municipal quarters, though, are part of Singapore’s conserved buildings and are being repurposed for rental accommodation.¹⁴
Slaughterhouses are now sited in industrial estates and farms, away from residential areas. The only pig abattoir in Singapore is in Buroh Lane¹⁵, near Jurong Port Road. Singapore has about 14 slaughterhouses for poultry, frogs, turtles and crocodiles licensed by the Singapore Food Agency. Other livestock must comply with stringent regulations before they can be imported into the country.¹⁶
Makeswary Periasamy is a Senior Librarian with the Rare Collection and oversees the map collection. She tries to eat more vegetarian food but cannot resist the occasional egg omelette, ikan bilis and chicken satay.
[1] ”Wet market slaughtering to be phased out by ‘92,” Straits Times, 6 July 1990, 3; Kamisah Yusof, “No more slaughtering of poultry at wet markets from today,” Straits Times, 1 March 1993, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
[2] Woo Pui Leng, The Urban History of Jalan Besar (Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority Singapore, 2010), 33. (Call no. RSING 720.95957 WOO); Victor R. Savage and Brenda S. A. Yeoh, Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2023), 215. (Call no. RSING 915.9570014 SAV)
[3] “The Municipality,” Straits Times Weekly Issue, 10 June 1886, 6. (From NewspaperSG)
[4] “Municipal Commission,” Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 19 November 1889, 630. (From NewspaperSG)
[5] Lee Yong Kiat, “The Origin of the Municipal Health Department, Singapore,” Singapore Medical Journal 18 no. 3 (September 1977): 190. (Call no.: RSING 610.5 SMJ); Also available online at http://smj.sma.org.sg/1803/1803smj8.pdf; “Friday, November 15, 1889,” Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 19 November 1889, 607. (From NewspaperSG)
[6] Friday, November 15, 1889. Slaughter Houses. Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 19 November 1889, Page 607; Municipal Commission, Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 19 July 1889, 72. (From NewspaperSG)
[7] “Friday, October 11, 1889,” Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 15 October 1889, 449; “Municipal Commissioners,” Straits Times, 19 August 1890, 3; “The Municipality,” Straits Independent and Penang Chronicle, 14 March 1891, 6. (From NewspaperSG)
[8] “The Municipality,” Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle, 3 October 1891, 6; “Municipal Progress Report for February 1892,” Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle, 22 March 1892, 2; “The Municipality,” Straits Independent and Penang Chronicle, 29 June 1892, 5. (From NewspaperSG)
[9] “The Daily Advertiser Thursday, Jan. 5, 1893. Municipal Commission,” Daily Advertiser, 5 January 1893, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
[10] “Municipal Commission,” Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 28 July 1891, 11. (From NewspaperSG)
[11] “Slaughter House Returns,” Straits Budget, 13 March 1894, 4; “The Health of Singapore,” Malaya Tribune, 20 July 1932, 13. (From NewspaperSG)
[12] “Keeping Singapore In Meat,” Morning Tribune, 7 March 1936, 11; “The Health of Singapore,” Malaya Tribune, 20 July 1932, 13. (From NewspaperSG)
[13] “Singapore River Preserved,” Straits Times, 30 September 1985, 12. (From NewspaperSG)
[14] Gabriel Lee, “The Big Kill in Jurong Starts Today,” Straits Times, 1 October 1967, 9; “Double Output with New Abattoir,” Straits Times, 21 April 1975, 13; “Houses, Shops on Site of Abattoir,” Straits Times, 9 March 1971, 7; “Decades-old Municipal Quarters in Little India to be Used as Co-living Space,” Straits Times, 21 March 2023. (From NewspaperSG)
[15] The new highly automated abattoir at Jurong opened on 2 October 1967 and initially slaughtered all animals, including cattle and pigs.
[16] Victor Loh, “Watching From Farm to Fork: Keeping food in Singapore safe in the global era,” TodayOnline, 13 May 2017; Annual Report 2022–2023 (Singapore Food Agency, 2023, 16).
