If you are a regular reader of Yesterday.sg, then you might be acquainted with Philip Chew, who often blogs about his great-grandfather, Chew Joo Chiat, after whom the area is named for. Chew Joo Chiat is one of the many famous Singapore pioneers who are interred at the Bukit Brown Cemetary.
Philip describes his great-grandfather’s tomb:
Chew Joo Chiat’s tomb was covered with overgrown vegetation and creepers, except for the tombstone and the cemented frontage. The main tombstone had only Chinese characters. The names of his children and grand children were carved on it. I saw my dad’s name there. Two small side tablets, one on each side written in English with red paint showed his date of death. We took many pictures and video clips. They will become family teasures in future when the destruction of Bukit Brown Cememtery is completed. The authority had already planned to construct a dual four-lane road through Bukit Brown in 2013. Later on the cemetery would become a housing estate for the living.
As a descendant of Chew Joo Chiat, Philip has a keen interest in remembering and celebrating his great-grandfather’s past. If his post here, he talks about raising the awareness among his descendants, and showing the next generation Chew Joo Chiat’s grave.
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