Goh Clan Temple, 1896-1898, demolished

This was the ancestral temple for the Goh clan built by timber merchant Goh Sin Koh (Hokkien) along Sin Koh Street. Apart from the Tan clan temple along Magazine road, this was the only Hokkien ancestral courtyard temple by surname that remained till the 1980s before it was demolished. It survived the great Kampong Bugis fire but did not survive urban redevelopment.

Goh clan temple is estimated to be completed between 1896 to 1898. The earliest mention of this edifice was perhaps by Lee Kip Lin in “The Singapore House” first published in 1988. He suggested that the large courtyard complex was a house later converted to a temple. However, on closer scrutiny, the building plans of this courtyard complex from 1896 to 1898 did not indicate that the proposed buildings were that of a “house” or “residence” which were normally indicated if intended to be dwellings. On the other hand, the compounds being used as clan temple and dormitory for his workers were documented. Interestingly, the timber workers in the timber mills eventually became primarily Hainanese leading the moniker of “Kallang Hainan Kongsi”! Judging from the vicinity of time mills and period in which this traditional courtyard compound was built, it is highly plausible that this was yet another family name based ceremonial clan temple amongst few others such as Tan, Lim, Ong and Yeoh, that was focused on mutual aid. It was also likely that the ancillary rooms surrounding the courtyards were used as Goh Sin Koh’s workers’ dormitory right from the day it was built, not unlike the “Lhong 1919” complex in Bangkok along Chao Praya River.  To the rear of this double courtyard complex was a two storey building with a balcony, this was likely the clan ancestral hall where posthumous memorial tablets were kept; this tablet hall was a much larger building compared to the one located towards the rear of Po Chiak Keng. If one were to read the cross-section drawings of “Goh Sin Koh property at Kallang”, the architectural details of the structural framework and particularly the highly ornate “Three beams five melons” truss design would suggest that the building was not meant to be an abode, which were usually less ornate. The decorative style employed in the Dou Mu Gong at Upper Serangoon was in fact much closer to that of a traditional Hokkien courtyard house from the late Qing period, minus the dragons that is.

There were three prominent temples around Kallang area in the past – Kwong Fook Temple for the Cantonese, She Gong Miao (Five Tiger Shrine) and an Indian temple which still stands today. Two other historic landmarks, “Cao Family Lodge” and the “Ghee Hin Lodge” were almost totally forgotten by most at this juncture of time. Just look at the beautiful exposed red bricks of Goh Clan temple, this is authentic traditional Hokkien architecture! We should also not forget our dear temple fanatic Ronni Pinsler for giving us a chance to catch a glimpse of the past through his photographic records. Of course, he is happily retired now in Penang where the past is very much alive.