Excavations at Palmer Road / Wang Hai Da Bo Gong Temple

I was alerted to this from yesterday.sg – The Palmer Road excavation was something I was involved in earlier this year and the site report can be downloaded from the www.seaarchaeology.com. (See if you can find the unglamourous shot of me scooping water out of the flooded pit and my name in the field crew list!)

The present site of Foot Tet Soo Khek Temple on Palmer Road, sits at the foot of remnants of Mount Palmer where a former colonial military fortification (Fort Palmer c.1859-1915) was once sited. The temple is believed to be one of the earliest Chinese immigrant temples established in Singapore and is certainly the oldest Hakka institution on the island. Unverified anecdotal accounts claim the temple to pre-date the arrival of Raffles. The existing structure dates back to the mid 19th century, and the earliest known record of the temple was depicted in a 1844 map as a “Joss House”.