Road Trips - New Book

Road Trips by Roger Smith |

Dawson Road Now And Then

Strathmore Avenue / Dawson Road Now .................................... Roger Smith 2010

Dawson Road as it used to be - pre 1942

We walk down Strathmore Avenue to Dawson Road, then onwards to our NTUC supermarket at Dawsons Place

Dawson Road used to an area of Atap houses inhabited by hundreds of Hokkien and Teochew who grew vegetables and fruit, as well as raising pigs and chickens.

Later the same area was the site of the Buller camp run by the British military.

In 1942 an Indian POW, John Baptist Crasta, described Buller Camp as being on the tip of a small hill -  a quiet place admist trees.  It was evacuated ahead of the advancing Japanese on February 12th of that year.

On June 12th this same solder moved back to Buller camp under the orders of the Japanese.  The camp became known for its anti INA (Indian National Army) attitude. The image is of INA prisoners in Singapore.

Buller Camp was disdestablished in 1953