Punggol Zoo

ThePunggol Zoo(1928–1942), formallySingapore Zoological Gardens and Bird Park at Punggol,was a former animal collection inSingapore.Founded by Singaporean-Indian land ownerWilliam Lawrence Soma Basapa,the name comes from the location on an 11-hectare site onPunggol Road,possibly near Sungei Dekar (now calledConey Channel).The zoo persisted until just before theJapanese occupation of Singaporeduring World War II.

History

Punggol Zoo founderWilliam Lawrence Soma Basapawith his pet Bengal tiger, Apay, at Punggol Zoo.

Originally located on Serangoon Road before a move to larger quarters,the collection included 200 animals, including aBengal tigernamed Apay,seals, polar bears, chimpanzees,spectacled monkeys,Shetland ponies,zebras, ablack leopard,Malayan tapirs,andorangutans,as well as 2,000 birds.Albert Einsteinlikely visited the zoo in 1922 while on a fundraising trip for theHebrew University of Jerusalem.The zoo was also visited and described by international correspondent SirPercival Phillips.A Python -wrestling scene in the 1930sexploitation filmForbidden Adventurestarring English actorM. H. Kenyon-Slade,was reportedly filmed at the Punggol Zoo.

The zoo was destroyed when "British moved their forces to the north of Singapore in anticipation of invading Japanese forces. Basapa was given 24 hours to relocate his animals and birds. The time-frame was too tight so the British took the land, released the birds and shot the rest."Another account says, "The dangerous varieties of animals were killed, while harmless ones were released into the forest."Remember Singapore states, "Identifying the Punggol end as a potential landing site for the Japanese invaders, the British forces wanted to make use of the Ponggol Zoo as a defensive ground...After the fall of Singapore, the Japanese confiscated Basapa's power generators and steel cages, using the site to store their supplies and ammunition."Reginald Burton,in his memoir of "personal experiences as a captain in the 4th Battalion,Royal Norfolk Regiment,captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942, "describes encountering azebrareleased from the zoo. He wrote, "Punggol Point...had been shelled and there was nobody to care for the animals, so when the5th Suffolkstook up their position they released what animals they found there, at least giving them a chance of survival. "

External links

• Singapore Basapa