• The Mandarin term “乌桥” originated from the Hokkien term orh kio, meaning “black bridge”.
• The name is believed to have originated from a black timber bridge across Whampoa River in the vicinity of Balestier Road and Lorong 6 Toa Payoh.
• Located in the middle section of Balestier Road, Goh Chor Tua Pek Kong Temple was built in 1847 and is one of the oldest Tua Pek Kong temples in Singapore. It was founded by a group of Hokkien sugarcane plantation employees. Rebuilt several times over the years, it nevertheless retained its traditional Fujian architecture and became one of the landmarks along Balestier Road. The road hence came to be known colloquially by the name of the temple, “梧槽大伯公”.
• In the early days, as yam plants were widely planted in the Balestier Road area, the local Cantonese also called this road “芋叶塘” or “芋峡塘” (wu hap thong), which literally translates as “yam (leaf) embankment”.
• Balestier Road was named to commemorate Joseph Balestier, the first consul of the United States to Singapore. He served in the role from 1837 to 1852 and owned about 1,000 acres of sugarcane plantations in the area.

He said that Mr Chen later moved to orh kio (now the area around Balestier Road) to live with relatives so as to save a few extra dollars every month. (Lianhe Zaobao, 20/8/1998)