• In the 1920s and 1930s, there was an ice-making plant located on Sungei Road near the river called the Singapore Ice Works, which could only be accessed by crossing a bridge that spanned the Rochor Canal. Hence, the colloquial name originated from the Teochew and Hokkien term “结霜” (gek sng or gat sng), which also means “to form ice”.
• The ice works was originally opened by the Dutch, and was said to have been run by them for at least 30 to 40 years. In 1958, it was bought over by Cold Storage and renamed the New Singapore Ice Works Ltd. The ice factory was shut down on 22 September 1985.
• Sungei Road became home to a well-known flea market in the 1930s.
• In 2011, the size of the flea market was halved due to the construction of the Downtown Line. In 2017, the Government announced that the area where the flea market stood would be used for residential and commercial developments, and the market’s last day of business would be 10 July 2017.

Through these artworks, we hope to commemorate the historic flea market which has now been pulled down, and to let more people learn about the rich history of Sungei Road. (Lianhe Zaobao, 25/7/2018)

• The Sungei Road Flea Market was also called “Thieves’ Market”, because thieves were said to come here to offload their stolen goods. One amusing anecdote tells of a car owner buying a hubcap for $2 at the flea market. When he returned to his car, he discovered that the hubcap he was holding was actually taken off his car.
• In the early 1970s, Sungei Road was also a place where army surplus goods were sold. At the time, Singapore had just implemented National Service, and recruits would come here to buy military training equipment that they had misplaced, to avoid being punished by their commanders.