#pulaubrani

Any items on Pulau Brani on the internet do not mention the army school, , nor the fact that the British lived there for about 50 years - only the two local schools - as if we never existed.

Alexandra Grammar School and Alexandra Secondary Modern School were both at Gillman, and in 1964 the older pupils moved into the brand new buildings of St. John’s Comprehensive School in Dover Road (now the United World College), with the first and second year secondary pupils staying behind in the old Alexandra Grammar building which was renamed Bourne School. At first only 1st and 2nd years stayed in the old buildings, but I believe that the following year it was changed to 1st, 2nd and 3rd years, but someone who went to Bourne would have to confirm that. All I remember is that my brother and I went into the 3rd and 4th years in the new school, by ferry and then bus from Jardine Steps.

I have started collecting a lot of photographs of Pulau Brani, so if any of your readers have any, I would be most interested. It was a wonderful place to have a childhood, and I have many fond memories of it. By the way, some of my photos are on display in the Singapore Naval Museum.”

A Malay fishing village called Kampong Teluk Saga once existed on the northern side of Pulau Brani. Rows of wooden houses owned by the fishermen lined up on stilts along the coastline.

By 1971, a naval base was built on the island, facilities were added such as Pulau Brani Community Centre and two primary schools called Tai Chong and Teluk Saga. The villagers were gradually resettled onto mainland Singapore. Today, the island is functioning as Brani Container Teminal, and is restricted to public access.

Other Islands

The outer islands opposite Pasir Panjang such as Pulau Bukom, Pulau Busing, Pulau Hantu, Pulau Semakau and Pulau Sebarok were inhabited by several Malay fishing kampong, before the islands were converted for industrial use.

Pulau Bukom has been Far East’s main oil supply centre since 1902, and was the site of Singapore’s first oil refinery in 1961, built by oil and gas giant Shell. Like Pulau Brani, the islands are now restricted from access by the public.

Pulau Semakau was acquired by the Singapore government in 1987, and the villagers were mostly resettled at Telok Blangah and Bukit Merah. The last resident held his place until 1991. The island was later linked to the nearby Pulay Sakeng to become Singapore’s first offshore landfill.

[2012] “From Villages to Flats (Part 1) - The Kampong Days”, RemSG, updated 4 April 2012, last accessed 19 July 2019 

[prep-room text by the Asia Research Institute team]

There were two primary schools on the islands; the St. John’s Island English School on St. John’s Island that taught in English, and the Sekolah Rendah Pulau Sekijang Pelepah on Lazarus island that used Malay as the medium of instruction. Residents of the islands can choose which school their children attended.

One former Lazarus resident, Lela, says that their family wanted her to learn English, and so she had to take the sampan over to St. John’s Island every morning to attend the English School. Jamelah, who attended the English School, remembers that the classroom would have students from Lazarus and from Pulau Brani.

Those who attended St. John’s Island English School described the institution as not being very big, with only one class per year group, each class having about 16 students. School would begin in the morning at 8am, break for lunch, before ending at 2pm. Jamelah recalls that the school “had primary one up to primary six. So six teachers and then one principal. And two attendants. One was an attendant and the other was a gardener”. Teachers of St. John’s Island English School either lived on the island in the Teacher’s Quarters, or would commute to the islands every day by ferry. Islanders remember one teacher called Mr. Choo who lived on the islands but continued to teach on St. John’s Island even after moving back to mainland Singapore. Another was Mrs. Farrer, wife of Roland S. Farrer, superintendent of St. John’s Quarantine Centre.

Akim, who also attended the English School, said that teachers were very strict with their students, and when “our teachers [knew] we are naughty, they used cane! ‘You are not disciplined’ - they use cane to cane us!” Another pair of teachers that Jamelah recalled staying on the islands in the Teacher’s Quarters up the hill were Mr. and Mrs. Joltis. This Eurasian couple taught the children English.

Much like the English School on St. John’s, students of the Malay-language school on Lazarus attended school from the morning until the early afternoon. One former student, Ajumin, says that classes began at 7am until 10am, when students would return home for lunch and have a quick swim, before continuing classes until 1pm. Teachers of the Lazarus school lived on Lazarus in government-built quarters, or commuted to the island.  

After finishing their primary schooling, students would then attend secondary school on mainland Singapore by taking the ferry every day to Clifford Pier.

However, informants claim that many children on the island did not complete their ten years of education for various reasons. For example, a number of children lived transient lives and were unable to attend class regularly, some families on the islands did not see the purpose and value of attending school, and female children deemed by their families to not require any education.

Lela lived on Lazarus but attended the English School on St. John’s Island, and recalls there being a gender divide in community attitudes towards schooling: