History
A Brief History of Marsiling Primary School It was no different then and now as many schools in Singapore are usually named after the place in which they are located. Marsiling Primary School is one such example. Established in 1958 as Marsiling School, it was one of the oldest schools in Marsiling estate. The school provided instructions in English, Chinese and Malay to the school going children within the Marsiling area.
The school was previously located along Marsiling Avenue, off Lorong Chikar which is the current vicinity of Marsiling Secondary School at Woodlands Street 13.
Marsiling School was relocated to its present premise along Woodlands Centre Road in June 1986 and renamed as Marsiling Primary School. Marsiling Primary will be undergoing PERI upgrading for its new Indoor Sports Hall (ISH) and learning facilities starting end 2013 and schedule for completion in 2018.
History of Marsiling
For many of us who may not be aware of how Marsiling came to be known, this is a little history about the name. Back in the early 1900s, Marsiling was a typical rural area with few villages. The area was covered mostly by rubber plantations and forested areas interspersed with attap houses, small family run provision shops, fruits, and flower and vegetable farms. There were many rubber plantations in the area and older residents remembered that there were many orchids planted in the area.
One of the famous kampongs in Marsiling was Kampong Lorong Fatimah which existed for about 150 years. There was the main Marsiling Road with many other connecting lanes; Kampong Sungei Cina, Lorong Marsiling, Hock Choon Road, Marsiling Avenue, Lorong Chikar, Genista Lane, Lorong Serindit, Lorong Chenangau and Lorong Salor Ayer, all of which did not no longer exist. Marsiling Road was about 4 km. long and used to include the present Woodlands Fire Station (Woodlands Road 23 km). The road had since been redrawn.
The old Marsiling Road witnessed several important milestones including; the construction of Woodlands Railway Station in 1910, the Johor-Singapore Causeway in 1923, and the Bukit Timah Expressway in 1985 and the Marsiling MRT Station in 1996. The road witnessed several important milestones including; the construction of Woodlands Railway Station in 1910; the Singapore-Johor Causeway in 1923; the Bukit Timah Expressway in 1985; and the Marsiling MRT in 1996.
Marsiling Road got its name from the Chinese names given to the estate, which was Maxiling, Maxilin or Maxileng. Lim Nee Soon had owned the estate and named it after his hometown of “Maxi” village in Teochew prefecture. The Chinese word “Ling” means hill; a well-known hill which many older residents are likely to be familiar with and those National Service (NS) men who had undergone military exercises on this famous hill.