1959 – Woon Khai Boon and Chan Yee Keng standing at Jurong Crescent Road (now replaced by Pioneer Mall / Pioneer MRT Station)
(with Jurong Radio Transmitting Station behind)
Back in the 1950s, the site was first known as the RAF Jurong Transmitting Station, then later became the Jurong Civil Radio Transmitting Station (CRTS). By the 1960s, it was simply called JRTS – Jurong Radio Transmitting Station, and later came under the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). In the 1970s, it was managed by Singapore Telecom, before the entire place was eventually shut down in the 1990s and replaced by Pioneer Mall and Pioneer MRT Station in the 2000s.
The station sat on a huge plot of land — more than five acres — at 14 M/S Upper Jurong Road, near where the old Nanyang University Arch used to be. The compound had everything: an aerial field, a transmitting complex, staff quarters, and even a shared entrance. One side led to the Telecom Station, the other to JRTS.
The transmitters there had a long history — they were already used during the Japanese Occupation in the 1940s for AM transmissions, and later handled AM/FM as well as short- and medium-wave broadcasts.
Life there was lively. Staff from both SBC and Telecom shared the same canteen, stayed in some of the same quarters, and even had their own little social spot called the “Jurong Club.” All together, there were about 200 people living and working there, which made it feel like a small community.
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