{"id":1,"date":"2024-11-12T07:39:26","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T07:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/38oxley.com\/?p=1"},"modified":"2025-12-05T02:51:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T02:51:46","slug":"hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/38oxley.com\/?p=1","title":{"rendered":"From Plantation to Political Bungalow: The Origins of 38 Oxley Road"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
Source: Lee Wei Ling on Facebook<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Long before it became one of Singapore\u2019s most discussed addresses, 38 Oxley Road<\/strong> began as part of a quiet plantation estate in the 19th century. Today, the house is remembered for its political significance, but its origins reveal much about Singapore\u2019s transformation from a colonial outpost to a modern nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Oxley Estate: From Nutmeg Plantations to Urban Neighbourhood<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The area known as Oxley takes its name from Dr Thomas Oxley<\/strong>, a British surgeon in the East India Company who owned large tracts of land, including nutmeg plantations, around the Orchard district. Over time, as Singapore urbanised, these plantations gave way to residences and commercial areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the late 19th century, private homes began appearing across the estate \u2014 among them the structure that would become 38 Oxley Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Construction of the Bungalow (c. 1898)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Around 1898<\/strong>, Dutch merchant Hermann Cornelius Verloop<\/strong> commissioned a two-storey bungalow on the plot. Built in the \u201cEarly Bungalow\u201d colonial style<\/strong>, the structure featured:<\/p>\n\n\n\n