Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple at 141,Serangoon Road is one of the oldest temples in Singapore. Built by Indian pioneers who came to work and live here the temple was the first in the serangoon area and became a focus of early Indian Social Cultural activities there.
British Colonial government . The British administration outlined settlement patterns along ethnic lines and for the Indians this marked the beginning of the development of the Serangoon Road area as an Indian sector. As the migrant population grew, "Singapore's Little India" began to attract more Indians from the nearby Market Street and Chulia Street areas. Many of these early Indian settlers in the Serangoon Road area were involved in cattle - related activities.
As the Indian in the area became more established they were able to help newcomers to settle in the area, and so Serangoon Road began to flourish. The cattle trade led to many related business ventures in the area. The cattle, for instance, were used to operate machines to grind wheat and press sesame oil. Pineapple preserving factories were also, well situated in the area as the pineapple skins could be used to feed the cattle.
Roads and buildings were built by workers from the nearby municipal labour lines. There was also a convict goal at the junction of Bras Basah and Bencollen Street and Indians engaged in prison related service and supply activities were also drawn into the Serangoon area. And as the Indian enclave developed more services became available. Hawkers selling food and wares, for instance, emerged to cater to the growing population there. Around the middle of the 19th century, there were some 13,000 Indians in Singapore, many of whom must have been in or near the Serangoon area. It is not surprising, therefore, that the need for a place of worship in the area arose. Therefore, the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple was built to cater for hundreds of Indians who had come to live in a foreign land.
Having a temple in their midst must have helped these pioneers feel more at home as it provided an important avenue for them to recreate in Singapore what they had been familiar within their country of origin.
he choice of Sri Veeramakaliamman as the chief deity of the temple is significant. Referred as a powerful goddess and Destroyer of Evil, her presence answered an important need of the early migrants - the need to feel secure in a new land.It seems that in the early days worship at the temple began at a small shrine with carvings and inscriptions. From these beginnings the temple was gradually built. According to one account, Hindu residents in the area helped to build the temple. According to a 1969 report by J.P.Milaret , Bengali workers were involved in the building of the early temple structures. However, there are no temple records which confirm this report.