Bukit Timah was first referenced on an 1828 map which means ‘tin bearing hill’ in Malay. The 1,732-hectare area encompasses 8 sub-zones. It includes Bukit Timah Hill, Singapore’s tallest hill and Singapore’s primary rainforest reserve, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

During the early 1900s, Bukit Timah was famous for the congregation of well-known industry giants such as the likes of Cold Storage Dairy Farm, Ford Assembly Plant and Eveready Batteries. Several renowned schools such as the University of Singapore, the Chinese High School and Anglo-Chinese Schools, can also be found in the area. There were also other important structures and institutions found in Bukit Timah like the railway route, Hindhede Granite Quarry and Bukit Timah Turf Club.

Bukit Timah gained infamy as the location of Singapore’s surrender to the Japanese Imperial Army. Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, commander of the British Army surrendered to the Japanese at the Ford Factory off Bukit Timah road, thus ending the invasion of Malaya and Singapore with the Japanese emerging victorious. The Japanese Imperial Army then celebrated their victory by marching down Bukit Timah road.