Novena, Singapore

Novena
Name transcription(s)
 • Chinese 诺维娜
 • Pinyin nùoweínà
 • Malay Novena
 • Tamil நொவீணா
Country  Singapore
Area
 • Total 8.8 km2 (3.4 sq mi)
Population
 • Total 46,640[1]

Novena is an urban planning area located within the Central Region of Singapore. Novena borders Toa Payoh to the north, Bukit Timah to the west, Tanglin to the south and Kallang to the east. There are 5 subzones in the planning area, namely Balestier, Moulmein, Malcolm, Thomson and Mount Pleasant.

The area is served by the North South MRT Line at the Novena MRT Station.

The Tan Tock Seng Hospital, set up by the philanthropist Tan Tock Seng in 1844, being one of the oldest and busiest hospital in Singapore, is located in this area.

Etymology

Novena Church with its busy neighbourhood

Novena and its associated roads, buildings and Mass Rapid Transit station are named after the Novena Church located in the area.[2]

The current premises of the Novena Church were owned by a wealthy Chinese businessman, Wee Kah Kiat. The premises were bought over by the Redemptorist priests in 1948 where a small church dedicated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help named the Church of Saint Alphonsus was built in May 1950. According to tradition, the novenas to Our Lady of Perpetual Help began in January 1949 and were heavily publicised and instantaneously became widespread in 1951 as intended by Pope Pius XI.[2]

Balestier Road is named after the American diplomat, Joseph Balestier ,who owned a sugar plantation along the road in the 1800s.[3]

Housing

Land in Novena is very expensive because of its close proximity to the Central Area. There are few HDB flats in Novena; most houses in the area are condominiums or private housing.[4]

Education

There are 3 primary schools, 4 secondary schools and 1 junior college and 1 international school in the planning area. The offshore campus of Curtin University is located at Balestier.

Primary Schools

Secondary Schools

Junior Colleges

Tertiary Institutions

Other Schools

Transportation

Novena is linked with the city by MRT, buses and taxis. The area has no bus interchange, the nearest being in Toa Payoh.

Commercial services

Novena Square

Central to this area is the Novena Square Shopping Mall, a shopping centre situated directly above the Novena MRT Station. Novena Medical Centre is located at levels 8 to 11 of the Square 2 shopping centre. Next to Novena Square is a sports-themed mall called Velocity. Another shopping centre in Novena is United Square Shopping Mall, a children-oriented mall. Shops located in the Novena area include Starbucks (one in United Square and another in Novena Square), Spinelli, Cold Storage and Harvey Norman. Novena has seen major improvements in terms of new shops opening in the area since Square 2 and Velocity commenced business in recent years.

Panoramic view of Novena, Singapore. In the foreground lie Farrer Park Gardens and Kampong Java Housing Estates in the Kallang Planning Area.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Population Statistics of Singapore". Singstat. Geohive. 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2015-07-20.
  2. 1 2 Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1
  3. ↑ Singapore, National Library Board,. "Joseph Balestier | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  4. ↑ "Novena District Guide". Streetdirectory.com. Retrieved 2015-07-20.

Coordinates: 1°19′26″N 103°50′14″E / 1.324°N 103.8371°E / 1.324; 103.8371

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