| During the colonial days,
the local people found it difficult to pronounce the English
street names in Singapore. In addition, many places had
no addresses. So they used landmarks to identify various
places.
The district around the cross-roads formed by Serangoon
Road, Selegie Road, Bukit Timah Road and Rochor Road
was known as “Kandang Kerbau”, or “buffalo
enclosure” in Malay. This was because there was
a buffalo pen there at that time.
As the hospital was located within this area, it became
commonly known as the “Kandang Kerbau Hospital”.
The Hokkiens and Teochews, two Chinese dialect groups,
called the Hospital “Tek Kah” as it was
situated below the hillocks where clumps of bamboo grew.
The name “KK” become synonymous with the
hospital over the years and it was retained when the
hospital was renamed “KK Women's and Children's
Hospital” following its move in 1997 to its present
address.
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