On 5 February 1854, four French nuns arrived in Singapore from Penang and took up residence at the convent quarters, the now gazetted Caldwell House. The house was bought by Father Jean-Marie Beurel (founder of St Joseph’s Institution and Cathedral of Good Shepherd). The house was originally owned by H.C Caldwell, Senior Sworn Clerk to the Magistrates and designed by Singapore’s first architect, G.D. Coleman.
Ten days after moving in, the nuns began taking in pupils and conducted lessons for both fee-paying pupils and for the poor and orphans. Father Beurel acquired for the nuns all the land between Victoria Street and North Bridge Road that would constitute the entire convert complex. Revered Mother Mathilde dedicated 20 years of her life to turning the convert into a school, an orphanage and refuge for women.
The Gate of Hope - Baby girls were used to be abandoned at this door
Boys were also admitted in the early years of CHIJ and one of its pupils is Mr David Marshall, the first elected Chief Minister of Singapore. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, CHIJ educated girls in both Chinese and English and the second language was French. The CHIJ was also an orphanage for girls as well as a home for discarded babies or foundlings usually left at the small gate (named “The Gate of Good Hope”) often at the point of death.
During the Japanese Occupation, the building suffered much damages and one of the hall (The Tiger Hall) was used during the occupation for instructions in Japanese.
After the war in 1945, CHIJ was restarted and the Tiger Hall housed St Nicholas Girls’ School. In December 1983, CHIJ had to vacate the premises to give way for redevelopment and started functioning in the new premises at Toa Payoh.
The church was gazetted as a national monument on 26 October 1990
OUR TRAVELOGUE:
Unlike anything like Cathedral of Good Shepherd, CHIJMES is a spacious and decent area to spend your night life.
Bars, restaurants and shops of different presentations populate and form a mini international cuisine arena for people to pamper themselves.
You will feel like you walked into an enclosed garden of a luxurious out garden European setting. It is a super ideal romantic place to share magical moments with your special someone…
Sin Choon knocking at the Gate of Hope - "Baby girls, anyone?"
Wei Boon taking notes for the historical journal - "Are we done, yet?!"
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