Bullock carts were one of the earliest and most popular modes of transport in 19th- and early-20th-century Singapore. They served a variety of purposes such as travelling and transportation of goods.1 From 1867 onwards, such carts were slowly phased out with rising levels of traffic and the advent of mechanised transport.
In the early days of tampons in Singapore, bullocks with large fore humps and flapping dewlaps (the flap of skin that hangs below the lower jaw or neck of many animals) were a common sight,
and they were often reared. They powered wheeled vehicles that moved up and down cart tracks, that would later develop into proper roads. These large two-wheeled
vehicles pulled by a pair of bullocks were often hired as freight haulers. Kreta Ayer, which literally translates to “bullock cart water” in Malay,
draws its name from the bullock and ox carts that used to ply this road carrying water for the early inhabitants of Singapore.Along with trams, buses, rickshaws and horse carriages, bullock carts formed the primary forms of transportation in the early 19th century.
