A piece of Singapore conserved in Victoria, Australia..
Prefabricated (Singapore) Cottage..
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This recently conserved building by RBA Architects & Conservation Consultants and JAM Architects won the John George Knight Award for Heritage at the 2009 Victoria Architectural Awards.. It is typical of the prefabricated buildings that were imported to Victoria from Singapore and other countries in the 19th century to satisfy the great demand for housing and other buildings, especially during the Gold Rush period..

In existence by 1854, this building has four rooms with a central corridor of 6 x 9 metres and a skillion extension to the rear divided into two rooms.. No original windows, window openings or doors remain.. There are, however, scattered sections of early internal cladding and wallpapers, some of which may be original..

Its construction is distinctive, with the use of timbers from the Malay Peninsula such as dedaru and meranti, framing and jointing design based on traditional Malay building techniques, and a variety of Chinese and other characters painted or marked on the timber members; these markings provided an assembly guide to erecting the building..

The conservation works included raising the building so that the floor level is above the footpath level, removing the modern render from the external wall surfaces, replacing or repairing rotted timbers and reinstating missing timber framing members..

The Australians have conserved an integral part of their built heritage that is in fact a kampong house from Singapore.. To top it off, buildings as plain and simple as this have found their way into the Victorian Heritage Register that lists Victoria's most significant heritage places and objects.. How about us?

It is time that we make a more serious commitment towards the conservation of our built heritage that is at once inclusive and holistic.. Although lacking in any monumental quality, kampong houses are an integral part of Singapore's built heritage.. Kampong houses and the kampongs where they can be found in are rich in our nation's social history.. Therefore, isn't it time for places like Kampong Buangkok and Pulau Ubin - the last living reminders of our rural past - to be conserved for posterity?