1960 – 1980 – Hainan Village
Prior to the houses one see in Sunbird Apollo Estate, this area was a tropical fish farming village. Due to the large number of Hainanese living in the village, it was often referred as “Hainan Village”. In fact, several original villagers still live in the estate till today.
In the 60s and 70s, this area was also referred as Changi 10 Miles. Before Simei HDB estate was built, much activities was centred near the old Changi Simei CC located opposite the present Shell Station along Upper Changi Road East.
How Sunbird estate got her name is not clear. But the truth is that Sunbirds, such as the one shown above, are a common sight in our estate and have probably visited many gardens of our fellow residents.
1980 – 2000 – Development of Apollo Gardens and the 1st housing projects of Sunbird Apollo estate.
The initial development was the rows of semi-detached and terraces houses facing Sunbird Circle and along Sunbird Avenue. These were built from 1980 to 1983. Mr Chia who was the architect of this development still lives along Sunbird Circle.
Original designs of the houses consist of triangular walls design which one presume was to give is a space or aerodynamic look. Over the years, the triangle walls design were slowly reshaped and blended into new renovations when new owners moved in.
North-eastern corner of Sunbird Park looking westwards along Sunbird Circle
Junction of Sunbird Road & Circle looking northwards
South-western corner of Sunbird Park looking eastwards along Sunbird Circle
Part of Sunbird Circle looking northwards towards Simei Green Condo
Some local residents recounted stories that the developer of the estate was advised that for better FengShui, they need to have a block of higher development to contain the “good fengshui and prevent it from escaping” from the estate. This was the local myth why Apollo Garden was subsequently built in late 1986. It is a walk-up cluster house concept consisting of 38 units and the addresses are numbered as 581/581A to 617/617A Upper Changi Road
All 38 units in Apollo Gardens were double-story apartments and had an average built in area of 2000sq ft each. Features of this development include a common pavilion that can hold up to 50 persons and common BBQ pits. She also has an auto gate and security features such as surveillance cameras. There are 38 dedicated sheltered and 20 common open parking lots within the apartments. The apartment is managed by her own elected Management Committee. Interesting the design of Apollo Gardens was built to face inwards to the park rather than the main Upper Changi Road.
Apollo Gardens
How Apollo Gardens got her name are many residents’ guesses. Amongst many logical explanations was that the apartment was named after the USA NASA Apollo Lunar Missions which started in 1961 till 1975. Other reasons were that it was built with the intended market of RSAF personnel serving Changi Air Bases and the newly built Changi International Airport which came into service in Dec 1981. Records confirmed that former Singapore Cabinet Minister and former Republic of Singapore Air Force General; General George Yeo once lived in Apollo Gardens.
Historically, Apollo is the name of a Greek mythical god. He is the son of Zeus and the nymph Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. The Greeks often thought of Apollo as being the same as Helios, the Sun god, and so he is one of the sky gods who always beat out the earth gods in Greek myths.
Sunbird Playground – Quiet and tree-shaded park bounded by Sunbird Circle
Sunbird Playground is located within Sunbird Circle. This is where many events of the neighbourhood were held. This park is special in that the trees are at least 30 years old or more meaning some of them has been here before the estate was even built.
1990s – Coming of Sunbird Park, houses from 1 to 181 Sunbird Road
Sunbird Park was a development by a company called Duchess Development Pte Ltd. Houses numbered 1 to 181 Sunbird Road and Sunbird View were projects from this company. In Sunbird Park Phase 1, houses numbered 101 to 181 Sunbird Road, a total of 41 houses were built and completed around 1991/92. These sold well during the period of property boom in the early 90s.
Sunbird Phase 2, the same number of 41 houses numbered 1 to 81 Sunbird Road were built and completed around 1993 consisting of 41 houses.
Sunbird View, a 4 storey walk-up apartment was added and completed by 1997. Here another 15 households were added to the growing estate of Sunbird Apollo. This development is manage by a Management Committee who takes care of all maintenance matters such as the Security Camera system, Auto-Gate and the general cleanliness of the surrounding grounds and gardens.
Final 8 semi-detached houses
The final and last addition to Sunbird Apollo Estate were these 8 semi-detached houses built along Sunbird Avenue and Sunbird Circle. It was believed that these houses was built on a vacated land previously an open waste water sump which was unused for many years and backfilled.
220 households of Sunbird Apollo Estate
As of today, the estate has a total of 220 households. From the look of it, it is unlikely that there is any more land for more houses to be built within Sunbird Apollo estate except for bigger houses when new residents rebuild or existing ones upgrade.