Before the introduction of motorised vehicles in the late 19th century, the bullock cart was one of the common modes of transportation in Singapore. These two-wheeled carts were usually drawn by a pair of bullocks under the direction of a Tamil driver. A versatile vehicle, such carts were hired as freight haulers for moving cargo off the docks, furniture from houses, and building materials at construction sites. They were also employed as water carts for hauling water drawn from wells and as conservancy vehicles for the transport of human refuse. Chinese-owned bullock carts, often drawn by water buffaloes, were used as mobile vending stalls hawking vats of soy sauce and other household liquids to residents in the rural villages. Despite the increasing use of motorised vehicles in the early decades of the 20th century, the bullock cart remained an important transportation tool especially for those living in the rural areas.
