Esatblished on 1st January 1888 on a lease from the Governor of the Straits Settlements for the Tamil community as a place of worship, this temple is known to its devotees as the Kallang Gasworks Sivan Temple.
It is now more than 118 years old and began as a temple led by the chief foreman of the Kallang Gasworks, A.V. Irullappa Pillay. Although the lease was renewed in 1909 for another 99 years, the plan to build a concrete mandapam (main hall) ran into financial difficulties. In 1934, the sons of A.V. Irullappa Pillay, V. Pakirisamy Pillai and V. Narayanasamy Pillai funded the reconstruction of the temple in memory of their late father. The temple was finally consecrated in 19 August 1937.
The temple is known as the Sivan Temple because the presiding deity is Sri Manmatha Karuneshvarar Sivan. Lord Siva is the destroyer while his consort, Parvati, is looked upon as an almighty Mother figure that pleads to Lord Siva on the behalf of mankind and creatures. However, even though he represents destruction, Lord Siva is viewed as a positive force or even the Destroyer of Evil, since creation follows destruction. Lord Siva has five jobs creator, preserver, destroyer, hiding the sins and blessing.