A day trip to the Singapore river.
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (6 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore (now the city-state of the Republic of Singapore). He is often described as the "Father of Singapore". He was also heavily involved in the conquest of the Indonesian island of Java from Dutch and French military forces during the Napoleonic Wars and contributed to the expansion of the British Empire. He was also an amateur writer and wrote a book entitled History of Java (1817).The statues of Raffles standing beside the old Parliament House and in front of the Victoria Concert Hall are reminders of his role in founding the settlement of Singapore.His founding role is reflected in books,journals and articles on the history of Singapore.
The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, although the northernmost part of the watershed becomes River Valley. As the Central Area is treated as a central business district, nearly all land surrounding it is commercial. It is one of about 90 rivers in Singapore and its islands. It is the place where Raffles made as the 1st trading port in Singapore. The Singapore River is the most famous river in Singapore.Tourists often visit Singapore river to learn more about Singapore history.The Singapore river is also known for the statue of Raffles and the sculpture of Bird by famous South American sculpter Fernando Bertero.
A Brief History of Boat Quay
Boat Quay used to be the hub of commerce and trade in the 1860s that stretches from Elgin Bridge to Cavenagh Bridge. Though it occupies only a small section on the south bank of Singapore River, it was the centre of trade along the river.The row of shophouses here were once occupied by wholesalers as offices and godowns. Bumboats or lighters were used to transport cargo between the ship in the harbour and the quay. The cargo were then carried by the coolies from the bumboat, which moored along the river, to the shophouses.
Today bumboat plying along the river carrying tourists instead of cargo on sightseeing trip. The shophouses were also being converted into pubs and restaurants. The area comes alive at night when the lights come on and people gather at the pubs and restaurants to chill out.
Boat Quay Photos
Shophouses along Boat Quay
Cross the bridge, there is a row of shophouses along the river bank. This mark the starting point of Boat Quay, where a number of good restaurants, bars and pubs were located. Read Boat Quay Restaurants and Bars Reviews to choose a restaurant that suit you best before making a reservation.
the bird sculpture when you are approaching the UOB Plaza. The bird, symbolishing the joy of living, was created by South American sculptor, Fernando Botero.
Another sculpture The River Merchants was located near the Cavenagh Bridge. It looks like merchants were negotiating a deal where the coolies were busy loading goods onto a bullock cart.
The sculpture First Generation showing five boys jumping happily into the river, a common scene in the old days.
The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, although the northernmost part of the watershed becomesRiver Valley. As the Central Area is treated as a central business district, nearly all land surrounding it is commercial. It is one of about 90 rivers in Singapore and its islands. It is the place where Raffles made as the 1st trading port in Singapore. The Singapore River is the most famous river in Singapore.
History
The mouth of the Singapore River was the old Port of Singapore, being naturally sheltered by the southern islands. Historically, the city of Singapore initially grew around the port so the river mouth became the centre of trade, commerce and finance. To this day, area around the old Singapore River mouth, the Downtown Core, remains the most expensive and economically important piece of land in Singapore.
At one time, Singapore River was the very lifeblood of the colony, the trade artery, the center of commercial activity, the heart of entrepottrade, the vessel of importance, the capillaries of life and the place which was frequented by the secret societies, the swaylos (Cantonese forcoolies who worked on a boat) and the coolies who worked for the philanthropist Tan Tock Seng at Ellenborough Market and the towkay(Hokkien for business owner) Tan Kim Seng who was busy filling his godown with the riches of the East.
Singapore River is where the colourful and romantic history of the river and the myths and legends can still conjure up memories of thelighters, bumboats, tongkangs with their painted eyes to see the danger ahead and sampans of yesteryear. This is where the Malayanprinces once sailed and this is where the bullock carts plodded their way up and down each bank as the river found its way to the formerrocky river mouth. This is also where an early civilisation was conquered by the Javanese Majapahit Empire, in the year 1376.
It was here that the Chinese lived, on the south bank, the Malays in kampongs further upstream, and the Indians used to reside until the Chinese forced them out to Rochor, Kallang and Geylang.
Some of the temples, shrines and other places of worship still stand in the vicinity of the river. So too are the godowns, the bridges such asAnderson Bridge, Elgin Bridge and Cavenagh Bridge, the Merlion, the shophouses, and the large trees such as Banyan and Madras Thorn. Some parts of this area include quays such as Clarke Quay and Boat Quay, which generated trade and extensive demand for services with the boats that landed at the quays. Boat Quay itself was handling three quarters of the shipping service in the 1860s. Shophouses andwarehouses flourished around the quays due to their proximity to trade during the colonial era, but presently house various bars, pubs and restaurants, as well as antique shops.
The river still borders places where seamen and others, for example, near Raffles Landing Place, made offerings and burned their joss sticks. Poles with streamers flying were once used to tie up the barges as the water lapped against the old stone steps and walls.
Sir Stamford Raffles lost no time after January 1819, when he landed on Singapore River among the orang laut and the human skulls, the victims of river pirates, in bargaining with the Temenggong, the Johor chief who then ruled the place, having settled in 1811. At the very moment of landing, Raffles must have realised the importance of the river for, in the same year of 1819, the north bank was drained for government buildings and, in 1822, the south bank was reclaimed and a retaining wall and steps were built.
With the expansion of trade came congestion and pollution. Through lack of knowledge or foresight, the bridges were constructed too low and the river was too shallow for the demands that were to be made on its use. This historic river, which Raffles had fashioned from salt marshes,sand bars and mangrove swamps, has witnessed the British rule and the Japanese occupation, and has supported years of economic activity by the Chinese, Malays, Indians and others.
] Old maps of the river state that it actually originates from Bukit Larangan (currently Fort Canning Hill).
Pollution and cleanup
Starting in the 1880s, there was heavy traffic on the Singapore River due to rapid urbanization and expanding trade. At the same time, it brought in water pollution caused by the disposal of garbage, sewage and other by-products of industries located along the river's banks. The sources of water pollution into the Singapore River and Kallang Basin included pig wastes from pig and duck farms, unsewered premises, street hawkers and vegetable wholesaling. Riverine activities such as transport, boat building and repairs were also found along the Singapore River. Some 750 lighters plied along the Singapore River and Kallang Basin in 1977. Waste, oil spills and wastewater from these boats and lighters added to the pollution of the rivers.
In 1977, Lee Kuan Yew, then the Prime Minister put forth an ambitious goal for the government to clean up the Singapore River and Kallang Basin: and in ten years let us have fishing in the Singapore River and Kallang River. It can be done.
By October 1977, an action plan on "The Clean-up of the Singapore River and Kallang Basin" was submitted to the Prime Minister. By late October 1977, the government was starting to take action to clean up the river. The plan involved the development of infrastructure such ashousing, industrial workshops and sewage; massive resettlement of squatters, backyard trades and industries and farmers; re-siting of streethawkers to food centres; and phasing out of pollutive activities. Industries located by the river were removed and squatters were resettled intoflats. Refuse was collected daily for incineration, while hawkers were issued licenses and provided specified areas with proper sewerage amenities. The dredging of the river bed and the removal of hundreds of tons of debris which had been piled up over the years helped marine life to return to the tidal river.
Ten years later in 1987, the clean-up of the Singapore River and Kallang Basin was completed. In September 1987, the Ministry of the Environment together with other government ministries and statutory boards celebrated the success of the clean-up with an event called the "Clean Rivers Commemoration". After the massive clean-up, people can now engage in activities such as wayang performances on a bumboat, variety shows staged on pontoons anchored in the river, and boat races. Today, speedboats, dragon boats, pedal-boats andsampans can be seen plying on the clean waterways of the Singapore River.
Singapore River today
The river is now part of the Marina Reservoir after damming the Singapore River at its outlet to the sea to create a new reservoir of freshwater. While damming this area would create a valuable source of fresh water for the tiny city-state, it would have prevented the docking of ocean-going ships at the Singapore River which was arguably the original reason Singapore came into existence. The dam is known as Marina Barrage.
Whereas the original mouth of the Singapore River emptied into Singapore Straits and its southern islands before major land reclamation took place, the Singapore River now empties into Marina Bay - an area of water partially enclosed by the reclamation work. The Port of Singapore is now located to the west of the island, using most of the south-west coast, and passenger ships to Singapore now typically berth at theSingapore Cruise Centre at HarbourFront. Thus the Singapore River's economic role has shifted away from one that of trade, towards more a role accommodated for tourism and aesthetics for the commercial zone which encloses it.
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