Singapore never fails to entertain, but there’s more to the Lion City than Sentosa’s latest thrills, the neatly packaged tours and round-the-clock shopping. All you need to do is look beyond the glass and steel of Orchard Road and you will find a city that’s intensely familiar. In fact, travelling in South East Asia always leaves me with a feeling of déjà vu; Central, Admiralty, Harbourfront, City Hall, Esplanade — all names that ring a bell in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Chennai or Singapore! Places that take you back to a time when the sun famously never set on the British Empire.
A chance read of J.G. Farrell’s The Singapore Grip, set in pre-World War II days in British Malaya got me interested to explore Singapore’s colonial history. So if like me, you have been bitten by the history bug and have a lot of time on your hands, here’s what you can do.
For a crash course on Singapore history, you could visit the National Museum of Singapore on Stamford Road — like I did with my curious 12-year-old! The electronic museum guide, a personalised trail and tactile exhibits are sure to get any child interested. Housed in a magnificent neo-classical building built in1887, the museum also has a modern extension in glass and steel — and a rich repertoire of historic information that can be explored at your own pace.
Since the history of modern Singapore began on the Singapore River, the best way to begin would be to take the 30-minute river cruise. Once vessels of commercial activity ferrying goods to the godowns and shop-houses on the river bank, the Bumboats now take tourists for a guided tour of the river. Along the banks are Boat Quay and Clarke Quay — once streets teeming with sailors and coolies as they unloaded the cargo from ships and transported them on the bumboats. Further down is Raffles Landing Site, where Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781-1826), an agent of the British East India Company, first set foot in January 1819. It was his dream to make Singapore a free port and an ideal stopping route for traders along the shortest sea route between India and China.
Watch out for the bronze statues on the river bank, that re-create stories connected with the river and grand old buildings like the majestic Fullerton Hotel (the General Post Office in British times). The pretty Anderson and Cavenagh bridges along the river where newlyweds pose for pictures, the quaint restored warehouses of Clarke Quay that now house trendy restaurants and bars — make sure you don’t miss any of these as the bumboat makes a u-turn in front of the Merlion statue, on its way back.
One evening we took a leisurely walk along the river bank, across the pedestrian-only Cavenagh Bridge (built in 1869) to Empress Place where the elegant Victoria Concert Hall & theatre are located. Outside the theatre is the dark bronze cast statue of Stamford Raffles, and many well preserved colonial buildings can be found on the northern side of Singapore River. In fact, the best way to begin this walk would be to exit from the City Hall or Raffles Place MRT Stations.
Another morning, we set out to the Raffles Hotel — an icon of colonial Singapore. Built in 1887, the hotel was once the most happening place in the straits settlement, and has hosted various celebrities through history right from Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham and Rudyard Kipling to Charlie Chaplin and Queen Elizabeth II. It is said that Somerset Maugham used to spend his mornings under a frangipani tree in the Palm Court, making good use of the gossip he overheard by weaving them into his famous stories! The architecture, décor and interiors, right down to the embellishments are so well preserved and maintained even today, with that leisurely old-world feel.
But what really caught my fancy is Fort Canning Park — a hill-top haven right in the heart of the city! The green lung of Singapore, this is a verdant hill with plenty of greenery, loads of history and colonial architecture. Between 1859 and 1861, the British Army built an arms store, barracks, hospitals and a few buildings here. Stamford Raffles built his bungalow here, which later came to be known as Government House and is now the Registry of Marriages — with all its past glory intact!
Wartime Singapore
We had a glimpse of war-time Singapore at The Battle Box, right here in Fort Canning! A bomb-proof World War II bunker built 9m below the ground, this was once the largest underground military operations complex in Singapore, complete with a telephone exchange, signal office, cipher office, signal control and air filtration plant!
As part of the Malaya Command Headquarters during World War II, Battle Box played a crucial role on that fateful day — February 15, 1942 — when the Japanese sneaked into Singapore and cut off the water supply and the British had to surrender. Events of that day are re-enacted here with sound effects (of bombing), animatronics and specially crafted figurines. So mark your calendar for a date with General Percival and Major Simmons as they discuss the impending surrender.
What a thrill it was when the guide told us that the British sealed Battle Box when they left Singapore and it remained a secret until 1988 when it was discovered and eventually thrown open to the public in 1997!
One hot and humid morning, we set out for the more than a 100 year old Fort Siloso. Once a bastion of colonial power, this magnificently restored 19th Century British coastal fortress is also sadly the one that attracts the least number of visitors on Sentosa Island! So when everybody else was queuing up for tickets to the Underwater World and 4D shows, we began our journey of exploration from the Imbiah Lookout on the Fort Siloso Tram. Patrick — our young, enthusiastic student-guide — rattled off dates and events like he’d been there, before dropping us at the sprawling fortress dotted with massive guns.
Fort Siloso was one of a ring of British fortresses built to guard Keppel Harbour. During the Japanese invasion, it was briefly turned into a camp for Prisoners of War. Now it houses a large collection of World War II memorabilia, with interesting touches like even the boot scrapper outside the building still left intact!
Here, we had a glimpse of the soldier’s life in the barracks, the army kitchen and laundry room, all painstakingly recreated with wax figurines and special effects. There are three tunnel complexes here where ammunition was stored and fed to the booming guns on the surface overlooking the sea. The tunnels are now exhibition rooms – the most elaborate one being the Surrender Chamber that recreates the British surrender to the Japanese in 1942 contrasted with the pomp and ceremony of the Japanese surrender and return of Singapore to British control — with Lord Mountbatten at the helm at City Hall in 1945!
Indian footprints
What makes Singapore’s colonial heritage all the more appealing is the early migration of Indians (mostly Tamils) to Singapore during British times. Most were brought here as convicts, to build those magnificent buildings for the British. Little India has since then been a microcosm of Tamil society –the coolies and labourers, the traders, merchants and money-lenders, right down to the parrot-astrologer!
Though the Little India of today is a far cry, it does have a fair bit of heritage that warrants a mention. Apart from the old temples and mosques, there are a few colonial era buildings here like for example, the quaint Albert Court Village Hotel where we stayed. A boutique hotel comprising of restored pre-war shop houses with Straits Chinese carvings and motifs, it lent itself beautifully to the heritage trail.
Late evening walks along Little India’s lesser known streets throw light on why the Brits still have a thing for this place. Walking down Dunlop Street, we stumbled on unassuming pubs and joints like the curiously-named Prince of Wales Bar, serving simple food and wine and patronised by British tourists.
And between bites of sinfully delicious fire floss buns and endless cups of coffee and tea at Bread Talk’s Toast Box, we couldn’t help but wonder at Singapore’s pride in its colonial heritage. In spite of a war-torn, checkered history, there is no brushing-under-the-carpet of historic facts and no hasty name-changes here as Singapore comes across as a modern city-state still basking in its colonial hangover!
