Walking Down The Singapore River

On 20/3/12 our group started off at the Coleman Bridge to carry out our Singapore River walk.

This picture shows the map of the Singapore River and the main locations that we visited.

This picture shows us starting of the Coleman Bridge.

Course of The Singapore River
The Singapore River’s overall shape and course will remain the same. The Singapore River is one of the most significant rivers in Singapore. It was where Sir Stamford Raffles' signed the treaty with Abdul Rahman. As the river plays an important role in Singapore’s history, the government would want to maintain its original look. However, as time passes, maintenance work will have to be done in order to better preserve it. Pollution to the water in the river will have to be taken care of as well.

Along the Singapore River, we saw a lot of landmarks. This are some of the examples out of all the many landmarks you can find along Clarke Quay.

Asian Civilization Museum

The museum overlooks the mouth of The Singapore River. The museum was originally a government office and was smaller than it is now. The government offices was extended several times and it grew to accommodate practically the entire colonial bureaucracy.

The Fullerton Hotel also known as The Fullerton Building

The building was built in 1928 and was named as the Fullerton Building and also the General Post Office building, now known as the Fullerton Hotel. It was named after Robert Fullerton the first Governor of the Straits Settlements (1826–1829). It was the centre of Singapore’s commercial, social and official life. In the last days before the surrender of Singapore during the World War Two, the building was used as a hospital, with makeshift operation rooms for wounded British soldiers. TheJapanese Military Administration in Singapore soon used the building as their headquarters. During the post war period, planswere initiated to conserve the building but it only took place in 1997.

Today, the Fullerton Hotel is a 6 star prestigious hotel in Singapore filled with rich heritage, neo-classical architecture located in the heart of Singapore's arts and financial districts.

The Old Parliament House/ The Arts House

-The Old Parliament House was completed in 1827 which was known as a Neo-Palladian building which was owned by a Scottish merchant, John Argyle Maxwell.

-In 1823, Stamford Raffles, asked the local chief to move to Telok Blangah so that the current plot of land could be used by the government.

-The building was refurbished again in 1953 to make way for the new Legislative Assembly of Singapore, and works were completed in 1954 .

- In 2004, The Arts House at the Old Parliament was opened as an arts and heritage centre.The building was refurbished and the building was restored and the designs of the buildings were preserved.

Raffles' Landing Site

The Raffles' Landing site marks the location where Sir Stanford Raffles first landed for his first visit in Singapore on 29 January 1819. The site is now denoted by a statue of Sir Stanford Raffles that was first unveiled in 1972.

The two pictures on the top shows our group at the Anderson Bridge. The picture below shows the group at the Asian Civilization Museum which marked the end of our trip. We ended the tour around Singapore River at the Asian Civilization Museum after looking at the exhibits in the museum. The visit to the museum definitely helped us understand more about the history of Singapore as well as Asia.