The CHN blogger has recently been out and about in the Far East and took in some of the historic treasures and heritage gems of Singapore

The origins of Singapore are based on British imperial interests with the  East India Company in 1819 when British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles negotiated a treaty with the Johor Sultanate which allowed the British to found a trading port on the island.

Initially Singapore was administered from Bengal by the East India Company. Singapore gained its independence after the Second World War in the 1960s, initially as part of Malaysia 1963, then as the Republic of Singapore in 1965.

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Early in his Singapore visit the CHN blogger took in a visit to Singapore’s first  UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015, the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It is the first botanic garden to be recognised in this fashion.  The 74 hectare gardens contain a remnant of rainforest that is listed as the country’s most valuable historic asset, along with a surrounding buffer zone.

The gardens have a rich past connected the commercialisation of nutmeg, cloves, gambier, pepper, and  sago. One of the first buildings on the site was a parade ground and bandstand in 1860, with current bandstand built in 1930.

National Museum of Singapore

The National Museum of Singapore is the oldest museum in Singapore. Its history dates back to 1849, when it was started as a section of a library at Singapore Institution and called the Raffles Library and Museum. After re-furbishment it was re-opened in 2006.

National Gallery of Singapore

National Gallery Singapore occupies two national monuments: former Supreme Court (1937)and City Hall (1929).  Restoration works on the Supreme Court’s tympanum commenced and opened in 2015.

Old Parliament Building

The parliament building was originally constructed in 1827 as a merchant’s home on the administrative side of the Singapore River and is the oldest surviving public building in Singapore. It served as the seat of the Legislative Assembly from 1955 and 1963 and was representative of the life and struggles of the people of Singapore on the road to their independence. From 1963 to 1965 Singapore was only a state assembly. After independence in 1965 the building was renamed Parliament House.

The Little India precinct

Singapore has a number of precincts based on their ethnic origins and Little India is one of these. The precinct is 13 hectares and has 900 colonial buildings and its main arterial street Serangoon Road is one of the earliest streets in Singapore. Indian immigrants started to live in the area from the 1820s.

Indian Heritage Centre

The Indian Heritage Centre (IHC), under the management of the National Heritage Board and with support from the Indian community, traces the history of the Indian and South Asian communities in the Southeast Asian region. The building was opened in 2015.

Little India Arcade

This is an arcade of a cluster of conserved neoclassical shopfronts built in 1913. The building is currently owned by the Hindu Endowments Board. The current building was re-opened in 1995 to preserve the spirit of commerce of the district’s early Indian traders. The building contains the five-foot-way typical of Malaya’s colonial era shophouses.

 

The Chinatown precinct

The street architecture of Chinatown’s buildings, the shophouses especially, combine different elements of baroque architecture and Victorian architecture and do not have a single classification. Chinese started living in the area from 1819.   Trengganu Street, Pagoda Street and Temple Street are such examples of this architecture, as well as development in Upper Cross Street and the houses in Club Street. Boat Quay was once a slave market along the Singapore River, Boat Quay has the most mixed-style shophouses on the island.

Lau Pa Sat (Telok Ayer market)

The original Telok Ayer market was one of the oldest markets in Singapore and built on the original waterfront. Originall built in 1833 and was a prominent landmark on the Singapore waterfront. The market had to be moved from its original waterfront location and rebuilt in 1894, and a clock tower and a new cast-iron supporting structure.  The most recent restoration and renovation occured in 2014.

 

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

This 163-ha reserve includes Singapore’s highest hill, Bukit Timah Hill, which stands at 163 m and retains one of the few areas of primary rainforest in the country.  Bukit Timah Forest Reserve was retained for the protection of its flora and fauna under the management of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Raffles Hotel

The hotel opened in 1887, named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. The hotel started in the 1830s as a beach house and new hotel was built on the site in the 1890s. In 1987 the hotel was declared a national monument by the Singapore Government and has since become a five star hotel. The hotel has been the setting for a number of movies and has is a icon in popular culture.