Let's Move On!

17) Fort Gate & Fort Wall

The fort gate was built on Fort Canning Hill between 1859 and 1861. The hill was previously known as Government Hill. The fort was well equipped with the necessary weapons; in 1867, there were seven 68 pounder guns, eight 8 inch guns, two 13 inch mortars, and some 14 pounder cannonades. The fort wall was built in March 1, 1859 and it had two purposes. Firstly, it was built to protect Singapore from attack by sea and to protect Fort Canning from artillery bombardment. Secondly, it gave Singapore’s European population a refuge, in the event of local disturbances.

18) The Old Gunpowder Magazine

Beneath the current location of the old gunpowder magazine used to be the storeroom for gunpowder, which is also known as magazine. The magazine used was about 30 metres long and 10 metres wide. It was designed in such a way that it was able to deflect enemy cannonballs and decreased the likelihood of explosion during battle. The magazine was converted into a shooting range for target practice subsequently after the removal of artillery from Fort Canning.

19) The Legend Fort Canning Park & Fort Canning Hotel

The building was constructed in 1926, originally used as the Administration Building of the British Far East Command Headquarters and as the office of Lt-General Percival. It was taken over by the Japanese Military during Japanese Occupation between 1942 and 1945. The building was then returned back to the British Military and eventually, being taken over by Singapore Armed Forces when Singapore became independent. The premise was taken over by The Legends Fort Canning Park on November 2002. On 1 November 2010, Hotel Fort Canning, the hotel wing of The Legends Fort Canning Park was opened.

Our group felt that changing the historical buildings for commercial is fine as long as the buildings are well taken care of and we can still see traces of histories left behind. At least it is better than demolishing the buildings.

20) Canning Walk

Fort Canning was renamed after Viscount Charles John Canning. He was the last Governor General of India and became the First Viceroy under the new colonial system. As Fort Canning was built at the type when he held the roles, hence it was natural to name Fort Canning after him.

21) Battle Box

The Battle Box was constructed in 1936. It was then the Headquarters of the British Strategic Command during World War II. It was here where Lt-General Percival, General Officer Commanding, Malaya Command, decided to surrender Singapore to the Japanese on 15^th February 1942. Battle Box was reopened on 31 January 1992 to allow the public and tourists to view the scenarios of the events during World War II.

22) Sally Port

A Sally Port is a small door leading in and out of the fort. The purpose of the ports was for the defenders to move in and out of the fort undetected. It also served as a place where the defenders ambushed the enemies that were outside the fort. There were at least three such sally ports in Fort Canning.