Fort Canning park have featured in my life for the past 3-4 years. After I ORD in 2007, I have worked in Funan Mall since. It is a running store that has weekly night runs. The running routes were designed to be as scenic as possible, going through the places of interest in city area. Fort Canning park was one of our route. My runs started at about 1900 hours and it went on for about 1 hour or so. While I regularly ran at Fort Canning park, I did not really take note of the surroundings and the historical landmarks. That is probably due to the fact that I am not one who has an interest in history and also it was quite dark by the time I ran. The thought of coming back during the day to walk down the historical lane in Fort Canning did not cross my mind at all. I had associated the landmark with just running.
Thus, when the chance came for us to go down and have a look at Fort Canning and how the development of Modern Singapore unfolded, I was excited. It was the first time I would be walking along the pavements instead of pounding my footsteps away with my running shoes. Imagine my surprise when I realized the significance of Fort Canning. I was so captivated by the history behind it that I went to read every single description available along the pavements. That both widen and deepen my Singapore history. My perception of Fort Canning has then changed. I felt that for all this years, I had been "running" from history.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Views & Thoughts (Yuchi)
Fort Canning Hill brings back memories.
When I was younger, my secondary school brought us on a similar tour of the Hill. However, it was all play and nothing really registered in me, except that when it rains, its really slippery and I have a scar to show for that.
When I was a little older, Fort Canning served as a shortcut, from the Dhoby Ghaut area to the Clarke Quay party haunts of mine. Once, I've spent some romantic times with a then-girlfriend of mine, chatting while we gazed at the beauties of the cityscape of Singapore River.
Most recently, Fort Canning's offerings of outdoor concerts, became a choice of entertainment hangout location for me and my friends.
This heritage trail of ours, takes me back to Fort Canning yet again. However, the context of the tour has 2 significants. Firstly, as part of our assessment for the History module. I must say that it brings us out of the classroom learning context, and into the Mother Nature (thanks to the mosquito bites). Secondly, it strikes me that there's much efforts done to preserve our history, where trees and buildings are conserved so that future generations are able to see the remains of our Past.
Well, I've enjoyed my trip to Fort Canning, and possibly will have a greater sense of appreciation when i next come to the Fort Canning Centre for another outdoor concert.
When I was younger, my secondary school brought us on a similar tour of the Hill. However, it was all play and nothing really registered in me, except that when it rains, its really slippery and I have a scar to show for that.
When I was a little older, Fort Canning served as a shortcut, from the Dhoby Ghaut area to the Clarke Quay party haunts of mine. Once, I've spent some romantic times with a then-girlfriend of mine, chatting while we gazed at the beauties of the cityscape of Singapore River.
Most recently, Fort Canning's offerings of outdoor concerts, became a choice of entertainment hangout location for me and my friends.
This heritage trail of ours, takes me back to Fort Canning yet again. However, the context of the tour has 2 significants. Firstly, as part of our assessment for the History module. I must say that it brings us out of the classroom learning context, and into the Mother Nature (thanks to the mosquito bites). Secondly, it strikes me that there's much efforts done to preserve our history, where trees and buildings are conserved so that future generations are able to see the remains of our Past.
Well, I've enjoyed my trip to Fort Canning, and possibly will have a greater sense of appreciation when i next come to the Fort Canning Centre for another outdoor concert.
Views & Thoughts (Chee Yong)
It had been almost 3 years since I went to Fort Canning. The last time I went there was for a National Education trip for my National Service (NS). During that time, it was like a tour and I did not have the chance to explore it by myself. Unlike my previous trip, the current trip there with my group mates was fun and educational. Though tiring, but we managed to find all the 28 stations given to us and the trip allowed me to have a clearer picture of what happened in the past.
A lot of efforts were put in to conserve the park. Though majority of the buildings remained the same, the activities happening now are very different from the past. Fort Canning Park is no longer just a place for us to better understand our history; it is now a place full of commercial activity. Concerts were organized frequently there and boutique hotel was set up on the hill. Now, the people who visit Fort Canning are no longer British or Japanese military. Those who visit Fort Canning are the public and tourists who want to reminisce or learn about Singapore’s history.
Overall, through this experience, I was able to better understand the purpose of the various building in Fort Canning and knowing our history allows me to appreciate my life more as I do not have to experience the hardships that our ancestors went through.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Views & Thoughts (Kelvin)
The trip to Fort Canning Hill was a good getaway from the hectic school life and the busy pace of daily living. A lot have changed since my last visit (looooong time ago when I was back in Primary school). The whole hill has been transformed into a huge ''information centre'' for tourists as well as many Singaporeans, like me, whom have minimal knowledge about our own history.
Such initiatives to restore and ''informationalize'' such historical sites are definitely useful for people like us. Not only we get to read such information from books, we are also able to head right down into the scene of action where history took place. This allows us to understand and see things from more than just one view.
Fort Canning Hill, once a vantage point being resided by our past Governors, overlooking the busy southern ports of Singapore. Surroundings have, after time, transformed into a bustling environment with modernized buildings (Boat Quay's ''Umbrellas'') and skyscrapers (Marina Bay Sands Hotel). The culture, environment and economic activities change in accordance to time. Every inch of empty space is being utilized for buildings. Even more land has to be reclaimed to construct more buildings (hotels & schools etc.) to fit into the current environmental and economic setting.
It was overall a meaningful trip as it really gave me the insights of how things were in the past and made me aware of things which I did not have realized.
Such initiatives to restore and ''informationalize'' such historical sites are definitely useful for people like us. Not only we get to read such information from books, we are also able to head right down into the scene of action where history took place. This allows us to understand and see things from more than just one view.
Fort Canning Hill, once a vantage point being resided by our past Governors, overlooking the busy southern ports of Singapore. Surroundings have, after time, transformed into a bustling environment with modernized buildings (Boat Quay's ''Umbrellas'') and skyscrapers (Marina Bay Sands Hotel). The culture, environment and economic activities change in accordance to time. Every inch of empty space is being utilized for buildings. Even more land has to be reclaimed to construct more buildings (hotels & schools etc.) to fit into the current environmental and economic setting.
It was overall a meaningful trip as it really gave me the insights of how things were in the past and made me aware of things which I did not have realized.
The Final Stretch...
23. Paintings of the 19th Century Landscape
These are paintings of the landscape of Singapore in the 19th century. Houses were built beside the river and there were a lot of activities by and on the river. Boats of merchants from other countries came over to trade. Singapore today has advanced with times, ships and boats no longer anchorage along the river.
24. First Christian Cemetry
Singapore’s first Christian cemetery was built in 1822 and closed in 1865. The works of the cemetery was oversaw by our first government architect, George Coleman, who was also buried in the fort canning burial ground in 1844. Dr Jose D’Almeida was also buried there, he was one of the first few European settlers in Singapore and later became one of Singapore’s lea
ding merchants. The cemetery was shared between the Roman Catholics and the Protestant Christians. Memorial stones are also bricked into the boundary walls. Captain Charles Edward Faber, a Superintending Engineer, designed the two gothic gates and walls
25. Memorial to James Brook Napier
The largest memorial in the cemetery was dedicated to James Brooke Napier, son of William Napier and Maria Frances Napier. William Napier was Singapore’s First law agent in 1833 and Maria Frances Napier was the widow of George Coleman
26. Cupolas
Cupolas are the 2 dome-shaped shelters designed by George Coleman. They were
27. Spice Garden
The spice garden is a small replica of the original garden that Raffles established. A large variety of spices were grown in the experimental garden as spices were a very valuable commodity which the colonial powers were fighting to take control of.
This is the eastern gateway to fort canning park. The old Malay wall of pre-Islamic inscriptions used to be situated near the gateway. The old Malay wall was probably blown up.
Let's Move On!
17) Fort Gate & Fort Wall
20) Canning Walk
22) Sally Port
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 15th 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.
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