Archive for February 2010
Page 62
House of Tan Yeok Nee
Tan Yeok Nee, a wealthy Chinese Teochew businessman, built his residence in Clemenceau Avenue in the style of a Chinese mansion in 1885. He died at the age of 75, outliving his sons. Subsequently, the government acquired the house and it was leased to different organisations. Older Singaporeans tend to associate the house with the Salvation Army as it occupied the premises for about 50 years from 1938 to 1991. The house of Tan Yeok Nee, with its elegant curved roof ridge, now serves as the Singapore campus of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. It was gazetted as a National Monument in 1974.
Page 61
Cavenagh Bridge
Near the mouth of Singapore River, there is a beautiful small bridge, built in 1868. It is named after Governor Sir Orfeur Cavenagh. It has the distinction of being Singapore’s oldest cast-iron bridge. An interesting fault in design emerged at high tides – the barges could not pass under the bridge.
To cope with the ever-increasing volume of land traffic a bigger bridge (Anderson Bridge) was built in 1909 parallel to Cavenagh Bridge. A sign was then put up on Cavenagh Bridge forbidding “vehicles, cattle and horses” from using the bridge. The sign can still be seen to this day.
Coleman Bridge
George Dromgold Coleman designed many important structures and is regarded as Singapore’s first architect.
Down Singapore River, a bridge is named after him. It links New Bridge Road and Hill Street. The present steel-girded bridge was built in 1883 replacing the earlier wooden structures built in 1840 and 1865.
Quaint lamps reminiscent of Singapore’s colonial days can be found on Coleman Bridge. The new Clarke Quay MRT Station is located next to the bridge.
Page 60
Elgin Bridge
A wooden bridge linking North Bridge Road and South Bridge Road was first built in 1822. In 1863, the wooden bridge was replaced by a steel one. This bridge was named after Lord Elgin (1811-1863), the Governor-General of India from 1861 to 1863.
The present elegant form of a reinforced-concrete bowstring design consisting of three parallel arches was built in 1929.
From Elgin Bridge one can get a grand view of the new Parliament House, the historic Singapore River and the skyscrapers of the city.
As this was the first bridge to be built across the Singapore River, it was often used as a geographical reference point. As such, the roads on either side of the bridge were, from the earliest days, known as North Bridge Road and South Bridge Road.
Page 59
BRIDGES
Benjamin Sheares Bridge
The longest bridge in Singapore is the Benjamin Sheares Bridge. Completed in 1981, it is built on reclaimed land and connects the East Coast Parkway (ECP) to the city and the west coast, spanning both the Kallang and Singapore Rivers. The bridge is named after Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares, President of Singapore from 1971-1981. Before assuming office as President, Sheares was a world-renowned gynaecologist. The bridge gives its name to a popular annual sports event – the Sheares Bridge Run.
Page 58
From Tongkangs to Canoes
Up till the early 1980s, small bumboats, referred to as tongkangs brought cargo from large ships anchored offshore. These bumboats (depicted on the stamp on the left) would bring the goods up the Singapore River and off-load them at the various warehouses or godowns located along the river’s edge. Most of Singapore’s top merchants had warehouses along the Singapore River. Nowadays, the Singapore River is no longer important as a means of transporting goods inland.
By the late 1980s, the bumboats that hugged the shores of the river were moved to Serangoon. The smelly river, with its floating debris, was cleaned up and its shores reinforced.
Today the Singapore River is better-known as a recreational area. Two important lifestyle hubs have sprung up on both sides of the river – Boat Quay and Clarke Quay – where bars, restaurants and eateries have replaced old godowns and warehouses.
