My book is a short account of Singapore’s original port and portside from the time of the arrival of Thomas Stamford Raffles in1819, up to the 1960s and 1990s, and as it progressed into the 2000s.
Many Singaporeans do not know what happened after the arrival of Raffles, the acknowledged founder of modern Singapore, in 1819. They may have come to know that there was a port in Tanjong Pagar, somewhere in the south of the island. Would they, however, know that the original conventional port was changed from the mid-1960s onwards for container operations? That, when the container port expanded, the port and portside would be demolished completely? Rows of pre-war shophouses would be torn down and tens of thousands of people would have to move out. That the container operations would later move westwards along the coast, towards a megaport in Tuas? That the location of the original port would be left silent and empty, like it was before the arrival of Raffles? As if nothing happened there for over 200 years. And once again waiting for redevelopment.
The book has been written before everyone forgets what happened in that important area. The port’s role changed over the years. From the mid-1960s onwards, conventional cargo handling made way for container operations. As the container operations expanded, more space was needed, and this led to the demolition of the entire portside.
Later, following a decision to build a megaport port in Tuas in the west of the island, container operations began moving in that direction. The original port and portside, where tens of thousands of people lived, worked or operated business, and which were cleared for container operations are now silent and empty once again, just like they were when Raffles arrived in 1819.
It is hoped that this book about Singapore’s original port and portside in Tanjong Pagar and Anson will provide some insight into the tremendous role they played in the country’s economy. What is more, present on the political scene there were some of the country’s early politicians — Lee Kuan Yew, David Marshall and J.B. Jeyaretnam. Lee was MP for Tanjong Pagar all his adult life.
I am able to compile this book because I am familiar with the area, although I received much help to make it slightly more complete. I lived there, as did most of the people who helped me. We walked its streets and witnessed the monumental change in port operations – from conventional to container – and the wholesale demolition of a big portion of the portside as the container port expanded, up to the 1990s. And into the 2000s.
Unfortunately, we are unable to walk those streets again now because they do not exist any more.
As for remembering places, a positive development over the past 20 years or so is that it has become a habit for people to quickly get more information or check facts on their handphones.
With this increasing demand, there is a heightened need to ensure that the information that is sought is correct and up to date. This is where things have fallen slightly behind. Information is sometimes incorrect and not up to date. Scanned material appears as gibberish. Photo captions often have few details and do not mention the year in which they were taken. So, while there is information, the search has become one of ensuring that it is the latest available and, more seriously, that it is accurate. This is not an acceptable situation. The latest information should be displayed first. And it should be accurate. The algorithms need to ensure this.
Meanwhile, it is probably time to rethink the present “conservation” areas to keep a record of the history of a place. This is because it will not be possible to conserve most structures for thousands of years. It is not enough to just retain the outside wall and call it a conserved building. There needs to be something more permanent because there are likely to be humans in this world 10,000 years and more from now who would want to know about the past of their country. They would want to know in what kind of structures the people in the past lived, worked and played.
One solution would be to go digital. This would require, with immediate effect, owners to “conserve” their buildings in a digital format. The conservation material can then be stored in a dedicated portion in a library. There must be clear data — maps, architectural drawings and photos — about the building for the benefit of future generations.
The physical building on a particular site can then be rebuilt many times over the coming hundreds or thousands of years. In the future, new technology will probably make it easier to record each subsequent development.
There is also a need to redo existing scanned material in an improved digital format. Now, one often comes across scanned material that appears to be gibberish because it was either not scanned properly with early technology that had its flaws or by staff not fully conversant with how to use it to its full potential.
So, while there is a need to remember our history, work needs to be done to make it easier for the individual, including bright students, to do so.
The book A Brief History of Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar and Anson Portside is available at the Epigram Bookshop. An e-book is also available (Kindle/Amazon).