Singapore River



Artist impression of old Singapore



The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, although the northernmost part of the watershed becomes River Valley. As the Central Area is treated as a central business district, nearly all land surrounding it is commercial. It is one of about 90 rivers in Singapore and its islands. It is the place where Raffles made as the 1st trading port in Singapore. The Singapore River is the most famous river in Singapore.

The Singapore River is approximately three kilometers long from its source at Kim Seng Bridge to its mouth at the Esplanade where it empties into the Marina Channel  and finally the Singapore Strait ; the waterway extends more than two kilometers beyond its original source at Kim Seng Bridge as Alexandra Canal,  as far as the junction of Commonwealth Avenue. Here there is a break with Buona Vista Road where Sungei Ulu Pandan starts and flows into Sungei Pandan which in turn flows into the sea at West coast Park. Thus, the source of both these waterways is in the Quenstown, Ridout Road Estate and Tanglin Halt area near Margaret Drive.

Kampung Glam

                          The MOSQUE                                                              Old style barber

Our second trip of the day was to Kampung Glam, despite the scarcity of visitors at that time,the trip to Kampong Glam was truly a very educational field trip. At Kampong Glam we were taught mostly about its history and where various locations are. It was like an amazing race as teams raced neck to neck to win sadly my team wasn't one of the ones who won.It was an amazing experience.As we had to reach destinations quickly, we had to ask the Malay shopowners on how to reach there.It was fun, and we all picked up a few greetings in Malay.Kampung Glam used to house the Istana, where the Johor royal family would stay, however, the Istana has alredy been turned into a restaurant. During the trip we saw an old barber shop which all the barber shops which was in Singapore would  most likely would have looked like a few tens of years ago.Over at kampong Glam we also walked past Kampong Glam's very own school ! We didn't see any boys but we saw a few girls in a white and blue uniform.I think it was a religious school and it really looked grand. At the first and last checkpoint was a mosque which was a very beautiful building which reminded me of the Taj Mahal . In the end, I had a blast and I bet so did everyone else

Entrance of Labrador Park

                                                           History of Labrador Park               
      Labrador Nature Reserve contains many historical relics from World War II and earlier, left behind by the British. That is because it has a long history, dating back to the 19th century. It also played a significant role in the history of Singapore.The entire nature reserve, together with the current park, used to be called Pasir Panjang Beach, or Long Beach. The area used to be a long strip of coastal land at high tide, and a rocky beach at low tide, before land reclamation took place, formed the seawalls and grassy park seen today.There was an old British fort, the Fort Pasir Panjang, located on the hill and cliff next to the sea. The cliff’s high vantage point led the British to identify it as a defence site to protect the entrance to the harbors of Singapore. It became one of nine sites in which the British had set up their batteries, and is part of the British overall defense system for Singapore.The rocky beach below the cliff was accessible to the public. This area was a popular recreational sport and seaside resort for the residents living in the villas, as well as the villages nearby. In fact, there were even private beach houses, sea walls, and small jetties built along the coast.  In the late 1930s, war was going on in Northern Asia, particularly China and Manchuria, with the onslaught of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was then that the British conducted a review of the beach defences. The findings showed that Pasir Panjang Beach would be an easy place for the enemy to land.As a result, the land was obtained by the government, and redeveloped into an expansion of Pasir Panjang Fort. Machine gun posts and barbed wire entanglements were built, together with a fence running along the beach. The guns facing the sea were also upgraded. Two six inch 37-ton guns, which could fire 102 lb shells 10 miles, were installed in 1938, together with searchlights that faced the sea..The British made the beach an “impenetrable fortress”, making it extremely difficult for enemy ships and troops to enter Singapore via that area. It would have proven very useful in combating the enemies.Alas, the site did not see much action during the war. When the Japanese arrived in Singapore, they, together with their equipment, came from the Northern coast, instead of the Southern coast which the British expected. No Japanese ships passed through the area at all. As a result, much of the equipment at the fort was put to waste.  In 1973, it was downgraded to that of a nature park. The future of the beach habitat became uncertain, as there were no laws which prevented the destruction of nature parks. It was feared that the area would make way for another industrial site.There were consistent calls from the public to preserve the rich history and nature of that site, being the last mainland rocky shore and coral reef.Therefore, on November 2001, it was announced that Labrador Park would be gazetted as a Nature Reserve. The oil refinery’s jetty was renovated and open to the public, together with the rocky shore, while redevelopment and landscaping took place in the reclaimed section of the part, right up to Tanjong Berlayar.  In 2001, two tunnels were also discovered within the park. They were located beneath the old fort, and probably served as storage of ammunition and supplies, as well as a hideout for British troops. One of the tunnels goes under the sea and leads to Pulau Blakang Mati. Parts of the tunnels have now been opened to the public.  Labrador Nature Reserve contains more than 50 species of birds and has recorded more than 11 species of butterflies. In addition, the rocky shore contains a multitude of corals and crabs and more. These include, but are not limited to, sea grasses, sandworms and horseshoe crabs. The Common Hairy Crab (Pilumnus vespertilio) is often spotted in the area.The 300 meters Labrador beach is where marine flora and fauna grow. Plants including the sea-grapes, sea-fan and red algae are sources of food for the fauna.


War Cannon used in WW 2



English AA

We learned a lot during our heritage trail around Singapore and here is some info about labrodor park and Kampung Glam and Singapore river
some of our info comes from google, sorry