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The Fort Canning Park was originally named Fort Canning hill in honour of Viscount Charles John Canning, Governor-General and first Vicerory of India after the building of a fort on the hill in 1860s. [1] On the 1st November 1981, it was coverted into a historical park and renamed Fort Canning park by Lee Kuan Yew to serve as a historical landmark in Singapore for its rich histories. [2]
Tour around Fort Canning Park:
Water Garden a.k.a "The forbidden spring"
The overall design of the place was inspired from historical bathing places found in Java. The carvings has floral motifs such as water lily (which was common associated with Hinduism and Buddhism) and aquatic animals such as fishes and frogs. There are also motifs of the kala, a semi-divine beast in Hindu tradition that often appears as a guardian image above entrances of temples and bathing places.
The place was meant to highlight the history of water in Singapore (then Singapura) from the 14th century to 19th century. In the 14th century Singapura, natural springs were associated with fertility. Spring water was particularly important in older days, where it was commonly used in rituals, ceremonies and temples. Bathing sites in the temple grounds were used for devotees to cleanse themselves before prayings and offerings. In the 19th century, with the establishment of Singapore as a trading port, the natural spring supplied drinking water to ships visiting Singapore thus, allowing settlement to flourish.
The left side of the garden (shown in picture) has a clear pond without any objects and living things. Seats and water taps were situated together with the pond.
The right side of the garden (shown in picture) has decorative cravings, pots of plants and living koi fishes.
The left side of the garden shows the practical side of the spring, being a bathing site in the past. While the right side of the garden showcased a beautified spring serving as an observatory and aesthetic pleasing site for visitors.
Fort Gate
The fort gate was built as the entrance of a British-built fort completed on this hill in 1860. Fort Canning serve to protect Singapore from seaborne attacks hence it's gate was strategically facing the beach. It was meant to made it difficult for invasion. It was originally built together with the fort walls at both sides of the fort gate. The Fort Walls had an outer face of granite and a brick interior, with an earthen fill in between to absorb the impact of cannonballs. However, today, only a small fragment of this wall and the Fort Gate survive from the orginal Fort Canning.
The bottom part of the Fort Gate is made up of bricks while the upper part has a smooth surface. However, on the other side of the Fort Gate, the entire surface was smoothly built. The Fort Gate has reddish-washed tone, seemingly hints that it was not regularly repainted or maintained to keep in its original colour tone. Plants and grasses grew on the Fort Gate without any remover too.
Sally Port
Sally ports are small doors that lead in and out of a fort. It has botton-up and vice-versa narrowed walkway, and has two doors. The word 'sally' means to make a sudden charge out of a besieged place against an enemy. In the event of an attack, the defenders of a fort could charge out of a sally port to surprise the enemy outside. Fort Canning had at least three sally ports, but this is the only remaining one.
It hard to define which side were the entrance or exist as it could work both ways. The Sally port has small and narrow steps, the walkway could fit roughly two persons. One of the gate is located in the middle of the staircase while the other at the bottom part. These are metal gates in black, unlocked and free to access. However, there is no lightbulb or any tools for brightness, hence, it is safer to explore this place in daylight.
Percival Steps and Battle Box
The Percival Steps are named under Lieutenant-General Arthur E. Percival who was the General Officer Commanding (Malaya) from 1941 to 1942. He took responsibility for the British defeat by the Japanese in World War II, and spent the war in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. He returned to England afterwards. In 1992, under archaeological excavations, they uncovered artefacts dating back to 14th century in Percival steps.
The Battle Box, constructed in 1936, was to be used in the event of war as a nerve centre for British military operations in South East Asia. Situated 9 meters beneath Fort Canning Hill, it was the site where Lt-General Percival, General Officer Commanding, Malaya Command, made the fateful decision to surrender Singapore to the Japanese, on 15 Feb 1942.
First Christian Cemetery
The green space was used as a Christian burial ground from 1822 to 1865 (according to the tombstones that was found). The entrances to the cemetery are marked by gateways designed by Captain Charles Edward Faber, who was superintending Engineer in Singapore from 1844 to 1850. These gateways are some of the oldest example of Gothic Revival style architecture in Singapore.
Over 600 people were buried here, a third of them are Chinese Christians. The cemetery filled up and was closed to further burials in 1865. Over time the gravestones became dilapidated and were removed in the 1970s. Over 200 tombstones were chosen to remain and incorporated into the brick wall.
This entire area was Singapore's first Christian cemetery. Before entering, there are gothic gates located at two sides, the gates are in full white with the wording "I H S" and a cross above, they look well maintain with little stains. Upon entering, there is a small area of graveyard with tombstones remain at the bottom corner of the site, the two walls surrounding the site were tombstones incorporated into brick wall and the center of the site is a huge area of emptied grasspatch.
The Keramat (Iskandar Shah)
The keramat is a local (fusion of many religions and beliefs) term which were seen as auspicious places to visit for specific favours. Keramat places are often tombs. In 1822, it was claimed that this specific keramat is the burial place of Sri Sultan Iskandar Shah.
According to Malay tradition, Iskandar Shah was the last of five kings who ruled Singapore during the 14th centur, subsequently, Singapore fell to an enemy attack while Iskandar Shah survived and founded another great kingdom, Melaka. Chinese records of early Melaka mentioned Iskandar Shah died around 1420 but no sources give his place of death. Traditional Malay chronicles state that the first king of the Malays, Sri Tri Buana, and his chief minister Demang Lebar Daun, were buried on this hill.
It was during colonial period that the forest covering the hill was cleared and ruins of brick buildings were discovered on the north and east slopes. One of the ruins stood on this terrace. The origins of the belief that this site was a keramat are still unknown, but by 1822, it was regarded as such and revered by Muslims, Chinese and Hindus alike. The original structure vanished but archaeologists have discovered pottery and other 14th century artefacts around the terrace.
Lighthouse
This lighthouse is a small replica of the original that used to stand on Fort Canning Hill. The lighthouse at Fort Canning was one of Singapore’s most prominent landmarks for ships entering the harbour. The total elevation of 60m (made possible by the combined height of the hill and lighthouse) made the lighthouse visible 30km away. In the 1950s, the lighthouse was overshadowed by tall buildings and was eventually closed.
The lighthouse is generally small, roughly one or two floors tall. In full white, it looks clean and new which hints that it is regularly maintained. It is located at the mid of the hill, closer to Marina Bay.
Raffles Garden & Raffles House
This is the site on which Sir Stamford Raffles built his bungalow for the beautiful view it commanded. It was also the place of residence for a long lineof governors. This site offers an excellent vantage point for the dome of the Old Supreme Court and other well-known landmarks in the civic district.Fort Canning Hill became an important communication center after the British established a port here in 1819. The first communication facility built on the hill was a flagstaff. This was followed in the 19th century by a time ball, a lighthouse, and a telegraph office.
History of Fort Canning
Pre-colonial Times:
Before the fort was built in the 1860s, Fort Canning was known to be a "forbidden hill" or Bukit Larangan in the early records. It was believed that the forbidden hill was where ancient kings are buried. The site was considered holy and many made their annual pilgrimage there. Otherwise, few locals frequented the hill as stories abounded that it was haunted. The early colonials found sandstone foundation blocks dating back to the 14th century marking a large palatial building along its slope. [3] Subsequently, archaeologists also discovered artefacts in Fort Canning dating back to the 14th century, proving Fort Canning to be likely a place of residential (or palace).
Colonial Times (1819-1942):
When Raffles arrived in Singapore, he was told to stay away from Fort Canning Hill as it holds symbolic value to the locals, the haunting of the past still surrounds this place. However, Major William Farquhar climb up the hill himself, accompanied only by a few Malaccan Malays, soon after the founding of Singapore. It was Farquhar who drew up the first gun on the hill and set up the post to hoist the Union Jack. [4]
In 1822, a residence was built for Raffles and his family.Completed within two weeks, it was a wooden bungalow 100 ft long and 50 ft wide with venetians and an attap roof and verandas at both the front and back.A keen botanist, he also built Singapore's first botanical gardens there in 1822, headed by surgeon Nathaniel Wallich, who had had earlier success in setting up the Botanical Gardens in Calcutta.The residence continued as home to the colony's governors, thus subsequently earning the name Government Hill, until late 1859, when increased security concerns led to the hill taking on a military role, with the demolition of the governor's residence and the building of a fort with an arms store, barracks and a hospital. [5]
World War 2 (1942-1945):
Under the British Army, the fort served as the headquarters of the Singapore Base District until the spread of World War II into the Asia Pacific in 1941. In February 1942, Lieutanant-General Arthur Ernest Percival established his command post of the Malayan Command at the fort in his ill-fated attempts to defend the island from the invading Japanese forces. The Japanese also used the fort for its military until the end of the Occupation in 1945, whereby the British army resumed control. [6]
Post War-Modern Era:
As the island moved towards self-determination, the British handed over control of the fort to the Singaporean military in 1963, and was home to the headquarters of the 4th Malaysain Infantry Brigade until December 1966 when it was in turn handed over to the Singapore Armed Forces. The SAF proceeded to build the Singapore Command and Staff College on the fort, which officially opened on 13 February 1970. [7]
The hill was renamed Fort Canning Park with the planting of a fruit tree by the then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on 1 November 1981. Now a park overlooking Orchard Road in the heart of the Civic and Cultural District of Singapore, Fort Canning offers a variety of receational activities, historical, educational, entertainment and cultural experiences.
The park also serves as an important green lung for Singapore's downtown city area. The unique blend of historical relics, lush greenery and expansive lawns has made Fort Canning a hub of cultural and artistic activity. It has been a venue of choice for staging a myriad of outdoor events and activities like theatre carnivals, art festivals, starlight cinemas and Ballet Under the Stars performances, Shakespeare in the Park, WOMAD, Singapore's largest music festival, has been a regular feature of the park's calendar of events since 1998. The Fort Canning Tunnel passes directly under the hill.[8]
Now, Fort Canning is a popular spot for wedding shoot, events, school/educational and leisure activities.