The MacRitchie Reservoir was completed in 1867 and it is situated at the Southern-Eastern end of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. This reservoir was the first water system in Singapore and it was originally called “The Impounding Reservoir” or “Thomson Road Reservoir”. The place was then renamed in 1922 after James MacRitchie who was the municipal engineer of Singapore from 1883 to 1895. MacRitchie Reservoir Park was opened on 4 August 1967 which then become a popular spot for hiking and jogging. Despite it being a popular location among the local population, many are unaware of this history behind the histroical sites in the park. With that said, let us begin the tour at MacRitchie to learn more about this place!
Jelutong Tower
The Jelutong Tower was constructed in 2003 and was named after one of the tallest trees at MacRitchie Reservoir. Located in the forest of MacRitchie, the tower is a 7-storey observation tower for visitors to have an uninterrupted bird-eye view of the MacRitchie forest area. There have also been sightings of spirits reported at this tower.
Lim Bo Seng's Tomb
On 13 January 1943 after Lim Bo Seng’s passing, he was reburied at MacRitchie Reservoir.
Born on 27 April 1909, Lim was a prominent Hokkien businessman and was recognised as a local war hero after the end of WWII. In the 1930s, Lim participated in anti-Japanese activities in Singapore during the WWII and supported the China Relief Fund. With the request of the then governor of Singapore, Lim formed the Chinese Liaison Committee to assist in civil defence. In December 1941, after the fall of Kota Bharu in northern Malaya, Lim as a head of Labour Services of the Overseas Chinese Mobilisation Council had organised more than 10,000 men for the British government to run essential services and build defences around the island. As the Japanese soldiers start to approach Singapore from Johor, Lim and his team assisted to blow up the Causeway to delay the Japanese advance.
Before the Japanese invasion, Lim had escaped to India with the British resistance group, Force 136. Force 136 was a special operations force formed by the British and Chinese governments in June 1942 to support resistance groups behind enemy lines and to coordinate operations in support of the planned British invasion of Malaya. The group was by the British for intelligence work. In 1943, Lim travelled to China to recruit men for Force 136. To avoid identification by the Japanese, Lim pretended to be a businessman at checkpoints by using the alias Tan Choon Lim. With some Force 136 members, he landed in Malaya by submarine later that year. Lim had set up an intelligence network in the urban areas of Pangkor, Lumut, Tapah and Ipoh. The intelligence network, also known as Operation Zipper, was aimed to reclaim Malaya with British support by 1945.
Traitors and betrayal eventually resulted in the downfall and capture of many members of the Force 136. While in Ipoh, Lim’s whereabouts and espionage involvement were betrayed by Lai Teck, one of Force 136's members, who turned out to be a triple agent between Force 136, the British and Japanese. Lai leaked Lim’s information to the Japanese which led to the capture of Lim. Whilst in prison, Lim was tortured by the Japanese. Throughout this whole ordeal, Lim did not reveal the names of those who were working with him against the Japanese. On 29 June 1944, Lim eventually passed on due to illness suffered from the poor conditions in the prison.
Source: https://remembersingapore.org/2017/07/16/macritchie-reservoir-syonan-jinja/
Syonan Jinja
The Synonan Jinja, which translates to Light of the South Shrine, was a Shinto shrine built to commemorate the Japanese soldiers who died in the conquest of Malaya and Sumatra during WWII. It was commissioned on April 1942, two months after the fall of Singapore. The shrine is located deep in the forest of the western part of MacRitchie Reservoir. The shrine was built by over 20,000 British and Australian prisoner-of-war (POWs) from the internment camps of Changi, Sime Road and Adam Park. On 15 February 1943, the first anniversary of the fall of Singapore, the shrine was officially opened to the public. It was a venue for many public ceremonies and celebrations of Japanese festivals where the local population were coerced to show obeisance to the Japanese. The ceremonies typically invited well-established individuals such as businessmen and local community leaders to show their loyalty and respect to the Japanese. The shrine was then destroyed before the end of the war and the Japanese surrendered in 1945 as they feared the desecration of the Shrine by returning British forces. The Japanese burnt the shrine to the ground as this destruction method was considered an acceptable practice as part of the purification rites in the Shinto religion.
In 2002, the National Heritage Board marked the shrine as a historical site and restricted access to the public, making it an offence for anyone who enters the area.
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