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HISTORY

Singapore River, together with Kallang, Whampoa, Rochor and Geylang Rivers form almost a third of Singapore's drainage catchment and are collectively known as the Kallang Basin. But the Singapore River has always taken centrestage. Right from the start, the Singapore River was the focal point of trading activities. As early as 1819, the river was already a refuge for sampans serving as houseboats for the orang lauts or sea pirates. These soon gave way to sailing lighters brought from southern India by the East India Company following the development of the river as a main commercial centre. The sheltered river banks of the Singapore River made excellent loading and unloading places. Merchants were quick to build offices, godowns and jetties in Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay to facilitate loading and unloading. It did not take long before vessels crowded the river mouth. By the 1860s, three quarters of all shipping business was done in Boat Quay and the River was choked with vessels and seaside wharves had to be introduced at Keppel Harbour to ease the shipping demands. But the tongkangs continued to dominate the river traffic. It was only in 1983 that the river vessels were finally moved to a new location in Pasir Panjang. Ultimately, Singapore River is a story about change. It is about how a river contributed to the success of Singapore, but through misuse, became polluted. It is about how in a seemingly impossible task, this polluted waterway, result of abuse over more than a century and a half, was made so clean in a short span of ten years that marine life now thrive in it. The Singapore River is also about old and new lifestyles. About how old-time riverine and quayside businesses have given way to exciting recreational activities such as al fresco dining, concerts and water-sports. It is also about the dynamism of the Golden Show business area versus the idyllic charm of the quays - the unusual juxtaposition of skyscrapers with the historic remnants of our old city fabric that has become so much associated with Singapore. The Singapore River DGP opens a fresh chapter to the life of the old River. It marks the transformation of the Singapore River from a working river into a waterway which provides waterfront housing, enjoyment and fun to present and future generations of Singaporeans.

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