This section looks at various historical sites along Singapore River from the Malay historical perspective that have been virtually forgotten in contemporary Singapore. It reviews the traces of these hidden chapters of Singapore history, both as found in various forms of documentation (maps, written accounts, etc.); and as etched in the built lansdcape that, with a trained eye (and an informed mind’s eye), allow us to see these histories again in situ (on site).
The following topical articles will be progressively added to this web reference:
pre-1819 history:
- Old Singapura: Tanjung Singapura and the Singapore Stone; the Padang and Bukit Larangan (Fort Canning Hill)
- “Sighting the Singa” in 14th century Temasek: Buddhist symbolism in Malay kingship before Islam
- Bukit Merah, the Red Hills: the red-stained laterite soil south of the upper reaches of Singapore River and its legends
19th-century Singapore: c.1811 (or 1818) onwards
- Kampung Temenggong: the original “Singapore Town” on the eve of Raffles’ arrival in 1819
- Kampung Panglima Perang (Campong Panglima Prang)
- Kampung Melaka / Campong Malacca and Singapore’s oldest traders’ mosque (Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka)
More soon!