Raffles' Landing Site

The Raffles' Landing Site is the location where tradition holds that Sir Stamford Raffles landed in on 28 January 1819. The site is located at Boat Quay within the Civic District, in the Downtown Core of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.

The office towers at Raffles Place on the south bank of the Singapore River serve as a backdrop against Sir Stamford Raffles' statue located at Raffles' Landing Site on the river's opposite bank.

History

On 28 January 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles landed at this site for his first visit, which lasted ten days. During this period, with the help of Major William Farquhar, he concluded the first treaty with the local rulers Temenggong Abdul Rahman and Sultan Hussein Shah.[1]

The site is denoted by a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles and is located on the north bank of the Singapore River. The present polymarble statue was unveiled in 1972 which was made from plaster casts from the original 1887 figure that currently stands opposite Victoria Concert Halls.

In 2019, as part of events commemorating the bicentennial of the Founding of modern Singapore, numerous alterations have been made to and around the statue of Raffles such as using camouflage to make the statue 'disappear' into the backdrop of the buildings in Raffles Place on the south bank,[2] and erecting statues of Raffles' contemporaries such as Munshi Abdullah, Tan Tock Seng, and Naraina Pillai along with that of the founder of the Kingdom of Singapura, Sang Nila Utama.[3]

Additional status was added as part of the commemorating the bicentennial of the Founding of modern Singapore.


Plaque inscription

The Plaque at the landing site reads "On this historic site, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles first landed in Singapore on 28th January 1819, and with genius and perception changed the destiny of Singapore from an obscure fishing village to a great seaport and modern metropolis."

Dispute

There is a dispute as to where was the exact location that Raffles first landed in Singapore. While the Raffles' Landing Site on the north bank of the Singapore River is generally believed to be the location, there is another source that claims otherwise. Based on the Cho Clan Archives, Raffles ordered his ship's carpenter, Chow Ah Chi, to lead the way in posting the British East India Company flag on mainland Singapore and he supposedly landed at the mouth of the Rochor River in Kallang. Raffles, following the route taken by Chow, also arrived at the Kallang Basin in what is today's Kallang Riverside Park.[4][5]

See also

Notes
  1. Koh, T. Singapore: The Encyclopedia (2006), p. 204, Didier Millet, ISBN 981-4155-63-2.
  2. "'Disappearing' Raffles statue a teaser for Singapore Bicentennial". Channel NewsAsia. January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  3. "Sang Nila Utama, pioneers join Stamford Raffles along Singapore River". Channel NewsAsia. January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  4. "Stamford Raffles's landing in Singapore". Singapore Infopedia.
  5. "Kallang Riverside Park".

References
  • Norman Edwards, Peter Keys (1996), Singapore - A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places, Times Books International, ISBN 9971-65-231-5
  • National Heritage Board (2006), Discover Singapore - Heritage Trails, ISBN 981-05-6433-3
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