The Singapore River is the very heart of Singapore. The loading and unloading of goods on its banks was essential to Singapore’s commercial success for more than a century after Raffles founded the modern settlement in 1819, and there is evidence that the river was a centre of trade for centuries before that. At the same time, a secondary commercial centre was developing around the mouth of the Kallang River.
This book describes how modern Singapore developed around these rivers. It portrays the people whose livelihood depended on the waterways, some of them finding prosperity, others enduring periods of extreme overcrowding and urban deprivation.
As trade gradually moved away to cargo-handling facilities purpose built for the steam age and, later, containerisation, the role of the rivers changed. The time came when Singapore had no reason to tolerate their polluted state, and in 1977, a great clean-up began. It would have been impossible without resettling people and businesses from the congested river banks into new towns and industrial estates elsewhere on the island. The water supply and sewerage systems were transformed.
The book tells how reclamation created Marina Bay. It describes the creation of new icons such as the Marina Bay Financial Centre, Gardens by the Bay, and the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. The construction of the Marina Barrage transformed Marina Bay and the Kallang River Basin into a vast urban reservoir, an engineering achievement in itself.
Finally, the book shows how Marina Bay has become the heart of the new Singapore, a ‘new Padang’, a place for both work and pleasure, and a setting for big events that unite the community.
Purchase information
Available at major bookstores and BOOKSTOP – a self-service station located at The URA Centre Level 1 Atrium.
Price is inclusive of Goods & Services Tax (GST).