Tanjong Pagar
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Tanjong Pagar is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urban planning zones.
Etymology
Tanjong Pagar in Malay means "cape of stakes", a name which reflects its origins as a fishing village situated on a former promontory. It has been surmised that the name was inspired by the presence of kelongs (offshore palisade fishing traps constructed using wooden stakes and cross pieces) set up along the stretch of coast from the village of Tanjong Malang to what is now Tanjong Pagar. It is possibly a corruption of the earlier name Tanjong Passar, a road which led from South Bridge Road to the fishing village and which appeared in George Drumgoole Coleman's 1836 Map of the Town.A far more picturesque account of the naming of this part of the coast emerges from the realm of local legend. According to the Malay Annals, there was a time when the villages along the coast of Singapore suffered from vicious attacks from shoals of swordfish. On the advice of a particularly astute boy named Hang Nadim, the Sri Maharajah built a barricade of banana stems along the coast, which successfully trapped the attacking fish by their snouts as they leapt from the waters.
The original name for Tanjong Pagar is also said to be Salinter, a fishing village. When the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company (1964) was formed due to the growth of shipping activities in the 1850s, wharves were built. Tanjong is "cape" and pagar means "fence" or enclosed space, i.e. wharf where ships are moored. Tanjong Pagar probably refers to the location of PSA Gate 3 near Victoria Dock. Around Tanjong Pagar were mangrove swamps which were filled in with earth from Mount Palmer and other nearby small hills for extension of the wharves up to Telok Blangah.
Tanjong Pagar Road is known as tan jiong pa kat in Hokkien, which is phonetic.
History
For many years, Tanjong Pagar, located between the docks and the town, was an enclave for the thousands of Chinese and Indian dock workers who had migrated to Singapore from the mid nineteenth century. With all the traffic between the docks and the town, Tanjong Pagar was also lucrative ground for rickshaw pullers awaiting clients. So prevalent was their presence that in 1904, the government established a Jinricksha Station at the junction of Tanjong Pagar Road and Neil Road.From the time the docks began operations in 1864, land values in Tanjong Pagar rose, attracting wealthy Chinese and Arab traders to buy real estate there.
The proliferation of impoverished workers led to overcrowding, pollution and social problems such as opium smoking and prostitution. Tanjong Pagar generally deteriorated into an inner city ghetto. By World War II, Tanjong Pagar was a predominantly working class Hokkien area with an Indian minority.
In the mid-1980s, Tanjong Pagar became the first area in Singapore to be gazetted under the government's conservation plan. When the conservation project was completed, many of the area's shophouses were restored to their original appearance. But although a few traces of the old Tanjong Pagar remain — an old swimming pool, the odd street cobbler — the face of Tanjong Pagar has changed. Today, Tanjong Pagar has become a fashionable district, filled with thriving businesses, cafés, bars and restaurants.
Highlights
Cantonment Road
Cantonment Road got its name from the contingent of Indian sepoys stationed here in 1819. They had accompanied Sir Stamford Raffles to Singapore and were asked to stay. In India, the English term for permanent military accommodation, as established by the sepoys, is "cantonment".The local Cantonese had another name for Cantonment Road. They called it Ba Suo Wei, meaning "at the foot of Bukit Pasoh".
Outram Road, which used to be part of Cantonment Road, only became a separate thoroughfare in 1853. The old Chinese name for Outram was Si Pai Po, meaning "sepoy's field", referring to the former sepoy presence in the area during colonial days.
Duxton Hill
Dr J.W. Montgomerie, the first owner of Duxton Hill, cultivated nutmeg plantations on its slopes. Montgomerie died in 1856 and his land on Duxton was auctioned off. Fourteen acres went to Arab Syed Abdullah bin Omar Aljunied, who divided them into four lots which were leased to wealthy Chinese developers.By the 1890s, the developers had built two- and three-storey shophouses in Duxton Hill and the more affluent Chinese moved to the area.
Tanjong Pagar Plaza
Tanjong Pagar Plaza, the site of a complex of Housing and Development Board flats which replaced pre-war shophouses along Tanjong Pagar Road, was formerly Cheng Cheok Street after Khoo Cheng Cheok. Khoo Cheng Cheok is believed to be the brother of rice merchant Khoo Cheng Tiong, who was president of the Thong Chai Medical Institution. It was once an important crossroads for traffic between the warehouses along the Singapore River and the wharves. Bullock carts and hand carts streamed through the area carrying goods from one point to the other.Tanjong Pagar Plaza consists of seven blocks of flats and a market and food centre. The food centre is famous for its local dishes such as nasi lemak and fish soup.
Railway transport
The Malaysian railway company (Keretapi Tanah Melayu) had its terminal railway station in Singapore here. It ran three daily train services from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and several other train services from Singapore to other parts of Malaysia. Now, the only available stop in Singapore is in Woodlands and Tanjong Pagar Railway station which is still operational.Maxwell Food Centre
The Maxwell Food Centre dates back to pre-war days as a fresh food market and food centre. In 1986, it was converted into a food centre, housing hawkers from the vicinity. The present existing hawker centre is now equipped with modern conveniences, from its renovation in 2001. Stallholders are essentially those from the mainly Cantonese neighbourhood, with many from the famed food street, China Street. A wide variety of authentic local favourites are available, with a Cantonese bent. Many of the dishes are likely cooked by relatives of the original stallholders who spent years perfecting just one dish. Dishes include haam chin pang, a crusty fried pancake, ngor hiang or Hokkien sausages, and herbal broths made to home-brewed recipes.References
- Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 9812102051
- National Heritage Board (2002), Singapore's 100 Historic Places, Archipelago Press, ISBN 9814068233
External links
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