Back Cover SINGAPORE’S MONUMENTS & LANDMARKS:  A PHILATELIC RAMBLE This fascinating book presents the various stamps which feature Singapore landmarks of the past and present.  It contains full-coloured, enlarged prints of the stamps, as well as interesting information about the natural and man-made landmarks in Singapore.  This beautiful work will appeal to the young and old.  Discover our history, heritage and environment as you go on an enjoyable philatelic journey of our landmarks. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Tan Wee Kiat is a retired lecturer from the National Institute of Education.  He is a stamp enthusiast and is dedicated to using philately as a tool to educate our young.  He has written 7 stamp-based books for Singaporean youngsters. Edmund WK Lim is a Teaching Fellow at the National Institute of Education.  His research interests are wide and varied.  His previous published work include a commemorative book on the Chased-el Synagogue. Kevin YL Tan is an independent legal and history scholar.  He has written and edited numerous books on Singapore law, politics, and history.  He is currently the President of the Singapore Heritage Society. Page 96 NATIONAL MONUMENTS (Cont’d) (This list is accurate as of January 2007) Gazetted on 18 December 1998 Chesed-El Synagogue The Old Hill Street Police Station (now known as MICA Building) Ying Fo Fui Kun Central Fire Station The Old Nanyang University Library & Administration Building, Memorial and Arch Gazetted on 19 March 1999 The Chinese High School Clock Tower Building Gazetted on 12 January 2000 Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church Gazetted on 2 December 2002 Tan Teck Guan Building College of Medicine Building Old Admiralty House Gazetted on 10 February 2003 Cathay Building Church of St Peter and St Paul MacDonald House Gazetted on 14 January 2005 St Joseph’s Church Church of Our Lady of Lourdes Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Tou Mu Kung Temple Gazetted on 15 February 2006 Old Ford Factory The Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) was formed in 1971 with the enactment of the Preservation of Monuments Act on 29 January 1971.  It was transferred from Ministry of National Development to Ministry of Information and the Arts (MITA) on 1 April 1997 as a statutory board under MITA. The Board is now a statutory board of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA). The Board’s objectives are: To preserve monuments of historic, traditional, archaelogical, architectural or artistic interests; To protect and augment the amenities of those monuments; To stimulate public interest and support in the preservation of those monuments; and To take appropriate measures to preserve all records, documents and data relating to those monuments. Page 95 NATIONAL MONUMENTS (This list is accurate as of January 2007) Gazetted on 6 July 1973 The Old Thong Chai Medical Institution Armenian Church St Andrew’s Cathedral Telok Ayer Market (now known as Lau Pa Sat) Thian Hock Keng Sri Mariamman Temple Hajjah Fatimah Mosque Cathedral of the Good Shepherd Gazetted on 29 November 1974 Nagore Dargah (Shrine) Al-Abrar Mosque House of Tan Yeok Nee (the Old Salvation Army HQ, now known as the University of Chicago Business School) Tan Si Chong Su Jamae Mosque Gazetted on 14 March 1975 Sultan Mosque Gazetted on 10 November 1978 St George’s Church Hong San See Temple Sri Perumal Temple Gazetted on 10 November 1979 Abdul Gaffoor Mosque Gazetted on 17 October 1980 Siong Lim Temple Gazetted on 6 March 1987 & 3 June 1995 Raffles Hotel Gazetted on 23 March 1989 Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church Goodwood Park Hotel (Tower Block) Gazetted on 26 October 1990 The Old Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Chapel and Caldwell House (Now known as CHIJMES) Gazetted on 14 February 1992 Istana and Sri Temasek City Hall Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall Old Parliament House and Annex Building (now known as Arts House) Old Supreme Court Empress Place Building (now known as Asian Civilisation Museum II) National Museum (now known as National Museum of Singapore) Former St Joseph’s Institution (now known as Singapore Art Museum) The Old Attorney-General’s Chambers Gazetted on 28 October 1994 Sun Yat Sen Villa (now known as Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall) Gazetted on 28 June 1996 Yueh Hai Ching Temple Gazetted on 27 February 1998 Maghain Aboth Synagogue The Old Ministry of Labour Building (now known as Family Court) The Old Tao Nan School (now known as Asian Civilisations Museum I) Page 94 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS While stamps are plentiful and cheap, the availability of stamp-based books for teachers and students remain few and far between.  We hope this present book, focusing on Singapore’s stamps of monuments and landmarks, will help to generate a greater awareness of Singapore history and, in the process, an appreciation and affection for what this ‘little red dot’ of a country has achieved. Besides acknowledging our gratitude to this ‘little red dot’ with its monuments and landmarks for us to write about, we are also grateful to the three organisations that have made the publication of this book a reality. First, our thanks go to the Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) for its generous sponsorship and support and to its Chairman, Mr Alfred Wong who so kindly agreed to write the preface to this volume.  Second, we are grateful to the Singapore Philatelic Museum (SPM) for providing us the high-resolution stamp images used in this book and for agreeing to co-publish this volume.  Third, we are grateful to the Singapore Heritage Society (SHS) for all it has done to make this publication possible. The fact that three prestigious parties (PMB, SPM and SHS) have deemed it fit to be associated with the production of this book gives us much encouragement to attempt further projects. Tan Wee Kiat Edmund WK Lim Kevin YL Tan Page 93 Chureito Another Japanese landmark from the Japanese Occupation era which no longer exists today is the Chureito.  This Japanese war memorial was built on the summit of Bukit Batok hill.  It honoured the Japanese soldiers who had fought and died during the Japanese invasion of Singapore in 1942. The memorial resembled a tall obelisk and could be seen from a distance.  Interestingly, the Japanese allowed the British forces to build a smaller memorial of their own (a cross) near the Chureito.  Both memorials were later demolished.  However, the broad staircase leading to the memorial can still be seen.  Students interested in Japanese Occupation history may want to visit the Japanese Cemetery Park in Chuan Hoe Avenue off Yio Chu Kang Road. Page 92 Syonan Jinja There used to be a magnificient Japanese Shinto shrine in Singapore.  The Syonan Jinja was a splendid Shinto Shrine erected in 1942 during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore.  ‘Syonan’ was the Japanese name given to Singapore and meant “Light of the South”.  ‘Jinja’ meant ‘shrine’. The shrine was built on a small hill overlooking the waters of MacRitchie Reservoir.  Today, only the wash-basin and the stairs leading to the shrine, made of granite, can be seen.  A plaque describing the site can be seen at the junction of Lornie Road and Sime Road (the road leading to the Singapore Island Country Club). Page 91 Horsburgh Lighthouse Lighthouses play an important part in the safe passage of ships through rocky waters.  Singapore has several lighthouses built for this purpose and three of them were featured on stamps in 1982. Horsburgh Lighthouse, built in 1851, is located about 65 km south-east of Singapore.  The lighthouse stands on a rocky outcrop, known as Pedra Branca, in the South China Sea. Malaysia has in recent years claimed sovereignty over Pedra Branca.  Both Singapore and Malaysia submitted their case to a third party, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, in 2003. Raffles Lighthouse Raffles Lighthouse, built in 1855, is located about 20 kilometres south of Singapore.  The small island on which Raffles Lighthouse stands is known as Pulau Satumu. An additional feature on Pulau Satumu is a 40-metre signalling tower which warns other ships when a super oil-tanker (a very large ship) is in the vicinity.  These super oil-tankers are very big and need a few kilometres of space to come to a complete stop.  Incidentally, the numerous oil-tankers bring in a lot of crude oil for refining.  Singapore may be small but it has become one of the world’s largest oil-refining centres. Page 90 LANDMARKS ‘OUTSIDE’ SINGAPORE There are landmarks that are part of Singapore but not on the main island of Singapore.  These landmarks are lighthouses, which are more familiar with sailors and people out at sea.  Most of these lighthouses were built in the 19th century. In 1982, a special issue celebrated the three best-known Singapore lighthouses:  Sultan Shoal, Horsburgh and Raffles.  Incidentally, Raffles Lighthouse was also featured on the first gold coin ever struck by Singapore, the 1969 $150 gold coin. Sultan Shoal Lighthouse The Sultan Shoal Lighthouse, built in 1896, is located 26 kilometres south-west of Singapore.  It is a landmark that guides ships coming from the Straits of Malacca into the Straits of Singapore and vice-versa.  The Sultan Shoal lighthouse was originally constructed on pillars built into the rocky shoal, as shown in the stamp.  In 1975, the land around the rocky shoal was reclaimed to form an island of about 10,000 square metres. Page 89 The stamps in this series also feature some of the wildlife found in the MacRitchie catchment area.  The first stamp on the left depicts the Colugo (Cynocephalus variegatus) or Malayan Flying Lemur.  The second stamp features the Singapore Adenia (Adenia macrophylla var. singaporeana), a rare forest-edge species which is found in Chek Jawa and along the pipeline in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.  The third stamp shows the Red-Crown Barbet, a colourful bird named Megalaima rafflesii, after Sir Stamford Raffles.  The final stamp features the Common Tree Nymph (Idea stolli logani), a large beautiful butterfly with a wingspan of about 180mm. Page 88 HSBC TREE TOP WALK The Tree Top Walk is a joint effort by the National Parks Board (NParks) and Hongkong-Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) to promote nature appreciation and conservation.  It is located in the forested area between MacRitchie Reservoir and Pierce Reservoir and was opened in November 2004. The Tree Top Walk is a free-standing suspension bridge that is about 250 metres long and 15-25 metres above the ground.  This height enables visitors and scientists to see and study the plant and animal life that goes on in the forest canopy. Page 87 Singapore Zoological Gardens The Singapore Zoological Gardens is not only a well-known landmark in Singapore, it is also one of the best-known zoos in the world.  The Zoo is located in Mandai near the Upper Seletar Reservoir.  It was built at the cost of $9 million and opened on 23 June 1973. A unique feature of the zoo is its ‘open concept’.  Here the animals are not kept in cages but in open enclosures ringed by moats.  The animals’ habitats are designed to closely mimic those of its native environment. Another unique feature of the Zoo is the ‘Night Safari’.  It is the world’s first night zoo and features nocturnal animals or ‘creatures of the night’. The Night Safari, which occupies 40 hectares of land, was offiicially opened by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on 26 May 1994. Page 86 Fort Canning Park A landmark dating back to the 15th century is Fort Canning.  It was originally known as Forbidden Hill or Bukit Larangan.  This highland used to be the home of the early Malay royalty, before the coming of the European powers. This hill was part of the first  botanical gardens established by Raffles in Singapore.  The Botanic Gardens lasted from 1822 to 1829 before it was abandoned.  In 1859, the hill was renamed Fort Canning in honour of Lord Canning, the first Viceroy of India. A military complex built on the hill in the 1920s served as the headquarters of the British Forces for many years.  The first Christian cemetery in Singapore was also located up on Fort Canning.  Today, you can still see the old tombstones embedded along the walls of Fort Canning.  The gateway featured in this stamp leads into the cemetery and was designed by George Dromgold Coleman.  Fort Canning is no longer a military installation and is now a popular public park.  The fruit shown in the stamp is the Nutmeg. Page 85 Marina City Park The 26-hectare Marina City Park is built on reclaimed land.  The park has a spectacular 2-tiered large pond with an 18m-high fountain.  It is also known for the many sculptures that decorate the landscape. Kranji & Kallang Rivers The Kranji Reservoir and River featured in the stamp below (left) is one of the most important impounding reservoirs in the north-western part of Singapore.  It is located near the Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve. The Kallang River and Basin has long been one of Singapore’s most important southern rivers.  Today, it is more important as a recreational hub than as a means of transport. Page 84 Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve This nature reserve, near Kranji River Park, is located in the north of Singapore facing the Malaysian state of Johore. A long boardwalk through the swampy wetland enables the visitor to study mangrove flora and fauna in Sungei Buloh (without the inconvenience of getting wet.) Besides native fauna, the animal life includes migratory birds which come here to escape the cold winter in North Asia.  Some migratory birds have stayed here and are now ‘permanent residents’. It is one of the most important bird sanctuaries in the region. Jurong Bird Park The Jurong Bird Park is Southeast Asia’s largest bird park.  The Park is the brainchild of former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Goh Keng Swee.  It contains more than 500 different species of birds, including birds that cannot fly but can swim (penguins). The park was built at the cost of $3.5 million, and opened on 3 January 1971.  It features a huge ‘walk-in’ aviary and the world’s highest man-made waterfall. Page 83 The stamp and $5 note on this page depict the famous Tembusu tree growing near the Cluny Road entrance of the Gardens.  Its picturesque dipping bough is a popular photography spot. The aerogramme on the opposite page also features the Botanic Garden’s famous lake.  The ‘printed stamp’ features a delightful sculpture, ‘Girl on a Swing’ by English sculptor Sydney Harpley (1927-1992).  It was commissioned by Singapore’s first Chief Minister David Saul Marshall.  He donated this and two other Harpley sculptures – ‘Lady on a Hammock’ & ‘Girl on a Bicycle’ – to the Gardens in 1984. Page 82 Page 81 (cont’d from previous page)… completed in 2007.  As part of the Botanic Gardens’ major refurbishment scheme, a public reference library will be added.  By 2010, an MRT station will be located at the Garden’s doorstep at the junction of Bukit Timah Road and Cluny Road. In 2005, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced plans to develop a second botanic garden on Marina Bay.  Known as ‘Gardens on the Bay’, it consists of 3 gardens covering 94 hectares of land.  An international design competition has been organised to select the best designs for this new showpiece and landmark. Page 80 NATURE PARKS Singapore Botanic Gardens Singapore’s first botanic gardens were located at Fort Canning.  It was opened in 1822 and was abandoned in 1829.  The second Botanic Gardens was founded at its present site in 1859 by the Agri-Horticultural Society.  These Gardens were situated on a 23-hectare site previously owned by Hoo Ah Kay (Whampoa).  In 1866, the Society bought another 100 hectares of land from the Napier Estate.  By 1874, the Society could not keep up with the cost of upkeeping the Gardens and the Government stepped in and took over its administration.  The Singapore Botanic Gardens are bounded by Holland Road, Cluny Road and Tyersall Avenue. The Botanic Gardens may be credited for the birth of the rubber industry in South-east Asia.  The interest in rubber started in 1877 from the twenty-two seedlings planted in the Gardens by the Gardens’ first Director, Henry Ridley.  He was often referred to as ‘Mad Ridley’ for his fervent and oftentimes overly-enthusiastic advocacy of rubber cultivation.  From 1870 to 1903, the Botanic Gardens also housed Singapore’s first zoo.  It closed down for lack of funds. The familiar cone-roofed structure in the stamps is the Bandstand.  Here the well-loved Police Band used to perform regularly for the public. The Singapore Botanic Gardens recently acquired some 11 hectares of land for expansion on its Cluny Road section.  This includes the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden along Bukit Timah Road to be… (cont’d in next page) Page 79 (cont’d from previous page)… location.  It is said to be located on the palm of Singapore’s ‘left hand’; the right palm being Raffles Place. Suntec City Mall is Singapore’s largest shopping mall and is divided into four thematic zones with close to 300 retail outlets.  The length of Suntec City Mall stretches one kilometer from end to end. Page 78 Suntec City Shopping is an activity that tourists and Singaporeans enjoy.  They can visit the Suntec City, which is the biggest privately-owned commercial office complex in Singapore. Launched in 1995, it consists of an international convention centre, four 45-storey high office towers, one 18-storey office block, and a huge shopping mall built around a Fountain Terrace.  The concept for the mega-mall and convention city is the brainchild of the architectural firm of Tsao & McKownn (Singapore) Pte Ltd while its Principal Consultant is DP Architects Pte Ltd. The ‘Fountain of Wealth’ is the world’s largest and covers an area of over 1,600 sq m.  It is made of cast bronze and cost an estimated $9 million to build in 1997.  The Fountain has become a tourist attraction in itself.  Its elevated bronze ring,  supported by four pillars encircles the fountain.  The ring is 21 metres in diameter while the pillars are 14 metres high.  The waters can spurt up to 30 metres in height. Many geomancy or feng-shui experts attribute Suntec City’s success to its excellent… (cont’d on next page) Page 77 Orchard Road The ever-popular shopping destination for local and overseas shoppers is in Orchard Road.  This 1987 stamp shows some of the tall buildings in the ever-busy Orchard Road area.  Known for its shops and hotels, the area is served by three MRT stations:  Orchard, Somerset and Dhoby Ghaut.  The big tall building shown in the centre of the stamp is the Meritus Mandarin Hotel.  The tall building on the left is Comcentre while the building in the background on the right topped by a Chinese pagoda roof is the Marriot Hotel. Peranakan Place Peranakan Place (below) is located just off Orchard Road at the base of Emerald Hill. Orchard Road and Emerald Hill used to be home to plantations and orchards.  Eventually, houses and shophouses were built along the streets in the area.  These terrace houses in Peranakan Place have been beautifully restored. The Peranakans evolved from the inter-marriage of Chinese and Malays.  These Straits Chinese adapted certain Malay customs, language and practices.  A number of Peranakan families used to live in this area. Page 76 Central Business District Singapore’s Central Business District covers the main city centre including Shenton Way and ends up in the Orchard Road area.  It is home to the most important business addresses in the city. Raffles City & Marina Centre A popular shopping and commercial complex in the city centre is the Raffles City complex.  Raffles City sits on the site once occupied by Raffles Institution, Singapore’s first and oldest school.  The complex was designed by world-renowned American-Chinese architect IM Pei. This stamp features a part of the Bras Basah Road area in the 1980s.  Many old and well-known schools such as Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls School, St Joseph’s Institution and the CHIJ Convent were located in Bras Basah Road.  The schools were moved out to the suburbs in the 1970s and 1980s.  The other big buildings in the background on the left are the international hotels in Marina Centre. Page 75 Singapore Science Centre Other than the Jurong Bird Park, another popular tourist destination and landmark in the west of Singapore is the Singapore Science Centre.  It has helped greatly in generating interest in the sciences.  The hands-on exhibits in the Science Centre have proven popular with children and adults alike. The Science Centre was designed by Raymond Woo and opened in 1977.  Ten years later, the Omni-Theatre was added.  Two separate stamp issues have featured the Science Centre.  The first was issued in conjunction with its opening in 1977 while the second was issued in conjunction with its 10th anniversary.  In recent years, the Science Centre has featured many block-buster exhibitions including one on the Lord of the Rings. Page 74 Satellite Earth Station Other than being a transportation hub, Singapore aspires to be a communication hub too.  Satellites are a key feature in the transportation of information and ideas. A satellite-earth station enables the earth station to receive and transmit signals to the satellites that orbit above Singapore.  In this way international telephone calls, ‘live’ TV coverage of overseas events, etc. are made available to consumers. There are several satellite earth stations in Singapore.  The first one was opened in 1971 on Sentosa Island.  Besides being featured on a stamp, the Sentosa satellite earth station was also featured on the $1 currency note issued in 1987. The above 4-part stamp is quite possibly the rarest and most valuable stamp featured in this book. Page 73 Changi Airport Control Tower The prominent and familiar Changi Airport Control Tower directs the civilian air traffic coming in and out of Singapore. The logos of the five major government agencies that teamed up to build the Changi Airport and its landmark Control Tower in 1981 are shown on the stamp sheet.  The agencies are:  Parks and Recreation Department, Public Works Department, Telecommunications Authority of Singapore, Port of Singapore Authority, and Department of Civil Aviation.  Examine the logos and try to match them with the respective agencies. Page 72 Changi Airport Terminal 1 and 2 Singapore Changi Airport, the air transportation landmark, presently operates two terminals.  It has consistently been ranked among the world’s best airports.  It may be difficult for you to believe that the land on which the airport is built was once swamp and part of the runway was once the sea. It was the British who first used Changi as a military airbase.  Later, after the War, it was expanded and when Paya Lebar Airport became too small, it was decided that the new international airport be built at Changi. Terminal One, which opened in 1981, is fronted by a distinctive Control Tower (shown in the top stamp).  On the next page you can see a separate special stamp issue featuring the Control Tower. Terminal Two (T2) was opened in 1991.  A driverless light-rail train (LRT) system, the Changi Skytrain connects one terminal to the other.  A picture of the train is in the foreground of the bottom stamp.  Changi’s Terminal Three (T3) is set to open in 2008. Page 71 Paya Lebar Airport Terminal By the early 1950s, Kallang Airport was becoming too small for the increase in air traffic and had problems accommodating the larger planes being built.  In 1955, Paya Lebar Airport was completed and it remained Singapore’s main airport right up till Changi Airport opened in 1981.  Paya Lebar Airport now serves the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).  The plane shown in the Paya Lebar Airport stamp is the world-famous Concorde which flew faster than the speed of sound.  On 26 October 1977, British Airways and Singapore Airlines commenced a thrice-weekly Concorde service between London and Singapore via Bahrain.  It covered the distance in only 9 hours. The Paya Lebar Airport and the Concorde are also pictured on the Singapore $20 currency note issued in 1976. Page 70 AIRPORTS Kallang Airport Terminal The first civilian airport in Singapore is the Kallang Airport.  It opened in 1937.  An interesting feature of the airport was that it catered for both airplanes and seaplanes.  The seaplanes used the Kallang River while the runway for the airplanes was on land now known as Old Airport Road in Kallang Airport Estate. The beautiful art-deco building was the best airport in the British Empire when it was completed in 1937.  The airport terminal building has been preserved and served as the headquarters of the People’s Association.  Plans are afoot to turn it into a lifestyle hub. Page 69 Jinriksha Station The Jinrikshaw Station building, completed in 1904, is another familiar landmark in Chinatown.  It is located at the junction of two big roads, Neil Road and Tanjong Pagar Road. The jinrickshaw was a two-wheeled carriage which could seat two passengers.  It was pulled by a jinrikshaw-puller who often ran bare-footed through the streets.  The life of a jinriksha-puller was very difficult and many tried to escape their misery by smoking opium.  However, opium addiction would add to their misery instead.  The suicide rate among jinrikshaw-pullers was very high.  At its peak in 1919 there were 9,000 jinrikshaws and 20,000 pullers.  Today, there are no jinrikshaws in Singapore.  By the 1920s, they were gradually replaced by trishaws depicted in the stamp above (left) which are currently still in use.  The Jinrikshaw Station is now occupied by various restaurants and shops. Page 68 Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area Bounded by Neil Road, Maxwell Road, Peck Seah Street, Wallich Street, Tanjong Pagar Road and Craig Road, the area was given conservation status on 7 July 1989.  It contains mainly two- and three-storey shophouses of the Early, Transitional and Late Shophouse Styles.  The Jinrikshaw Station, at the junction of Neil Road and Tanjong Pagar Road is part of the conservation area.  You can see the Jinrikshaw Station at the bottom left corner of the $2 stamp on the right. Today, many of these shophouses are used for commercial purposes.  Various restaurants and tea houses can be found in this locality. This historic area near Chinatown is demarcated by Craig Road, Tanjong Pagar Road, Wallich Street, Peck Seah Street, Maxwell Road and Neil Road.