SINGAPORE: The site of this year’s National Day Parade, the Padang, as well as the Cavenagh, Anderson and Elgin Bridges in the vicinity, will be gazetted as national monuments.The Padang will be the first green, open space to join the Republic’s stable of national monuments.
Likewise, this will be the first time that the National Heritage Board’s (NHB) Preservation of Sites and Monuments (PSM) division is adding bridges to its list.
The gazetting of the two new monuments – the bridges will be protected as an ensemble – will bring the total number of national monuments in Singapore to 74.
The move is part of the authorities’ commemorative efforts for the Singapore Bicentennial and was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday.
The Padang is chock-full of history. Some evidence suggests that it was where negotiations between the British, Temenggong Abdul Rahman and Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor took place in the lead up to the 1819 treaty, which allowed the British East India Company to set up a trading post here.
Noting that the Padang is a special location, Heng said the site has witnessed many historic events.
In 1959, when Singapore became self-independent, Yusof Ishak – the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara who went on to become the first President of the Republic – was inaugurated at the Padang.
It was also where the national coat of arms was launched and, in 1966, the first National Day Parade was held there.
“These are important events that mark our progress as a nation, and we will designate it as a national monument, ” said Heng.
A national monument gazette is the highest form of recognition for a structure or site’s significance. Evaluation factors include its historical, architectural and social importance to Singapore’s built heritage.
NHB said the three bridges were gazetted as they were the most architecturally significant of the 14 bridges that span the Singapore River.Heng said the bridges reflected Singapore’s growth as a flourishing city as well as a trading port.
“They speak about our link to the rest of the world, ” he said.
Located at the historic mouth of the Singapore River, the bridges symbolically connected Singapore with the world as they facilitated trade and transport links that were essential for the growth of the island in the 19th century, NHB said.Furthermore, they highlight the relationship of trade and collaboration between Great Britain and her colonies, having been each manufactured in Britain before being shipped to Singapore. — The Straits Times/Asia News Network
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
