Singapore River given new lease of life

Press, 22 August 1989, Page 15

Singapore River given new lease of life

By

NAYLOR HILLARY,

who visited Singapore as a guest

of Malaysian Airlines and Pan Pacific Hotels.

For many years the Singapore River looked like an open rubbish dump, a seedy tidal stream through the centre of the city. The smell reminded those who passed that the river was a major commercial artery, spoilt by the junk and pollution dumped in its waters. Development of a new container port and new ways of handling freight have given the river a new lease of life. Reclamation work in the old harbour has turned the mouth of the river into a basin accessible only to a handful of small craft. As well, the Singapore Government 10 years ago set out to clean up the river and to make its waters, and its banks, attractive to visitors and local residents. There has been some success, although the waters still look too murky for swimming or fishing, and rubbish still bobs in pockets of the winding stream. But the smell has gone. Authorities feel confident enough about the quality of the river to permit two tour companies to operate river cruises. The river provides an unexpected way to see the contrasts of Singapore. Old shop houses and godowris (or warehouses) still line the banks. Many are derelict but an ambitious programme to resore them and to convert them into shops and restaurants is under way. Bumboats have been the river work horses for many years. Broad and flat bottomed, they once served as lighters to move cargo to and from the dozens of ships anchored off the port.

Today, new bumboats, each with traditional eyes painted on the bow to see the way safely ahead, carry groups of visitors along the river and round the inner harbour.

The boats are low enough to pass under four of the river’s traffic bridges. The bridges themselves, the oldest being the Cavenagh Bridge, built in 1869, are part of the river’s attractions.

Coupled with the nineteenth-century buildings — Chinese and colonial — they give a sense of Singapore’s past and its growth since Sir Stamford Raffles first landed on the river in 1819 to found a British base. From bumboat level the most spectacular sights are the new highrise office blocks of Singapore's central business district. Towering banks dwarf the shop houses of the river bank, reminders that modem Singapore is one of the financial capitals of the world. Half-hour cruises on the river, in bumboats, with an English commentry on the sights, leave from the quay beside the statue of Raffles on the north bank of the river, behind Singapore’s Parliament House. The cost is $5 (about $4 NZ). Longer cruises, lasting an hour, leave from Clifford Pier on what was once Singapore’s bustling waterfront. These include a stop for refreshments at hawker stalls on the river and cost sSingls for adults. The tide in the Singapore River rises and falls about three metres. At low tide exposed mudbanks make river cruising difficult. Both boat operators advise visitors to check the state of the tides to see if cruises are operating.

The centre of Singapore

and its river as they were in 1975. The river has been cleaned up over the last 18 months and now has a new lease of life.