HISTORY, GROWTH AND FUTURE OF SINGAPORE RIVER

Abstract

What we may not have realized quite so clearly is that water, which is just as essential to human life as land, has played an equally decisive role. The story of man's relation with rivers can tell us as much about his evolution as the story of the land and its development. From the beginning, rivers have drawn men into settlements and then encouraged them to expand those groupings into a larger urbanised form. They fostered a man's earliest desires to trade their surpluses with other men and rivers and seas still carry an enormous proportion of the goods that are moved about the world. The Singapore River is one such river. It was once the main artery of our entrepot trade and its Boat Quay area was where our forefathers carved a toehold in this land. The activity around that tiny enclave helped propel Singapore into prominence as an international trading and shipping centre. But progress in turn has effected changes along the River. The relocation of the lighters and squatters will make way for the big clean up of the River as its purpose and importance appear to change. Too often, a society which is modernising tears down old historical buildings without much consideration. Progress is necessary, and from an economic viewpoint it is difficult to stand in its way. However, Singapore has reached a stage when it can afford to think about preservation. Progress can be achieved without sacrificing all that has gone before. However, preservation does not have to mean absolute conservation of everything. It is a difficult problem that calls for much sensitivity on the part of planners and administrators. Will the remnants of an historic past simply crumble away or be crowded out by encroaching skyscrappers and construction sites? An" estate manager should be aware of all factors which affect the development and management of the built environment in both an economic and social framework and therefore in this study,.the writer hopes to highlight the need to conserve and rejuvenate the Boat Quay stretch of the Singapore River even in the midst of modernising Singapore