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Tanjong Pagar ( alternatively spelled ''Tanjung Pagar'') is a historic district located within the Central Business District in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the
Downtown Core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with many integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buildi ...
under the
Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. Mission The authority was established on 1 April ...
's
urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
zones.


Etymology

The area of what Tanjong Pagar is now was said to be initially a fishing village called ''Salinter''. Tanjong Pagar ( Jawi: تنجوڠ ڤاڬر) in Malay means "cape of stakes", possibly due to '' kelongs'' (offshore fishing traps constructed using wooden stakes and cross pieces) along the coast from the village of Tanjong Malang till Tanjong Pagar. In George Drumgoole Coleman's 1836 ''Map of the Town'', there is a road, ''Tanjong Passar'', from South Bridge Road to the fishing village and there is a possibility that Tanjong Pagar is a corruption of the ''Tanjong Passar.'' According to the ''
Malay Annals The ''Malay Annals'' ( Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'', Jawi: سجاره ملايو), originally titled ''Sulalatus Salatin'' (''Genealogy of Kings''), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and demise of the g ...
'', the villages along the coast of Singapore was constantly attacked by shoals of
swordfish Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordf ...
. The Sri Maharajah, on the advice of a boy, Hang Nadim, built a defensive structure of banana stems along the coastal side of the villages which trapped the swordfishes as they attacked the villages. In the 1850s, when shipping activities increased, the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company was formed in 1864 along with wharves being built along the coast. This led to the possibly naming the area as Tanjong Pagar where ''Tanjong'' means " cape" and ''pagar'' means "
fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...
" or enclosed space as the ships are moored in the wharves. Tanjong Pagar likely refer to the general area of
PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pros ...
Gate 3 near the Victoria Dock. Tanjong Pagar Road is known as ''tan jiong pa kat'' in Hokkien ( Min Nan), which is
phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
.


History

Since 1600s, Tanjong Pagar, located between the
dock A dock (from Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The exact meaning vari ...
s and the town, was an
enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
for the thousands of Chinese and Indian dock workers who had migrated to Singapore from the mid-19th century.


Points of interest


Tras Street

The street name "Tras Street" dates from an 1898 municipal resolution to "use names of rivers and districts in the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...
as being better adapted to the purpose f naming streetsthan the names of persons or families." Tras Street today is a thriving night spot featuring many pubs, clubs and KTV bars.


Cantonment Road

Cantonment Road got its name from the contingent of Indian
sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its ot ...
s stationed here in 1819. They had accompanied
Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is ...
to Singapore and were asked to stay. In
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, the English term for permanent military accommodation, as established by the sepoys, is "
cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...
". The local
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
had another name for Cantonment Road. They called it ''Ba Suo Wei'', meaning "end of Bukit Pasoh". Outram Road, which used to be part of Cantonment Road, only became a separate
thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highw ...
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 Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...
plantations on its slopes. Montgomerie died in 1856 and his land on Duxton was
auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition e ...
ed off. Fourteen acres went to
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
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
shophouse A shophouse is a building type serving both as a residence and a commercial business. It is defined in dictionary as a building type found in Southeast Asia that is "a shop opening on to the pavement and also used as the owner's residence", a ...
s in Duxton Hill and the more affluent Chinese moved to the area.


Tanjong Pagar Plaza

Along the stretch of Tanjong Pagar Road, there is a semi-circle portion of road where it used to be called Cheng Cheok Street. Due to the shape of the road, the Hokkiens called the street ''gu kak hang'', meaning "the ox's horns". The Cheng Cheok Street was named after Khoo Cheng Cheok, who is believed to be the brother of rice merchant Khoo Cheng Tiong who is the president of the Thong Chai Medical Institution. As the street is the shape of a semi-circle and both ends connected to Tanjong Pagar Road, it was eventually renamed as part of Tanjong Pagar Road. On this stretch, there used to be pre-war
shophouse A shophouse is a building type serving both as a residence and a commercial business. It is defined in dictionary as a building type found in Southeast Asia that is "a shop opening on to the pavement and also used as the owner's residence", a ...
s before it was demolished and Tanjong Pagar Plaza, a commercial complex, was built over the original site.


Railway transport

The Malaysian railway company (
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) (Jawi: كريتاڤي تانه ملايو برحد) or Malayan Railways Limited is the main rail operator in Peninsular Malaysia. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era, when it was firs ...
) ran trains to a terminal railway station here. Three daily train ran to
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
and other trains served other parts of Malaysia. Following an agreement between Malaysia and Singapore on 24 May 2010, the station ceased operation on 1 July 2011. KTM's southern terminus is now at the Woodlands Train Checkpoint near the
causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tr ...
. The Singaporean government has promised to conserve the
Tanjong Pagar railway station Tanjong Pagar railway station ( ms, Stesen Keretapi Tanjong Pagar; ; ta, தஞ்சோங் பகார் ரயில் நிலையம்), also called Singapore railway station ( ms, Stesen Keretapi Singapura; ; ta, சிங்� ...
building and may integrate it into future developments on the site.


Maxwell Food Centre

The Maxwell Food Centre dates back to pre-war days as a fresh food market and
food centre A hawker centre or cooked food centre is an open-air complex commonly found in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. They were built to provide a more sanitary alternative to mobile hawker carts and contain many stalls that sell different variet ...
. In 1986, it was converted into a food centre, housing hawkers from the vicinity. The present existing
hawker centre A hawker centre or cooked food centre is an open-air complex commonly found in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. They were built to provide a more sanitary alternative to mobile hawker carts and contain many stalls that sell different variet ...
was renovated in 2001. Stallholders are mainly those from the essentially
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...
ese neighbourhood, with many from the famed food street, China Street. A wide variety of authentic local favourites are available at Maxwell Food Centre, with slight
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
bent. Popular dishes include ''hum chim peng'' (a crusty fried pancake), ''ngor hiong'' or five spices meat roll of Hokkien origin, and herbal broths made from home-brewed recipes.


Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre

The Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre (TAPAC) housed arts full-time and part-time groups of different cultural traditions and art disciplines, and had the distinction of being the first property to be acquired under the National Arts Council's Arts Housing Scheme in 1985. It was located at Cecil Street next to
Tanjong Pagar MRT station Tanjong Pagar MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East West line located at Maxwell Road between the junctions of Peck Seah Street and Cecil Street in Downtown Core, Singapore. The station was built in the ...
.


Little Korea

Tanjong Pagar has been greatly influenced by Korean culture in recent years and has earned the nickname of Little Korea and
Koreatown A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...
. As many as 15 Korean food outlets have sprung up in a 300 m stretch of Tanjong Pagar Road near Duxton Hill over the last few years. Apart from Korean eateries, there are also many wedding boutiques along Tanjong Pagar Road and at least three wedding boutiques there offer Korean-themed wedding photography.


AIA Tanjong Pagar

AIA Tanjong Pagar Building, built in 1920, recently restored to former glory. It is located at the junction between Neil Road and Keong Saik Road. AIA Tanjong Pagar Building houses the "American Insurance Agency".


Tanjong Pagar Centre

The Tanjong Pagar Centre was completed in 2016 and is the
tallest building in Singapore The city-state of Singapore has over 9,000 completed Tower block, high-rises, the majority located in the Downtown Core, the city centre of Singapore. In the city, there are 96 skyscrapers. The Guoco Tower currently holds the title of tallest b ...
.


One Bernam

One Bernam is a newly constructed
condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
type 35-storeys tower containing 351 residential units.


Politics

Currently, the entire place is divided between Tanjong Pagar GRC and Jalan Besar GRC. Both of them are under the ruling party, PAP. The western part of Tanjong Pagar is mainly located in the Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru division of
Tanjong Pagar GRC The Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Central and Western Singapore. The five divisions consists: Buona Vista, Queenstown, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Tanjong Pagar- Tiong Bahr ...
. Since the electoral ward was created in 1955,
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
of the
People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
served as its Member of Parliament until his death on 23 March 2015. Lee's replacement is
Indranee Thurai Rajah Indranee Thurai Rajah ( ta, இந்திராணி ராஜா; born 1963) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance since 2018, Second Minister for Nati ...
, whose Tanglin-Cairnhill ward was later halved into Henderson-Dawson and Moulmein-Cairnhill. The eastern half of the area is also located in the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng division of Jalan Besar GRC whose MP is
Josephine Teo Josephine Teo Li Min (née Yong; zh, s=杨莉明, t=楊莉明, poj=Iôⁿ Lī-bêng, p=Yáng Lìmíng; born 1968) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of the Cyb ...
since 2020, replacing
Lily Neo Lily Neo (née Tirtasana; ; born 12 August 1953) is a Singaporean medical practitioner and former politician. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she was a Member of Parliament (MP) between 1997 and 2020. Early life an ...
. It was part of Tanjong Pagar GRC from 2011 to 2015.


In media

* ''Last Train from Tanjong Pagar, 2014''. Epigram Books (Singapore) *''Singapore Shophouse Walks: Chinatown, Blair Plain, Duxton Hill, Tanjong Pagar.'' Kildi Photo (Singapore)


References


Works cited

*


External links

* National Heritage Board (2002), ''Singapore's 100 Historic Places'', Archipelago Press, {{Coord missing, Singapore Protected areas of Singapore Downtown Core (Singapore) Outram, Singapore Hawker centres in Singapore