The Dalhousie Obelisk
One of the decorative pinnacle lamps
on the four corners of the Obelisk.
A commemorative plaque on the
Obelisk.
The
Dalhousie Obelisk (Chinese: 达豪施纪念碑) is a memorial obelisk in the
Civic District of Singapore
, located on the north bank of the Singapore
River in the Downtown Core, within
the Central Area in
Singapore's central business
district.
The
obelisk is situated at Empress Place
, near the Asian Civilisations Museum
and the Victoria Theatre
and Concert Hall
, and the Anderson Bridge
near the mouth of the
Singapore River.
History
The Dalhousie Obelisk was built to commemorate the second visit to
Singapore, in February 1850, of the
Marquis of
Dalhousie, who was the
Governor-General of India from
1848 to 1856. He was accompanied by his wife, the
Marchioness, and the objective of the visit was
to consider the reduction of
administrative expenditure.
However, prominent
merchants and
traders, who felt that Singapore's
infrastructure was not keeping pace with its
economic development, wanted
Dalhousie to exert his influence in their favour. To win over
Dalhousie, they renamed the
pier by which he
came ashore Dalhousie Ghaut and marked it with a commemorative
obelisk. The memorial was also built to remind succeeding merchants
of the benefits of
free trade.
The Dalhousie Obelisk was first sited at Dalhousie Ghaut (also
known as Dalhousie Pier). In 1886,
land
reclamation for the building of Connaught Drive included the
part of the
Singapore River where
the obelisk stood.
To save the obelisk for posterity, it was
removed to another site on the same line but nearer the sea wall, where the Cenotaph
is
now. In 1891, it was moved again, this time on the
instruction of Governor Sir Cecil Clementi
Smith, to its present site in front of the Victoria Theatre
and Concert Hall, after the Anderson Bridge was built in 1909.
Architecture
The
Dalhousie Obelisk is an important architectural element in Empress
Place but somewhat neglected and obscured by trees. It was designed by
John Turnbull Thomson when he was a
Government
Surveyor.
He was
obviously inspired by "Cleopatra's
Needle" on the Thames Embankment
in London
.
References
- National Heritage Board (2002), Singapore's 100 Historic
Places, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3
- Norman Edwards, Peter Keys (1996), Singapore - A Guide to
Buildings, Streets, Places, Times Books International, ISBN
9971-65-231-5
External links
Wikis
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