Soon after the founding of Singapore traders from all over the world began to arrive. In Sir Stamford Raffles' 1822 Town Plan, a section of the town was designated a business centre. Raffles' personal choice was the swampy area next to and south-west of the Singapore River, but land-fill was necessary to reclaim the area. So earth and rocks were excavated from a nearby hill which was situated between Commercial Square and Battery Road. Between 200 to 300 coolies and convicts toiled to level and clear this hill, its soil used to fill drains, holes, gaps, and the swampy south-west bank of the river, upon which later stood Fort Fullerton; and inwards, the soil raised the ground level of Battery Road, and other streets leading up to where Commercial Square emerged. Raffles personally supervised this project in 1823.
Commercial Square was renamed Raffles Place, after the founder of Singapore, on 8 March 1858. The rectangular centre of Raffles Place was often referred to as Raffles Square. This square has gone through various changes of design.
During World War II, and on 8 December 1941, Japanese planes made Raffles Place one of their targets of destruction. The next major disaster was on 20 November 1972 when the Robinson's Department Store fire completely destroyed one of Singapore's legendary landmarks. At least nine people including a pregnant woman were burnt to death inside two elevators. Right until then, Robinson's Store, John Little's Department Store, and a Chinese Emporium were the most popular shopping places in Singapore. On 8 August 1988 (the auspicious triple 8 number thought to bring good luck in Chinese belief), Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew officially declared opened, the world's tallest building then, outside of the USA, the 60-storey OUB Centre at Raffles Place. On 12 December 1987, Raffles Place Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Station was opened with accesses from each end of Raffles Square
Key Features
Commercial Square
Commercial Square as it was known pre-1850s, was an open space, 200 yards long by 50 yards wide, with gardens in the centre. The boom in the economy led to the development of many financial institutions and business houses that sprouted along the nearby Singapore River and around Commercial Square. Raffles' plan seemed successful. Here on Commercial Square sprang up a trading community made up of the earliest banks, trading houses and large departmental stores. The four earliest banks established in Commercial Square were the Oriental bank of London, the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India and China, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, and the Asiatic Banking Corporation. Other well-known commercial houses were Jose D'Almeida and Sons, the Straits Trading Company, S.M. Puckridge, Syme & Co., Little Cursetjee & Co., Godowns of Mr. Perry, and later Asian stores like Gian Singh's, and Naina Mohamed & Sons. The Square was also the most lucrative station for the jinrikisha of the time.
Raffles Place
New buildings have, in the past decades, sprouted around Raffles Place. On the old location of the Robinsons Department store stands the 60-storey gleaming Overseas Union Bank. Diagonally across is the 42-storey Chartered Bank Chambers and the 25-storey Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Building. The 47-storey Raffles Tower/Shell Tower has been home to various banks since Raffles Place gained popularity in the 1980s over Shenton Way as the location for banks. The Raffles Place MRT is also a landmark for modern Singaporeans who often use it as a meeting point. Housing shops and eateries in its underbelly, the station is also one of several civil defence stations which can hold thousands in the instance a bomb shelter is needed. The station's entrance has detailing reminiscent of the John Little Building's facade dated 1911 which was fashioned in a Spanish style.
Because of its commercial character and high real estate value, the area has undergone many changes for more than 180 years, but Raffles Place has remained and still is the heart of the financial district in Singapore.
Additions and Alterations
1823 : Began as Commercial Square with a garden of flowering plants.
1920s : A carpark was added, which also had a Jinrickisha station.
1961 : An underground carpark built by the Public Works Department.
1972 : Pedestrianisation of the area by the Public Works Department.
1987 : Mass Rapid Transit Station, " Raffles Place (MRT) Station" becomes operational.
Variant Names
English name: Originally called Commercial Square, and most other ethnic names would refer to the environment of the 'Commercial Square period'.
Chinese names:
(1) In Hokkien, Thor Khor Koei meaning "European firms' street", a reflection of the number of Europeans who set up shop there.
(2) In Hokkien, Tho Kho Khau meaning "Mouth of the godowns".
(3) In Hokkien, Hua Hooi Kak meaning "Flower garden corner".
(4) In Hokkien, Hue-hng kak meaning "Flower garden square".
(5) In Hokkien, Tho-kha hue-hng, or in Cantonese, Tho-fu fa-yun (pin) meaning "Beside the godowns' flower garden".
Tamil Name: Kidangu Theruvu means "Street of the godowns".
Author
Vernon Cornelius
References
Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore: 1819-1867 (p. 88). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC)
Goodwood Journal, 1st. Qtr., 7. (1978).
(Call no.: RSING 052 GHCHJ)
Lee, Y. M. (1982, February 19). Banks flowing back to Raffles Place. The Straits Times.
Like a temple erected to Mammon. (1987, December 20). The Straits Times.
Further Readings
Sheppard, M. (Ed.). (1982). Singapore 150 years (pp. 211, 218). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 SIN)
Firmstone, H. W. (1905, February). Chinese names of streets and places in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 42, 86, 122.
(Call no.: RSING 959.5 FIR)
Prime Minister to declare open OUB Centre on 8-8-88 (1988, July 29). The Business Times, p. 9.
The information in this article is valid as at 1999 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
