Project - Singapore's History Investigated - Fort Palmer

This is one of a series of relatively unknown historical sites in Singapore from both colonial and pre-colonial eras which I intend to research and then physically investigate just for the heck of it. I'll keep adding more sites under this heading as I find more interesting stuff to investigate/research.

Anyone else keen on joining me please feel free to do so. Each of the sites will comprise mini-projects of their own, and will come in two phases;

1. research phase:- where we collect data and information on what, who and most importantly where they are located

2. investigation phase:- we suit-up, arm ourselves with cameras and lots of mosquito repellent and GO (if possible)

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Fort Palmer

The present site of Foot Tet Soo Khek Temple on Palmer Road (formerly Palmer Battery Road), sits at the foot of remnants of Mount Palmer where a former colonial military fortification (Fort Palmer c.1859-1915) was once sited. The temple is believed to be one of the earliest Chinese immigrant temples established in Singapore and is certainly the oldest Hakka institution on the island. Unverified anecdotal accounts claim the temple to pre-date the arrival of Raffles. The existing structure dates back to the mid 19th century, and the earliest known record of the temple was depicted in a 1844 map as a "Joss House".19th century maps also indicated that the several village settlements are in the immediate vicinity of the temple. Tanjong Malang and Tanjong Pagar are the southeastern most prominent spits between Keppel Harbor and the main roadway off Singapore town. The channel into Keppel Harbor from the Tanjong Malang promontory has long been employed by local and Southeast Asian vessels prior to the arrive of the British, and it is possible that earlier coastal settlements are located on the former shoreline.

Named after John Palmer (b.1766 - d.1836), a merchant from Calcutta who had purchased the hill and its surrounding area, the hill was the first to have a small bungalow at its peak in the 1820s. Palmer was also known as the founder of the Indian Mechantile Community and had set up his own firm, Palmer and Co. On 1 January 1827, Robert Hardie obtained a 999-year lease from the Secretary of State for British India, for that parcel of land. In that same year, John Palmer's Company went bankrupt due to his generousity and inability to refuse loans of money to his friends, so he sold a portion of the hill to a Parsi who turned it into a Parsi burial ground in 1828. Forty years later, on 23 May 1867, Robert Hardie sold it for $6,000 to Hoo Ah Kay, Parsick Joachim and Cursetjee Pestonjee Lalla, as tenants in common and not as joint tenants. Not long after, on 12 May 1867, C.P. Lalla sold his share to Hoo Ah Kay and Parsick Joachim as tenants in common for $2,750.

From June 1827, Mount Palmer had already been singled out as a fortification, part of a chain of batteries to protect the town and east coast from attack by sea. In 1855, at the southern end of the hill, the government proceeded with its plans to build the Mount Palmer Defence Battery.

A gun battery existed on the slopes of Mount Palmer from c. 1859, guarding the eastern approaches to the New Harbour, and by 1870s the battery may have became derelict. In the early 1870s, suggestions were raised on possible removal of the hill as it was obstructing access to the town. The government decided to construct a road from Collyer Quay (through Robinson and Anson Roads, and later Keppel Road) to the docks and for this purpose, some Mount Palmer land was purchased by the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, from Hoo Ah Kay in 1872, and the trustees of Parsick Joachim on 17 January 1878. Also in 1878, there were fears of a war with Russia, and, on the recommendation of the Colonial Engineer and Governor Sir William Robinson, it was decided to reconstitute the defence works on Mt. Palmer.

A second lease of life came about for Fort Palmer in the late 1870s when defenses of Singapore were improved and a series of fortifications were constructed at Pasir Panjang, Blakang Mati, Pulau Brani, and Tanjong Katong.  In 1888 a major war gaming exercise took place at the foot of Mount Palmer and the beaches of Telok Ayer and Tanjong Malang with the landing of some 500 troops along with field artillery pieces from HMS Firebrand.  This is to the addition of some 200 soldiers role playing the defending army at Fort Palmer.  Some time between 1905 and 1915, Fort Palmer was demolished along with the bulk of the hill, becoming filling for the second Telok Ayer reclamation project.  Fort Palmer was the last military installation to be removed from Tanjong Pagar, and the entire Mount Palmer except for a minor remnant which can still be seen today just off Palmer Road, was eventually leveled to fill and reclaim swamp land.

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Two 10-Inch BL Guns were mounted at Fort Palmer