Al Fahidi Fort, Dubayy, United Arab Emirates

Al Fahidi Fort (Arabic: حصن الفهيدي‎), the original tower built in 1787, is the oldest existing building in Dubai and was originally built to defend the town of Dubai which grew up along the banks of the creek. The fort was expanded over the years, mostly in the 1830s to 1850s under the rule of Late Sheikh Maktoum Bin Buti, to its current form with 3 towers on 3 of its for corners.

Constructed of mortar and coral from the shallow waters of the creek it formed part of a defensive wall around the original town. Parts of the original wall can still be seen in front of the fort, and parts of the wall in the Bastakiya have been excavated for display.

It currently houses the Dubai Museum which opened in 1970.

Kota Johor Lama (Old Johor Fort), Johor, Malaysia

The Kota Johor Lama was part of a string of defensive fortifications built by the Johor Empire along the Johor river.

Faced with enemies such as the Portuguese and Acheh, the Johor Sultanate built eight forts along the whole length of the Johor river, from Sayong Pinang to Johor Lama and Kota Batu at the river's estuary, more than 50 km downstream.

After the fall of Melaka 1511, the Melaka Sultanate shattered into remnant centers, at Muar, Pagoh, Bentan and at Kampar in Sumatra. When Sultan Mahmud died in Kampar in 1528, his successor Sultan Alauddin set up his administrative centre at Pekan Tua, about 11km upriver from modern Kota Tinggi in Johor and established his first fort known as Kota Kara further downstream on the Johor river.

The Portuguese under Estavao da Gama, with 400 soldiers and 2 large galleons, invaded Johor in June of 1535. From the river, Kota Kara was attacked and bombarded while Portuguese troops, landing a few days later, shelled the fort from a neighbouring hill. These initial attacks were repulsed by the defenders. The Malays, thinking to push the Portuguese out, sallied out of their fortified ramparts to attack the retreating Portuguese. However, what started as a victory, turned into a rout when the Portuguese pushed the Malays back and captured the empty fort, burning it to the ground.

Sultan Alauddin, forced to flee Pekan Tua, set up another fort further upriver at Sayong Pinang, rebuilding Kota Kara when the Portuguese had left.

However, Estavao da Gama returned and attacked again with another forced comprising Malay mercenaries and about 400 Portuguese soldiers. Sultan Alauddin was forced to relocated yet again, this time moving his capital to Johor Lama, nearer the river estuary. He built a fort at Kota Batu to guard the river approach to the new capital.

In 1539, Acheh attacked Johor's vassal, Aru, with a fleet of 160 vessels. Mustering a fleet in defence, Johor together with allies from Siak and Perak invaded and recaptured Aru the next year at the battle of Sungai Paneh.

In revenge, in 1564 Acheh attacked Kota Batu and Johor Lama. The fort and town were completely destroyed with its hundreds of cannon and artillery pieces seized together with the Sultan. The Johor Sultan was brought in chains back to Acheh, where he died. The Sultan's son, was installed by the Achinese as Sultan Muzaffah Shah and he rebuilt Kota Batu and built his capital Seluyut, 15km upstream near Kota Tinggi.

Sultan Muzaffah Shah died in 1571 and was succeeded by Sultan Ali Jalla Abdul Jalil Shah II who rebuilt Johor Lama and enlarged Kota Batu, equipping it with hundreds of cannon. Johor Lama quickly became a thriving centre of trade, posing a threat to the Portuguese at Melaka. In 1576, a Portuguese fleet again attacked the fort but were beaten back. They returned 2 years later, in 1578 but were again forced to retreat, unable to beat the fort's defenses.

In 1582, the Achinese who were Johor's overlords, decided that their subject Sultan had grown too powerful and they attacked Kota Batu and Johor Lama. This time however, the Achinese were beaten back, when the Portuguese, playing bothsides, sent ships in its defence.

In 1586 the Sultan repaid the Portuguese with an attack on Melaka with a fleet of 100 vessels. Besieged, the Portuguese counterattacked with a sortie by 100 Portuguese and 600 Malay mercenaries equipped with firearams and routed a besieging 2000-strong Minangkabau force. The Johor fleet led personally by the Sultan, sailed into the harbour and launched a final assault and landed on one-side of the city, while another forced attacked from the the other. However, neither were able to breach Melaka's formidable defensive walls.

Retreating, Johor was pursued by Antonio de Noronha with a fleet of galleons right up to the walls of Kota Batu. Bombarding Kota Batu, the Portuguese landed a force of about 300 men and assaulted it. However, the heavily defended fort easily repulsed the Portuguese forcing them to return to Melaka.

Determined to rid themselves of their rivals, the Portuguese dispatched a much larger fleet from Goa later that year and again beseiged Kota Batu and Johor Lama. On August 15th, 1586 the fort's walls were finally breached. Exacting revenge, the Portuguese ships raided the entire length of the Johor River, destroying and capturing thousands of cannons and artillery pieces. Sultan Ali retreated upstream and built yet another fort at Batu Sawar but this too was quickly attacked by the Portuguese and captured.

This proved to be the effective end to the Johor Empire. Eventhough Sultan Ali rebuilt the fort at Batu Sawar and his son Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II constructed his own fort across the river from Batu Sawar called Kota Seberang, Johor never recovered and its forts were left neglected in ruins.

Fort Margherita, Kuching, Sawarak, Malaysia

Fort Margherita on the north bank of the Sarawak River was completed in 1879 by Charles Brooke, the 2nd Rajah of Sarawak to guard his capital city, Kuching against pirate attacks. Named after Charles Brooke's wife Ranee Margaret Alice Lili de Windt, it was built in a late English renaissance style. The guns have never been fired in anger. The Fort has been under 4 different administrations, the Brooke Dynasty, Imperial Japan, the British Colonial government and currently the Malaysian State Government of Sarawak.

The Buona Vista Battery

The Buona Vista Battery had two Mark II 15-Inch Guns and was thought to be located within the current Police Training grounds east of the junction of Clementi Road (Then called Reformatory Road) and Ulu Pandan Road. However, we were recently contacted by the management of a neighbouring housing estate when a 2m deep sink hole opened up within their estate across the road from the Police camp.

We went to take a look and from what we can tell, it is certainly possible that this is the magazine room for one of the 15 inch guns, buried unknown for decades until recently exposed by the heavy rains when a portion of the top slab collapsed in.

The depth of the top slab (shown by the broken reinforcement bars) from ground level is 2.2m. The water level is at 3.5m below ground level. A weighted rope was lowered into the chamber which looked like it has at least one side faced with iron, and what we found was a total depth to the chamber floor at approximately 10.7m below ground level. The caretaker who discovered the sinkhole said that he initially saw a concrete floor at the bottom before it was filled by rain water, meaning the chamber was dry up until only relatively recently.

PUB had sent investigators late last year to try and go into the chamber but they gave up after they found their ladders didn't go that deep but they took photographs of inside the chamber just above the water level. We are trying to obtain those photos from PUB. Meanwhile, the sinkhole continues to widen as more soil falls through the broken slab after every rainfall. We have advised the residential management to seal the hole with timber and canvas and backfill the hole with soil to prevent more erosion.

This warrants further investigation. An RA student will be tasked to start a document search of the old archives here as well as those at the British Library to see if we can find out exactly what is located here before deciding on our next move.

Kowloon Walled City - Southern Gate Ruins and Yamen, Hong Kong, SAR China

Built in 1847 by the Qing Government to oppose the British occupation of Hong Kong island in 1841, the original walls contained 6 watchtowers, 4 gates and occupied a total of 6.5 acres. The garrison contained the offices of the Commodore of the Dapeng Bridage and the Kowloon Assistant Military Inspectorate (Yamen).

When the British took over the environs of the fort in 1899, the Qing officials and troops quietly withdrew, leaving the status of this walled area in limbo. The fort was never officially handed over to the British when the New Territories were ceded. Deprived of the rule of law and administration, its status unclear, it became a no man's land, a semi-lawless squatter slum.

The fort's stone walls were demolished by the Japanese during their occupation of HK during WW2 for the extension of the nearby Kai Tak Airfield. In the post-war years, new buildings were built over the ruins of the old fort, illegal constructions building up higher and higher without government supervision, reaching 10 to 14 stories and housing over 33,000 people in a ring around the original Yamen building in the center of the highrises. Illegal factories, tax evaders, gangsters and unlicensed medical clinics sprung up inside with roads and alleys no more than 1-2metres wide. Electricity and water supply was illegally tapped and the high tension cables and water pipes ran haphazardly all over the place.

Many attempts to evict and demolish the Walled City by British administered HK were blocked by the Chinese government because I believe, technically its status was still as a Chinese administered "garrison fort", until in 1987 when the Chinese government very astutely relented, letting the British handle what must have been very troublesome evictions, relocations and expensive demolitions before the whole of HK reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. Demolition started in 1993 and was completed in April of 1994 and during the demolition works, the original foundations of the fort's south and eastern gates were found almost intact, including their original stone plagues bearing the words "South Gate" and "Kowloon Walled City". Amazingly, the original wooden Yamen building from 1847 survived the long one and a half century in the heart of it all, and has since been restored together with two of the original cannons cast in 1802 which once guarded the fort's walls.

Fort Denison, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia

Fort Denison is a fortified island in the middle of Sydney Harbour, built between 1841 and 1857 as a defence against a feared Russian invasion during the Crimean war. The fort's guns have never been fired in anger but the fort did suffer minor damage from shells fired from Japanese midget submarines during the 2nd World War

It's original Aboriginal name of Mat-te-wan-ye was changed to Rock Island after the first English fleet arrived in 1788 but was better known as Pinchgut probably due to the short rations issued to prisoners who were interned there. The fort then took its current name from Sir William Thomas Denison, the Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, when it was completed in 1857.

Excavations of Fort Melaka Wall and Fredrick Hendrick Bastion, Melaka, Malaysia - November 2008

Tung Chung Qing Dynasty Fort, Lantau Island, Hong Kong SAR

Tung Chung Fort, located on the northwestern part of Lantau island, was first built in the Song dynasty Shun Hei era (1174 - 1189) to combat pirates. The fort however, fell into disused and was used as a pirate's liar right by notable pirates such as Cheung Po Tsai, right up to its recovery and refurbishment by the Qing dynasyt. The current structure dates to the Qing dynasty. It was the naval headquarters of the Right Battalion of Dapeng. A carved granite slab above the entrance dates the Fort to 1832. The Qing abandoned the fort in 1898 when the New Territories was leased to Britain.

Iberian Fortifications - Town Walls and Castles

There are so many well preserved and completely intact town walls around that it's simply unbelievable! Everywhere you turn, especially in Castillia, you'll see medieval walls and/or castles and most in almost pristine condition. Mind boggling. This are a people who really cherish their history!

Castles are so common that they can be found everywhere and other than the really historical ones, anyone can buy a castle. The cheapest ruins go as low as Euro3000 for a castle. The only catch is that you are mandated by law to reconstruct it which could probably cost you Euro300k-500k depending on the extent of deterioration... but hey, it's nice to know I can afford to buy a Spanish Castle... maybe one of these days....

1. Avila Town Walls ca. 11th century A.D.
2. Lisbon Castle Sao Jorge ca. 12th century A.D.
3. Obidos Town Walls ca. 14th century A.D.
4. Avila Town Walls from the one of the battlements
5. Avila Town from afar
6. Lisbon Torre de Belem (built to defend the middle of the Tegus river and Lisbon port)
7. Lisbon Castle Sao Jorge (one of the cannons)
8. Lisbon Castle Sao Jorge (another one of the cannons)
9. Lisbon Castle Sao Jorge battlement
10. Lisbon Castle Sao Jorge interior walls
11. Seville Alcazar (Moorish fortress)
12. Seville Torre del Oro (Golden Tower built as a watchtower by the Moors)
13. Seville City Wall (built by the Moors)
14. Cordova Alcazar (Moorish fortress)
15. Obidos Castle (now an expensive hotel)

Obidos is interesting. Portuguese Kings give this town to their Queens as a wedding present every time they marry. lol.

Lots of different designs too. The Moorish fortifications are distinctly different from the Christian ones which tend to be squarish and more blockish.

Project - Singapore's History Investigated (Photographic Survey) (PRIVATE ALBUM)

Current Photographic Survey of Existing Remnants. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST. All Rights Reserved by the Author.

(Photo sampling to be updated when more are explored and come online)

See http://kmleong.multiply.com/photos/album/55 for more information

Project - Singapore's History Investigated

List of Forts and Batteries
(to be updated when new info presents itself)

1. Scandal Point, 1819-1851
Armament unknown
- No Remains.
- Site accessibility non-existent.
Built near the Padang in 1819 and armed with 12 Pounder ML Guns. Singapore’s first fixed defences.

2. Fort Fullerton, 1830-1874
1867 Battery 2 x 56 PR Guns, 2 x 13 inch Mortars
- No remains.
- Site accessibility non-existent.
Stood where the Fullerton Hotel now is.

3. Fort Palmer 1859
1867 Battery 5 x 56 PR Guns
1878 Battery 2 x 7 inch RML Guns
1890 Battery 2 x 10 inch BL Guns
1892 RA Gunner Strength: 26
- No known remains.
- Site accessibility difficult.
Mt. Palmer on which the fort stood on was almost entirely leveled for land reclamation works, leaving only a small stub of hill behind the Foot Tet Soo Khek Temple on Palmer Road. Mount Palmer, also known as Parsee Hill, at an estimated height of 119 feet, was the largest of a row of coastal hills located near Tanjong Pagar and the bay of the early 19th century Telok Ayer Street. Purchased by Mr. John Palmer shortly after the founding of the Singapore settlement, the hill became a defence facility called Fort Palmer.

4. Mount Faber, 1859/1862
1867 Battery 2 x 56 PR Guns, 2 x 13 inch Mortars
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility difficult.
Underground rooms of the WW2 Faber Fire Command still exist, but the entrance is sealed.

5. Fort Teregah, 1861-1941
1885 3 x 64 PR ML Guns
1892 RA Guner strength: 8
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Was located on what was the southeastern tip of Pulau Brani before land reclamation works. Underground complex remains. Area is currently off-limits to the public.

6. Fort Silingsing, 1901-1941
Armament unknown
1915 Unit strength: 1 Office, 1 NCO, 15 SVC Men
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located on Pulau Brani. No visible remains on the surface, but magazine room is still believed to be underground. Area is currently off-limits to the public.

7. Pasir Laba Battery
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located in what is now MINDEF land on the western coast of Singapore. Remains of this two gun Mark VII 6-Inch BL Gun Battery are thought to still exist.

8. Changi Battery
- No remains.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located on the hill behind Changi Village at what is now Changi Airport's Radar station. No remains are left of this two gun Mark VII 6-Inch BL Gun Battery.

9. Beting Kusah Battery
- No remains.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Locatred by the beach near Telok Paku. No remains of this two gun Mark VII 6-Inch BL Gun Battery exists. The site is now under Changi airport.

10. Sphinx Battery
- No remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located on Pulau Tekong on restricted MINDEF land. No remains are believed to exist.

11. Tekong Besar Battery
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located on Pulau Tekong on restricted MINDEF land. Remains of the power house have been found of this three Mark X 9.2-Inch Guns on 35° Mountings.

12. Buona Vista Battery
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located east of the junction of Clementi Road and Ulu Pandan Road within the Police Training Camp. This battery had two Mark II 15-Inch Guns and only parts of the underground complex of the No.1 Gun remain.

13. Johore Battery
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility partially open, partially restricted.
Three gun emplacements located along Cosford Road. The No. 1 Gun was reconstructed with a 15 Inch Gun replica. The magazine is intact below and behind the replica. The magazine of the No. 2 gun may also remain but is within Prison Service land while the No. 3 Gun emplacement was totally destroyed during the Changi Airport expansions.

14. Fort Canning, 1859
1867 Battery 7 x 68 PR Guns, 8 x 8 inch Guns, 2 x 13 inch Mortars, unknown number of 14 PR Carronades
1892 RA Gunner strength: 15
- Significant remains. Well charted.
- Site accessibility open.
Situated in downtown Singapore. Well documented and made into a tourist attraction.

15. Fort Tanjong Katong, 1878-1910
1888 Battery 2 x 8 inch Armstrong Guns
1892 RA Gunner Strength: 30
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility open.
Situated at Katong Park. The walls of the fort are below ground with a children's playground above the central fort area.

16. Fort Connaught, 1878/79-1941
1885 2 x 9.2 inch BL Guns, 3 x 7 inch ML Guns
1892 RA Gunner Strength: 44
- Significant remains. Not well charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located on Sentosa Golf Course.

17. Fort Serapong, 1885-1941
1892 2 x 9.2 inch BL Guns
1900? 1 x Mark X 9.2 inch Gun, 2 x 9.2 inch BL Guns
1930? 2 x Mark VII 6 inch BL Guns, 2 x 9.2 inch BL Guns
1892 RA Gunner Strength: 36
- Significant remains. Well charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located on Sentosa's Serapong hill overlooking the Serapong Golf Course. Fort in relatively bad condition. Recommendations have been made to Sentosa Corp to seal the entrances from entry by adventure seekers.

18. Fort Siloso, 1878/79-1941
1885 1 x 9.2 inch BL Guns, 2 x 7 inch RML Guns, 2 x 64 PR ML Guns
1892 RA Gunner strength: 18
- Significant remains. Well charted.
- Site accessibility open with limitations.
Located on the western tip of Sentosa. Made into a tourist attraction and is probably the best preserved fort in Singapore.

19. Mount Imbiah Battery
- Significant remains. Well charted.
- Site accessibility open.
Located on Sentosa near to Fort Siloso. Easily accessible via a short hike up Mount Imbiah. Built in the early 20th Century and mounted with a Mark X 9.2-Inch BL Gun Battery.

20. Pulau Hantu
- No remains.
- Site accessibility non-existent.
Located on the southern island of Pulau Hantu. Was mounted with an 18 Pounder gun.

21. Berhala Reping
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located on a small island that has since been reclaimed into part of the Serapong Golf Course. Originally armed with machine guns and upgraded to two Twin 6 Pounders during WW2. Underground areas are sealed.

22. Changi Outer
- No remains.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located close to the Beting Kusah Battery. This two twin 6 Pounder Battery no longer exists and the area is now currently under Changi Airport.

23. Changi Inner
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility open with limitations.
Located on the south side of Changi Creek opposite the tip of Changi spit. Built for two Twin 6 Pounders but was never armed. Portions of the emplacement can still be found near the swimming pool.

24. Pulau Ubin
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility open.
Located at the Scout Camp on the northern side of the island. Built for a Twin 6 Pounder, but was never armed.

25. Pulau Sejahat
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located on Pulau Sejahat which has been joined to Pulau Tekong by land reclamation works. Substantial remains of this emplacement exists which was armed with two Twin 6 Pounders.

26 Calder Harbour
- Significant remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located on the eastern side of Pulau Tekong. Substantial remains of this two Twin Six Pounder Battery exist.

27. Ladang
- Significant remains. Well charted.
- Site accessibility restricted.
Located near the military jetty on Pulau Tekong. Was armed with a single 12 Pounder. Substantial remains well preserved.

28. Loudon
- Unknown remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility unknown.
Located in the Singapore harbour eastern entrance, the Loudon was one of many hulks sunk to form a block. Mounted with a single 6 Pounder QF Gun. Current location of the Loudon is unknown.

29. The Mole
- Unknown remains. Incompletely charted.
- Site accessibility unknown.
The exact location of the gun on the Mole is unknown. Mounted with a single 6 Pounder QF.

30. Siloso Point
- Significant remains. Well charted.
- Site accessibility open with limitations.
Located on Sentosa Island Siloso Point with a replica 12 Pounder mounted.. Originally armed with a single 12 Pounder and re-armed with a Twin 6 Pounder after WW2.

31. Fort Pasir Panjang, 1878-1941
1885 Battery 2 x 9.2 inch BL Guns, 2 x 64 PR ML Guns
1892 Rebuilt, Battery 2 x 7 inch ML Guns, 2 x 6 inch RBL Guns, 2 x 9.2 inch RBL Guns
1892 RA Gunner strength: 34
- Significant remains. Well charted.
- Site accessibility open with limitations.
Located at Labrador Park, opposite the Sentosa Island Siloso Point, it served to guard western harbour entrance. It was operational by 1889 and mounted 9.2-Inch and 6-Inch Batteries. Made into a tourist attraction.

See http://kmleong.multiply.com/photos/album/60 for more information

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)

**********************
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.

****************************
Two 10-Inch BL Guns were mounted at Fort Palmer

Project - Singapore's History Investigated - Tanjong Katong Fort

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)

**********************
Tanjong Katong Fort
(extracted from spi.com.sg)

The Tanjong Katong Fort, as one of Singapore's oldest, 19th century colonial fort now is bearing the risk of being forgotten again. For this unique Singapore's only 'true fort', the authorities adopted a 'wait-and-see' approach in order to determine further plans to excavate it or leave it alone.

According to historical research, this fort has already been buried deliberately during the 127 years of its history. It was built in 1879 by the British to fortify the south-eastern sea shore from potential Russian invaders with firing cannons and guns.

However, the first burial of the fort took place when it was later abandoned in 1901 after the WW1 was over and the Russian threat diminished. One simple way the British thought of preserving it is by burying it under the soil. It costs less and thought to be a better approach than destroying it given its large size.

The burial was a good job but. May be it was done in a hurry, some part was not totally and deeply covered. A small bastion stuck out above ground in the late 1960s. That was when at almost the same time land reclamation in the East Coast took place. And the Katong Park as in today was built on top of the fort.

It was in year 2001, a resident reported that he found some rocks there but they were not like rocks. The seemingly concrete area where the grass cannot grow on top resembles a part of a much larger structure. It was indeed the 6000 square meter fort sleeping underneath.

MJChow, a SPI Elite member said he has already noticed this strange looking 'concrete' characteristic since his childhood days in 1970's (that is 30 years before this person). He even saw park-keepers used it conveniently as a burning area for grass, branches and leaves after their routine park cleaning. Also another clue of its existence is by the name Fort Road just nearby.

It was until year 2001, public attention was brought to a possible huge fort lying underneath Katong park. Some years elapsed, and in year 2004, the Mountbatten Citizens Consultative Committee (CCC) commissioned the archaeological digging that lasted for 10 months. $200,000 was raised for this excavation project. But after the 10 months, no further plan was made in the next phase on what to do with it. Mr. Jack Sim, president of the Restroom Association of Singapore commented that "They go to all the trouble to dig it up and then instead of making some kind of monument out of it, they put everything back."

Mr Lim Chen Sian, the archaeologist who led the dig, said his team had only been asked by the committee to find out how much of the fort was still there. Chen said, "We didn't know who was going to take over for the next phase, so we thought the safest thing was to bury it back." This technique is called "Backfilling" which is a common practice in archaeology to protect finds.

The second burial is necessary when excavation were to be paused, because the dug-out pits could breed mosquitoes. Also the pit holes as deep as 2 meters, can get someone injured if he falls onto it. But it was questioned that how can someone fall into the pit when that area is well barricaded with solid railings?

A spokesman for the Preservation of Monuments Board confirmed that it was deciding whether the fort can be declared a national monument. But this is not as simple as it sounds. There is the matter of balancing historical value against the income that the site can earn if it were developed for other uses. National Heritage Society president Kevin Tan said: 'No one knows whose responsibility this fort is. No one is going to come forward and be a hero.'

Before so, here is some documentation on the significant findings about the fort that is one of Singapore's most important archaeological finds. Experts call it Singapore's only 'true fort' - one with protection all around. In its heyday, Fort Tanjong Katong was completely surrounded by a moat. Others here were simpler gun installations.

The fort is also the only one in Singapore to reflect 19th-century military architecture. Other forts like Fort Siloso in Sentosa and Fort Canning were built around the same time, but were upgraded at points in their history. Fort Tanjong Katong, on the other hand, was built but never used and therefore did not see any alterations.

Fort Tanjong Katong has another claim: It is one of the most complete forts found. The perimeter wall is intact, unlike Fort Canning, where all that is left is a gate and a bit of wall.

Project - Singapore's History Investigated - Pulau Sejahat

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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Pulau Sejahat
(extracted from spi.com.sg)

Pulau Sejahat is a small island about 1.2 ha located off the north-eastern coast of Singapore, near Pulau Tekong. Disused barracks, kitchens, gun emplacements and lookout posts still exist on the island. This island was possibly part of the integral defense of the Johore Straits when Singapore was a British Colony. It is located within the stretch of waters between Pulau Tekong and Changi Jetty.

Nowadays, disused barracks, kitchens, toilets, a watchtower and even gun battery positions still exist on the island.

One intriguing legend about this Pulau Sejahat is the mysterious rock on top of the hill, some called it holy. The locals believe that, a spirit lives inside

Who is this spirit? Where did he come from? It is said that in the 19th century on Tekong Island, that was a man with beard, slim built, fine features, rowing a small boat from Pulau Sejahat everyday. The islander saw him a number of times and they became suspicious and followed him. They followed him to Pulau Sejahat but each time they could not find a trace of him. There was no building on the island but only a rock.

The name Sejahat, simply means 'bad'. Why would such a small island be named so? That is because many deaths took place there despite the tiny size of the island.

There were hidden corals under the water around there. So, Pulau Sejahat was also considered as "dangerous zone" for boats. Many ships sunk, in the past century. The little island was said to be a pirates' hideout. The pirates ambushed the pass-by merchant ships and slaughtered countless victims on the island. Fear was implanted on everyone's mind.

In addition to that, there was a legend that in mid-14th century, Acehnese and Portugese were at war around Tekong Island. The Acehnese had 500 warships and over 10,000 warriors. The Portugese only had a feet of 20 ships or so, but equipped with lethal firearms and canons. Fierce and bloody battles took place right at the water near Tekong and Sejahat islands. Ships were blasted under fire; warriors were either drown or killed in action.

Soon, the Acehnese troop was almost totally wiped out. They were outnumbered by the Portugese near the end of the battle. The Acehnese fought till the last company but they refused to surrender. Rather than being the captives, they landed on the Sejahat island when being cornered by the Portugese army. Under the command of their general (commander), all of the last men committed heroic suicide on the island.

It was believed that that spirit could be the general. To have peace in the area the residents of Pulau Tekong built a shrine sheltering the spirit rock that they worshipped and honoured the general for his bravery.

http://www.larkin.net.au/pulau_sejahat/
Sadly, Pulau Sejahat is now part of Pulau Tekong and is currently out of bounds to the public and plans are underway to demolish the structures and the tua peh kong big stone altar.

Project - Fort Serapong Site Structural Investigation 1st December 2006 (PRIVATE ALBUM)

Project - Fort Serapong Archeological Dig, 4th November 2006 (PRIVATE ALBUM)

Please do not redistribute.

At the request of an archeologist from the National University of Singapore, I joined him at one of his dig sites to look over the structures under investigation, with the intention to possibly produce and submit a visual inspection report on the structural integrity of the fort as part of his impact assessment paper to the Sentosa Development Corporation for restoration and development. Along with us was a group of students from the SIM and NUS universities. Quite a pleasant way to spend a nice morning climbing through the jungle and abandoned structures with a bunch of pretty young undergraduate co-eds.

Fort Serapong is on the highest peak of Sentosa Island and was first built in the 1870s in response to an expected threat from Tsarist Russia just after the end of the Crimean war, rebuilt again in the 1930s and was finally abandoned when the Japanese overran the British Garrison on Singapore.

Besides the fort, there is also another abandoned complex sited amongst the buildings of the fort, which was built ca. 1950s and abandoned not long after. They believe it was built and maintained by a religious cult as they have identified sleeping quarters, gathering halls, communal toilets and a chapel in the mix of collapsing buildings, but until today, they have yet to identify who or what kind of people they were, or why these buildings were abandoned, or even what religious activity was carried out here hidden from prying eyes.

In the final pictures taken deep underground is a command bunker which goes down 4 stories below the hill. As this was a cursory visit to get a feel of the site and because of the SIM and NUS students on the tour of the dig site some of whom were in rather inappropriate short skirts, we didn't go beyond the trapdoor in the floor. If they proceed to engage me for the structural assessment, at the next visit we will be descending into the lower levels to assess the state of the structure. This area has just recently been opened and they have found everything intact, preserved exactly at the moment of abandonment, with a few coins, monopoly pieces, odds and ends etc. scattered about. They have also found and handed over to the army, quite a few unexploded ordinances like landmines, 6 and 8 inch shells as well as rifle shells.