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Monday, March 29, 2010

Sir Stamford Raffles Statue

Singapore (formerly called 'Temasek') existed way before Sir Stamford Raffles, an Englishman, came here in 1819 and founded a trading settlement. That marked the founding of modern Singapore. He signed a treaty with Hussein Shah of Johor and transferred control of the island to the East India Company, in return for monetary compensation. William Farquhar became the British resident of Singapore and Raffles left soon after. Raffles left instructions for town planning according to the Jackson Plan establishing segregated ethnic quarters near the Singapore River. He also drafted the first Constitution of Singapore in 1823. He was interested in the natural sciences and established a Raffles collection that today lives on as the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. It has a fascinating collection of flora and fauna specimens. He returned to England in 1824 and not long after in 1826, at the age of 45, he died of apoplexy. The longest he ever stayed in Singapore is 8 months yet he left a lasting legacy.

The pictures show the statue of Stamford Raffles on the north bank of the Singapore River, at a spot he was believed to have first landed.

That's my World

6 comments:

  1. We have a black and white statue of Raffles eh? the one in front of the Victoria Theater is totally black.

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  2. Yea Jama that's the original statue and this is the polymarble copy.

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  3. You've taken some beautiful photos here which juxtapose the old and the new buildings. Very lovely.

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  4. What an interesting post, Irene! I love your photos and what a great statue! Hope you have a wonderful week!

    Sylvia

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  5. Hi Irene,
    Thanks for your visit. I see your in Singapore - not too far away. Your Flag Counter lists my server as Bangkok, but I'm actually in the north-east mid-way between Kohn Kaen and Udon Thani.
    Thanks again.
    Stan Ski.

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Great to see you ~Irene