History of Ann Siang Hill: Part 4 of 4

History of Ann Siang Hill: Part 4 of 4

(Earlier posts: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3)

Quoted from information boards obtained at my local visit to Ann Siang Hill Park:

"Clove (Eugenia aromatica) and Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) plantations were established in many parts of the island, including Ann Siang Hill. Charles Scott was the first person to plant these spice trees on what was known then as Scotts Hill.

The hill was well-irrigated, as an underground spring ran through the area and was tapped from a well on the hill. Unfortunately, this favourable condition was insufficient to sustain the plantation.

Subsequently, a series of terrible blights decimated the Clove and Nutmeg plantations across the island, causing many plantation owners to abandon their land.

After Scott left his plantation, it passed through different hands before being sold to Chia Ann Siang's estate in 1894. From then on, the face of Ann Siang Hill changed forever. Shop houses sprang up; Chinese and Straits Chinese residents and businesses moved in; and the area was transformed into a lively urban district."

A park or garden or any place, for that matter, in Singapore can appeal for many reasons. Most of the time, the physical characteristics attract our senses. Sometimes, its the people or activities associated with a place that endear you. At other times, it could be a deeper reflection of its history that leaves an impact.

I would never say that I long to go back to that era of long ago. Perhaps it's just too distant in history to make much of an impact. Perhaps its because I know of no elders who could bring to life the immediacy of the past through spoken words.

But as I walked around Ann Siang Hill Park, saw those pictures, read about the past printed on the boards and now writing about it, these activities have led me to touch base with a facet of the past that no history textbook could ever do.

Is there a point in all these exercises? I don't have all the answers. What I do know is that by reaching out to the past, I am able to appreciate what I have today.

What gets you excited about the places that you like to visit? Share with me your ideas.

See more places. live more life.

Related Reads:
Other related posts to tour:
1. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 1 of 4
2. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 2 of 4
3. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 3 of 4
4. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 4 of 4
5. Maps, History and more on Ann Siang Hill Park

[... read more inside Seen This Scene That...]

History of Ann Siang Hill: Part 3 of 4

History of Ann Siang Hill: Part 3 of 4

Activities On Ann Siang Hill

"There are a number of roads that ply through Ann Siang Hill - Club Street, Ann Siang Road, Amoy Street, Erskine Road and South Bridge Road, making it an oasis for many commercial and communal activities in the early days.

Many rich Chinese and Straits Chinese businessmen lived on and around the hill, especially along Club Street, where they met and socialised nightly.

On festive occasions, the hill was thronged with people waiting to be entertained by public performances such as Chinese operas or dragon dances. The spectators filled the streets and the road was impassable to traffic.

This was also the traditional site for clan associations, entertainment clubs and trade guilds. In 1889, the elite of the Straits Chinese community set up the Chinese Weekly Entertainment Club, which still exists today.

It was a social and business club where like-minded gentlemen could mingle and exchange ideas. A few of its members went on to launch some of Singapore's leading banking corporations.

It is said that it was this recreational institution that gave Club Street its name."

During my walks in Singapore parks, most of the time I derive immediate and tangible benefits - pretty flowers, luscious greenery, spirited wildlife, clean water and beautiful skies.

On rare occasions like at Ann Siang Hill, there's bagful of soul-enriching history to learn that appeals more than aesthetics. I could have ignored these information boards like unwanted litter, but somehow they reached out to me on a deeper level.

Do you have similar wealth of thoughts and feelings?

Other related posts to tour:
1. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 1 of 4
2. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 2 of 4
3. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 3 of 4
4. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 4 of 4

See more places. Live more life.

[... read more inside Seen This Scene That...]

History of Ann Siang Hill: Part 2 of 4

History of Ann Siang Hill: Part 2 of 4

Do you know who was the person who had a hill named after him way back in Singapore's history? I didn't know too, until I visited Ann Siang Hill recently.

From the information boards located on the park, I managed to learn more.


"Ann Siang Hill was named after Chia Ann Siang, a Hokkien merchant who was born in Malacca in 1832.

In 1848, at age 16 years of age, Chia Ann Siang found employment with the British form Boustead & Company, whose core businesses traded in natural resources, spices, coconut, tobacco, tin, tea and silk.

Boustead's ships plied the China-Europe routes in the early days. He eventually left Boustead and went into the timber business and became a partner of Geok Teat and Company from 1863.

After he became a rich landowner and one of the leading merchants of his time, he acquired both Ann Siang Hill and Mount Erskine."

I often visit places and streets with names that take after famous people. Most of the time, I have no idea who that person is/was, much less know about their contribution to society. Do you have similar thoughts?

Other related posts to tour:
1. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 1 of 4
2. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 2 of 4
3. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 3 of 4
4. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 4 of 4

See more places. Live more life.

[... read more inside Seen This Scene That...]

History of Ann Siang Hill: Part 1 of 4

History of Ann Siang Hill Part 1 of 4
Notes obtained from the information boards at Ann Siang Hill:

Image: Photo and map of the area in the past.

The Origin of Ann Siang Hill

"Early residents and merchant communities in Singapore had always regarded hills along the coastline as valuable real estate. The hill on which you are standing - Ann Siang Hill - was one of such hills, and was occupied soon after Sir Stamford Raffles' arrival in Singapore. Collectively, the hills along the coastal areas of Chinatown were known as the Telok Ayer Hills. These hills included Mount Wallich, Mount Erskine and Ann Siang Hill.

View from Mount Wallich: image courtesy of National Archives of Singapore (19980007368 - 0066).

Ann Siang Hill was originally called Scott's Hill, named after Charles Scott who had Clove (Eugenia aromatica) and Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) plantations on the hill. By the 1890s, most of the Telok Ayer Hills were levelled to partially fill the Telok Ayer Basin, leaving Ann Siang Hill to stand alone.

Today, Ann Siang Hill is the tallest geographical point in Chinatown. In place of old plantations, five-foot-way shophouses now cover the landscape."

Read about my visit to Ann Siang Hill Park here.

See new places. Live new life.

[... read more inside Seen This Scene That...]

Ann Siang Hill, Singapore

Ann Siang Hill, Singapore

If you happen to be visiting relatives and friends living around Chinatown during Chinese New Year, this festive period is an appropriate time to detour to Ann Siang Hill in Singapore's Chinatown.


While most workers at shophouses and eating places around Ann Siang Hill will be away to 'bai nian', Ann Siang Hill will remain open 24/7 to receive visitors. In the process of climbing up the tallest hill in Chinatown, you will be rewarded with tranquil scenes filled with greenery at Chinese-themed pavilions and look-out corners.

If you go back in history, when the sea reached Telok Ayer, the Ann Siang Hill scene would have consisted of nutmeg and clove plantations. Now if you wander around the nooks and crannies of Ann Siang Hill, the rear views of shophouses and the facades of distant highrise offices will greet you.


The contrast between the two-level five-foot-way shophouses of ancient times and the tall Central Business District skyscrapers of modern times could not be more stark.


Chinese opera shows and dragon dances used to feature during festive seasons at Ann Siang Hill, the focus of Chinatown's commercial and social scenes. Now the centre of social activities has shifted elsewhere.


I have never seen Ann Siang Hill before its face-lift of wooden pathways and covered walkways. But from looking at its old map, yellowed photographs and type written notes placed along Ann Siang Hill, the spirit of this place remains to stir thoughts of what a hub of a hill it must have been.


View Larger Map
Map: Park is located next to Ann Siang Road. You can access from Amoy Street too. (Google Map)

Do you have places and tours of interests in Singapore to share?

See new places, live new life.

Other related posts to tour:
1. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 1 of 4
2. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 2 of 4
3. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 3 of 4
4. History of Ann Siang Hill Part 4 of 4

[... read more inside Seen This Scene That...]