Fort Canning Park is a historic hilltop park located in downtown Singapore that has been occupied since the 14th century. Archaeological excavations have uncovered artifacts from the Yuan Dynasty, showing the area was an important trading center. During British rule in the 1800s, Sir Stamford Raffles lived on the site. Later, a fort was built and the park saw military use through World War II. Today, the park preserves remnants of its long history, though parts are currently closed for construction and information is limited, representing issues with maintenance and promotion of the important historical site.

1. Fort Canning Park
Bukit Larangan – The Forbidden Hill

2. Welcome to the Park!
 Fort Canning Park is a
beautiful hilltop area in the
Business District of
Singapore.
 Due to its central location,
archaeologists have been
able to find evidence of
people utilizing this spot
dating back from the 14th
century all the way through
World War II
 Together let’s explore the
rich history of Fort Canning
Park, one of Singapore’s
greatest historical
landmarks!

3. An Ancient
Entrepôt
Bukit Larangan was home to
Malay royalty during the 14th
century. From their perch on
this cool, shaded hill they
could observe the Singapore
River, a popular stop for
traders going through the
Straits of Malacca.
In Malay, Bukit Larangan
means “Forbidden Hill”. It is
said that on the other side of
this hill there used to be a
beautiful spring called Pancur
Larangan (Forbidden Spring),
where all of the king’s wives
would bathe.

4. The 1800s
Sir Stamford Raffles officially
founded the city of Singapore
in 1819 and chose to live on
the hill which is now Fort
Canning Park.
This building is a much more
sturdy reconstruction of the
building that he called home,
which was originally a very
rudimentary cottage.
Though it may have been
simple, Raffles loved his
home on the hill and got quite
a kick out of knowing he
lived in the same place as
ancient royalty. He even
wrote to the Duchess of
Somerset that should his
“bones remain in the East
they [will] have the honour of
mixing with the ashes of
Malayan kings.”

5. In Times of
War
This is all that remains of the
original Fort Canning.
Built in 1859 and named after
Viscount Charles John
Canning, this fort marked the
beginning of an era which
would make this park a hub
for wartime activities.
During World War II it was
here, at Fort Canning Park,
that Lieutenant-General
Percival surrendered
Singapore to the Japanese
(2012)

6. A sketch of what an ancient Malayan structure may have looked like.
When Sir Raffles decided to make Fort Canning
Park his home he uncovered the ruins of Malayan
structures. Although his team did considerable
damage to the sites, archaeologists today have
been able to reimagine these ancient buildings
using the remains.

7. ExcavatingtheSite
 Fort Canning Park has the proud
distinction of being the first site in all of
Singapore to be excavated!
 Excavations were begun by Dr. John
Miksic in 1984 and his work
immediately uncovered evidence that
completely changed widely held beliefs
about Singapore.
 The discovery of ceramics dating back
to the Yuan Dynasty proved that the
island of Singapore had flourished long
before the 1800s.

8. Public Outreach
and the severe lack of

9. One of the biggest struggles that I had doing this project was
that the main section of Fort Canning Park has been closed off
for construction. Nowhere on any National Parks website or
even local signs was I warned of this and only found out after a
very long, very hot walk across Singapore in the middle of the
day. The section I was most looking forward to seeing was
roped off and completely off-limits.
Fortunately the entire Fort Canning area was not closed and
because it is such a rich historical part of the island I was still
able to get enough information. It just would have been nice to
have seen the actual artifacts that place Malay royalty in the
area and get to see a real archaeological site.
This is a huge flaw in the National Parks program and I hope
that they update their website more frequently in the future.

10. The Artifacts at Fort Canning Park
The artifacts discovered by Dr. John Miksic
and his crew are all on display in the Fort
Canning Site (currently closed to the public).
They include glass beads from India, Chinese
porcelain , copper coins, and ceramics dated
back to the Yuan Dynasty of China.
Neither the National Parks website nor the
entry to the Fort Canning Site offer any
information on where to learn more about the
excavations or even when the exhibit will be
reopened.

11. A
Quadrilingual
Country
Singapore is unique in that it
recognizes four different
languages as being “official”:
Malay, English, Chinese, and
Tamil (Tan, 2014).
Fort Canning Park has a Heritage
Trail where individuals can walk
across the park and read about
how the area has changed
throughout history while getting
to see what is left of the structures
that were built here hundreds of
years ago. All of the signs
explaining the remains or telling
old folktales are in all four
languages. Some also include
Japanese in order to cater to

12. This is An
Issue
Singapore is always growing!
This construction is
happening within walking
distance of Fort Canning Park
and there are plans for it to
encroach even closer in the
future.
Public Outreach needs to
address the fact that the
government here is neglecting
to preserve this historic park
in its entirety. More tourism
to the area would give them
an economical reason to keep
the park whole.
And no one is addressing it

13. Thoughts on
Fort Canning
Park
PROS
This park is beautiful and it
has so much potential to be a
great way to experience
history
CONS
There is very limited
information available about
the park from outside
sources.
The area is not well-
maintained and was difficult
to find
Advertised now as a place
for parties/concerts rather
than a history trail

14. How I Would
Fix It
First and foremost, I would
update the National Parks
website!
People would be much more
willing to go to Fort Canning
Park if they knew:
a. Where it was
b. What it offered
c. When exhibits were open
With attendance increased
there would be greater
incentive to maintain the area
as well as more reason for the
government to keep it
around.

15. References
Choy, K.M. & Sugimoto, I. (2013). Trade, the Staple Theory of Growth,
and Fluctuations, in Colonial Singapore, 1900-39. Australian
Economic History Review, 53(2), 121. doi: 10.1111/aehr12007
Legends, The. (2012). About Us. Fort Canning Park.
http://www.legendsfortcanning.com/index.php/about-us/ fort-
canning-park
Lim Peng, H. (2008). English Schools and School Libraries Before the
Second World War: A Singapore Perspective. Singapore Journal of
Library and Information Management [serial online]
Singapore (n.d.) Fort Canning Site. Southeast-Asian Archaeology.
http://www.seaarchaeology.com/v1/html/sg/ fort_canning.html
Tan, P.W. (2014). Singapore’s Balancing Act, from the Perspective of the
Linguistic Landscape. SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in
Southeast Asia, 29(2), 438-466 doi: 10.1355/sj29-2g
**All photos are my own taken at Fort Canning Park, Dec 2014