Fort Canning: the British on the Hill

When the British first arrived in Singapore they were told this hill was the 'Bukit Larangan' or forbidden hill. As the seat of ancient Malay rulers none of the local Malay dared climb it, but the British had no such qualms, and soon after their arrival in Singapore walked up and planted their flag on the top. If you want to learn more about the 14th century Malay rulers that lived here, check out our Bukit Larangan tour. A combination of both tours is also possible.

Despite being only 48 meter high, Fort Canning Hill offered excellent views over the Singapore river, all the way to the sea, and soon a flagstaff was planted here to signal which ships had arrived in the port. When the British first arrived they found many remnants of old buildings here, but most were torn down and new buildings constructed over them. The hill was named Government Hill, but from the late 19th century onwards was mainly used for military purposes. Not much of the earliest colonial buildings remain, but we will try to make the whole history of Fort Canning Hill come alive during this walk.

On the slopes of the current Fort Canning Hill park we can explore the lush spice garden to learn about the plants that brought the British to this region in the first place, and how they quarrelled over them not only with local rulers but also with their colonial rivals - the Dutch.

We will wander around the area of the old Christian cemetery and the headstones preserved there, to see if we can find any familiar names, and talk about role these people played in Singapore's early development.

We will see remnants of many of the military structures erected by the British, like the old 19th century fort, the existing early 20th century military buildings as well as the bunkers used by the commanding officers in WW2, where they stayed during the Japanese invasion that signalled the beginning of the end of British rule in Singapore.