Istana Woodneuk

Woodneuk Palace
Istana Woodneuk
Istana Woodneuk
Alternative names Istana Wooden York
General information
Status Abandoned
Type Palace
Classification R
Location Tyersall Park Singapore
Address 766 Tyersall Avenue, Singapore 257699[1]
Town or city Singapore
Country  Singapore
Coordinates 1°18′31.5″N 103°48′44.0″E / 1.308750°N 103.812222°E / 1.308750; 103.812222Coordinates: 1°18′31.5″N 103°48′44.0″E / 1.308750°N 103.812222°E / 1.308750; 103.812222
Current tenants Miles Dempsey (1945)
Montagu Stopford (1946)
Malcolm MacDonald (1947)
Named for Woodneuk House
Construction started 1932
Completed 1935
Opened September 17, 1935 (1935-09-17)
Owner Sultan Ibrahim of Johor (former)
Landlord State of Johor
Affiliation State of Johor
Technical details
Floor count 2
Design and construction
Architect Denis Santry
Architecture firm Swan & Maclaren
Known for Dilapidated palace in Singapore

Istana Wooden York, more popularly referred as Istana Woodneuk (before its rebuilt in 1935 of the said building), is an abandoned two-storey palace at the former Tyersall Park bound by Holland Road and Tyersall Avenue near the Singapore Botanic Gardens in Singapore. It was currently in its dilapidated state and its surroundings were covered by thick vegetation. The dilapidated palace as well as the land it sits on is a private land still belong to the State of Johor, it is not charted on most modern maps and currently out of bounds to outsiders.

The former palace had commonly been confused with the demolished Istana Tyersall due to its proximity, which was located on another hill not far away. The difference with the roof tiles of these former palaces is that Tyersall was red while Woodneuk was blue.

History

There was once a Woodneuk House on the part of the Tyersall estate land of 36 acres both owned by the English trader Captain John Dill Ross (also known as "Captain Northwood")[2][3] in the mid 1800s.[4][5] Captain Ross' estate, along with William Napier's part of Tyersall estate, would later be sold to Wan Abu Bakar ibni Daing Ibrahim in 1860, who would later move his residence there from Telok Blangah upon his reign as Temenggong within three days after his father's death in 1862, and made Woodneuk House his main residence (Istana).[6] Captain Ross had since died in 1888, his accounts and interests can be found on the biography Sixty Years: Life and Adventures in the Far East (1911) written by his son John Dill Ross jr.[7]

The Istana Woodneuk served as a temporary residence for the Sultan's third wife Sultana Fatimah bte Abdullah who was the overall in-charge of the design and planning of Istana Tyersall, the Sultan's upcoming palace located on another small hill not far away from Woodneuk. Sultana Fatimah however did not live to see the completion of the palace as she had died in 25 February 1891. Istana Tyersall was completed a year later in 1892.

Woodneuk was bequeath to the Sultan's fourth wife, Sultana Khadijah under his will made on 14 April 1895, before his death in 4 June 1895.[8] Sultana Khadijah died in the palace in 1 February 1904. The palace had since taken over by Sultan Abu Bakar’s son and successor Sultan Ibrahim Al-Marhum.

Woodneuk House was reportedly burned down by a fire in 1925, it would later be designed by Denis Santry of Swan & Maclaren and rebuilt with a new structure in 1932.[9]

Istana Wooden York was completed in 1935 in time for the celebration of the Sultan Ibrahim of Johor's 62nd birthday and his 40 years of reign, it was built for him and his Scottish wife Sultanah Helen as a replacement palace.[10][11] Its new name Wooden York, except for a few royalties in the State of Johor, was not popularized at that time, as most people and news were used to call it Woodneuk owed to its existence for more than 100 years.

In 1939, the Sultan Ibrahim, based on Johor at that time, had allowed part of Tyersall to be used by the Indian Army to be stationed and converted as a military camp area with many vehicles in a mechanisation effort in preparation for World War II,[12] while palace itself continued as the royal residence for the Sultan family until the beginning of the Battle of Singapore in 1942.[13]

In 9 February 1942 during the Battle of Singapore, the palace was temporary served as the 2/30th Battalion AIF headquarters under Major General Gordon Bennett, it was known as "Tyersall Palace" in the process by the battalion stationed there.[14]

Later in 11 February 1942, after the blast of Japanese mortar attack which indicated that the nearby junction of Holland Road and Ulu Pandan Road were held by the Japanese Imperial Army, Major General Bennet withdrawn his headquarters to Tanglin Barracks.[15]

Aftermath

After Singapore was liberated in 1945, the palace was briefly occupied by General Sir Miles Dempsey, followed by Commander-in-Chief Sir Montagu Stopford in 1946 until in November. On 16 January 1947, the palace was temporarily occupied by Governor-General of Malaya Malcolm MacDonald and his wife Audrey Marjorie Rowley after their long journey from Canada.[16] By 1948 it was returned to the Sultan for his official use. On December 1951, the State of Johor spent S$14,500 to re-roof the palace and the Istana Besar from Johor Bahru.[17]

From 1957 to 1986, the palace and its compound were upkept by caretaker Hj. Sulaiman hired by Johor State Council, which he lived with his family not far away from the building.

Following the acquisition of former Tyersall Park in 1990, the entire place was left abandoned and uncared for. The dilapidating palace was since in ruins, the surroundings are covered by thick vegetation due to decades of abandonment and had became a spot for thrill seekers and photographers due to its inaccessibility, much of its walls was graffitied by vandals with little regards for a place so steeped in history. The building also served as a store by construction workers for the nearby construction site.[18]

In 10 July 2006, the palace was burned down due to a major fire caused by the drug addicts, its blue roof tiles had caved in, its current condition was beyond repair and was deemed structurally unsafe.[19] As of April 2015, the open passage of the forest which leads the premises near the bus stop at Holland Road to Istana Woodneuk have been cordoned off by the Singapore police.[20] In February 2016, a police signboard was spotted near the open passage warning would-be trespassers from entering the open passage.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "766 Tyersall Avenue, Singapore 257699". OneMap.
  2. ↑ "John Dill Ross, merchant". nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  3. ↑ http://www.searlecanada.org/sunderland/images17/LizzieWebberBillSwiftStudyJune2017.pdf
  4. ↑ "Plan Showing The Lands Belonging To The Botanical Gardens …". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "MEMORIES OF OLD SINGAPORE". Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  6. ↑ "FROM MOSCOW TO VLADIVOSTOK". nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  7. ↑ Ross, John Dill (27 January 2018). "Sixty Years: Life and Adventure in the Far East". E.P. Dutton. Retrieved 27 January 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ Neelima. "State of Johor and Another v Tunku Alam Shah ibni Tunku Abdul Rahman and Others[2005] 4 SLR 380; [2005] SGHC 156". www.singaporelaw.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "REBUILDING ""WOODNEUK"". DENIS SANTRY OF M/S SWAN & MACL". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "THE HOME BEAUTIFUL BUILT FOR SULTAN OF JOHORE". nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "HER HIGHNESS THE SULTANAH HELEN". Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  12. ↑ "Singapore Indian Troops Live In Sultan's Park". nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "Page 2 Advertisements Column 2". Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  14. ↑ "269 - April/June, 1983 - 2/30 Battalion Photo Gallery". www.230battalion.org.au. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Taylor, Ron. "Chronology of Singapore". www.britain-at-war.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  16. ↑ "GOV.-GEN. ARRIVE TO-DAY". nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  17. ↑ Free Press, Singapore. "New Roofs". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  18. ↑ "Guide to Istana Woodneuk". www.noelboyd.com. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  19. ↑ "Istana Woodneuk". wordpress.com. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  20. ↑ Lee, Alfreda. "Istana Woodneuk Guide and Photojournal - Haunted Singapore Places Explored". thesmartlocal.com. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  21. ↑ Independent, The. "Istana Woodneuk now off-limits – Police arrested trespassers". theindependent.sg. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.