Johnston's Pier
 Johnston's pier in the harbor at Singapore. | |
| Official name | Johnston’s Pier |
|---|---|
| Type | pier |
| Locale | Collyer Quay, Singapore |
| Opening date | 13 March 1856 |
| Destruction date | 3 June 1933 |
| Listed status | Demolished |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: 1°17′06.0″N 103°51′12.5″E / 1.285000°N 103.853472°E |
Johnston’s Pier was a pier, formerly situated at Collyer Quay, Singapore, where it stood from the mid-1850s to the mid-1930s. It was demolished in 3 June 1933.
History
After the establishment of Singapore as a Strait Settlements port, many buildings along its southern shoreline were directly facing the sea. As business and commerce constantly developed along the waterfront, many merchants set up their businesses at Commercial Square with their godowns backed into the waterfront where they had their own jetties.
The idea of constructing a wooden jetty near the godowns of A. L. Johnston & Co. was first mooted to the municipal committee on 26 March 1853 for the convenience of the commercial and shipping interests in Singapore.
After consulting the government surveyor, the municipal committee approved the construction of a stone ghaut on 20 July 1853 to be used as a public landing place instead of the wooden jetty as originally intended. In conjunction with the proposed ghaut, a stone embankment stretching from the proposed ghaut to Battery Road would be built.
Plans for a jetty known as Johnston’s Pier was submitted to the municipal committee about 3 months later. On 19 October 1853, the municipal committee approved the construction of the jetty at an expenditure not exceeding S$3,000. A small house for a pier-keeper would also constructed at the inner end of the pier.[1]
Launch
The Engineer Captain Ronald MacPherson officially announced its completion to the Resident Councillor and Chairman of the municipal committee in 13 March 1856, the pier was named after a prominent Scottish businessman Alexander Laurie Johnston, one of the earliest European settlers who had arrived in Singapore in 1819 and established the first merchant firm A. L. Johnston & Co. there on 1820.[2] A male pier-keeper was hired at a salary of S$6 per month for the maintaining of the crane as well as lighting and cleaning of the lamps at the pier.
The red lamps which were placed above the pier had led to many local Chinese of Hokkien origin to name the pier as ang teng beh tau (Chinese: 红灯码头, meaning “red lantern harbour”) and to the Malays as lampu merah (meaning “red lamp”).
By the 1920s, the pier could no longer handle the increased volume of traffic from docking ships. The pier had soon became dilapidated in the 1930s and the Governor of the Straits Settlements Sir Cecil Clementi decided to build a new pier to replace the former.
Closure and demolition
Johnston’s Pier was closed and had its red lamps transferred to a new pier, Clifford Pier, named after Sir Hugh Clifford, which was opened 3 June 1933. Johnston’s Pier had since demolished from 3 June 1933.[3]