Fullerton Heritage - Anderson & Cavenagh Bridges

1:27 PM  , , , , , ,  

Raffles Place
South, Singapore
March 2013
(This article is part of Merlion Wayfarer's Fullerton Heritage Guided Tour series.)
  
The Fullerton Hotel resides between two bridges - Cavenagh Bridge and Anderson Bridge.
   

Cavenagh Bridge

Cavenagh Bridge is the only suspension bridge and one of the oldest bridges in Singapore, spanning the lower reaches of the Singapore River in the Downtown Core.
In July 1856, there was a mere wooden foot-bridge where the Cavenagh Bridge now stands. In 1868, Cavenagh Bridge was built to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements held in 1869. Built in Scotland, it was originally intended as a drawbridge. It was named after Colonel William Cavenagh, the last Governor of the Straits Settlements (1859 - 1867) under the Government of British India. The coat of arms of the Cavenagh family can still be seen atop the signage at both ends of the bridge.
When Cavenagh Bridge became unable to cope with the increasing traffic into town and its low draught was insufficient for the passage of boats at high tide, the government decided to build the Anderson Bridge in 1910 to replace Cavenagh Bridge.  To this day, this 1910 sign can still be seen on the entrance to the bridge:
     
POLICE NOTICE
CAVENAGH BRIDGE
 
THE USE OF THIS BRIDGE IS PROHIBITED TO ANY VEHICLE OF WHICH THE LADEN WEIGHT EXCEEDS 3 CWT AND TO ALL CATTLE AND HORSES

BY ORDER
CHIEF POLICE OFFICER.

     
Anderson Bridge

Anderson Bridge is a vehicular bridge that spans across the Singapore River. It was completed in 1910,[1] and was named after the Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States (1904–1911), Sir John Anderson, who officially opened the bridge on 12 March 1910.
Made of steel, Anderson Bridge's basic arched structure serves as a functional support. It also has three steel arches with powerful ribs, two rusticated archways and a fluted pier at each end. Erected across the mouth of the Singapore River between 1908-1910 by the Public Works Department, the superstructure was constructed by contractor Howarth Erskine Ltd and the bridge itself built by A. Butments of The Westminster Construction Co. Ltd. The plaque on the bridge is of a stone specially imported from Egypt. Built just after the reclamation of the south bank of the Singapore River, it was opened on 12 March 1910, by its namesake, Sir John Anderson, K. C. M. G. Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States (1904 - 1911).
 
    
Merlion Wayfarer's Fullerton Heritage Guided Tour Series


 

    Sources