Fullerton Heritage - Fullerton Square

1:01 PM  , , , , , ,  

Raffles Place
South, Singapore
March 2013 
(This article is part of Merlion Wayfarer's Fullerton Heritage Guided Tour series.)
 
Located in the Downtown Core of the Central Region beside the Singapore River, Fullerton Square was likewise named in honour of Robert Fullerton, the first Governor of the United Settlements (1826 -1830).
 
Fort Fullerton used to stand on the site which is today known as Fullerton Square. The Fort with Artillery Barracks, a house for officers and barracks for soldiers was built in 1829 to defend the town of Singapore at the river mouth. On Battery Point, 68-pounder guns guarded the entrance to the River against Dutch invasions.
 
The battery (at where today's Battery Road now resides) was never used against the Dutch. The only time that it was used was against traders and merchants who rioted against the test firing of the cannons.  Each time that the cannons fired, due to the loud noise, goods being loaded or unloaded would fall into the river. These goods were then sold at half price.
  
In 1882, a Victorian-styled fountain was installed in Fullerton Square in commemoration of influential merchant Tan Kim Seng's donation to the City's Waterworks. When the Tan Kim Seng Fountain was moved to the Esplanade in 1925, the space became a car park which became the venue for many, heavily attended, election rallies in the past.
  
Fullerton Square was a popular election rally site for the ruling party, the People's Action Party (PAP) from 1959 - 1988. Thereafter, the election rally site moved to the current Raffles Place where the UOB Plazas are located and near the Fernando Botero bird sculpture alongside the river.

Majestic lionheads guard the entrance of the Fullerton Hotel at Fullerton Square...


Sources