Map of Fort Canning today

Fort Canning has since been turned into a park. The above is a recent map showing the different trails. To see details , click on the map above to enlarge it.

The Time Ball at Fort Canning

The picture above , circa 1900, shows the 3 major artefacts that still adorn the highest point on Fort Canning today , namely the lighthouse , the flagstaff and the lesser known time ball(extreme left).

The time ball at Fort Canning consists of a solid metal pole rising 5 to 7 storeys with a large steel ball inserted through it. The steel ball would be dropped at a specific time of the day so that everyone could set their watches and clocks to a common time. Providing accurate time was a public service which the British Colonial government probably felt compelled to offer as Singapore was fast developing into a major port for East-West trade.

Such a public service dates back to the time of ancient Rome where sundials and water clocks were built in public areas to provide a common time to regulate societial life and for the purpose of faciliating business and commerce.

There were in fact two time balls in Singapore , one at the top of Mount Faber for use by seamen at Keppel Harbour and the other at Fort Canning for the people living and working in Singapore town.

At 1255pm each day the time ball at Fort Canning would be hoisted and then dropped at exactly 1pm. This allowed for the business people to reset their clocks and watches if neccessary. The world's first time ball was built in Portsmouth England in 1825.

Early Chinese Ceremics in Singapore? Visit Fort Canning Centre to find out...

Visit the Fort Canning Centre , opposite the Fort Canning green , to take a peek at some of the earthern ware unearthed at the Fort Canning archelogical site. Some of the ceremics and pottery date back to as far as the Tang dynasty.

Trade is likely to be the explaination for these pieces of ceremics ending up in Singapore. The area opposite Fort Canning hill was a bustling trading area centuries before Raffles set foot here.

Fort Canning christian cemetery - Street names and early settlers

Early European settlers are remembered even today through the street names around Singapore. Many of them are buried in the large Christian cemetery that used to be after the Gothic gates. However , the remains have since been exhumed but their tombstones are now erected along the walls of what was the original burial grounds. Here you would find some familiar names.

Spottiswoode ( Spottiswoode Park) & Aroozoo ( Aroozoo Road ) are examples of some of the names which today are part of Singapore's living past.

Fort Canning's Strategic Location - First signs of life

Map of Fort Canning and its surrounding environs ( above) Notice the two rivers and the hills commanding position overlooking the town.

While the rest of the Singapore was inhabited by small bands of fishing villagers such as the Orang Seletar and the Orang Luat , who were sea gypsies , the start of every major settlement in Singapore since the 14th Century seemed to cluster roughly along where the mouth of the Singapore river is today.

Undoubtedly, the presence of a water source was useful for both navigation inland as well as to possible sources of drinking water further upstream. However , early arrivals would have summised that it was impossible to have any flourishing rice cultivation around the river mouth as Singapore's soil , topography and seasonal rains made the growing of rice unlikely.

The site in and around Fort Canning or Bukit Larangan was protected from both sides by two rivers namely , the Singaproe river and what is today the Rochor river. To the back was Fort Canning to which inhabitants could seek rufuge in the event of an invasion. The elevation would give the inhabitants some defensive advantages. The two rivers also acted as natural boundaries that would slow aggressors down.