Prisoners their own warders : $b a record of the convict prison at Singapore in the Straits Settlements, established 1825, discontinued 1873, together with a cursory history of the convict establishments at Bencoolen, Penang and Malacca from the year 1797McNair, John Frederick Adolphus
History
Prisoners their own warders : $b a record of the convict prison at Singapore in the Straits Settlements, established 1825, discontinued 1873, together with a cursory history of the convict establishments at Bencoolen, Penang and Malacca from the year 1797
McNair, John Frederick Adolphus
Prisons -- Straits Settlements; Singapore Prison
Yet another of the important public works of the colony, upon which the
labour of Indian convicts was employed some five years earlier, was at
the construction of the lighthouse on "Pedro Branca," called the
"Horsburgh," after the celebrated hydrographer of that name. The design
was by Thompson, and the selection of the site by Sir Edward Belcher,
R.N., and most of the detail work was under the direct supervision of
Mr. J. Bennett, a civil and mechanical engineer, who afterwards, as we
have said, played a prominent part in the direction and control of the
labour and industrial training of the Indian convicts in the Singapore
jail. He had, as an assistant, Mr. Magaelhaens of the Convict
Department, and both the officers and the convicts lived on board of a
"Tonkong," or a large boat, which was anchored close to the rock. The
convicts were chiefly employed in the capacity of blasters and dressers
of stone. The foundation stone was laid with masonic honours by the
Worshipful Master Brother M. F. Davidson, on the 24th May, 1850, in the
presence of the Governor, Colonel Butterworth, and a large party from
Singapore; and the work was completed and the lamps lighted on the 27th
September, 1851.
The _Free Press_ spoke of it as an edifice of which Singapore might well
be proud. "The granite blocks which form the walls were quarried and
shaped at Pulo Ubin, the timber used in the building was the growth of
our island, the brass rails of the staircases were moulded and turned in
this settlement, and last, not least, the architect and engineer
acquired the skill and experience which enabled him to erect so rapidly
the chaste and stately building during a long and useful career as
Government Surveyor at Singapore." Both the quarrying of the stone at
Pulo Ubin, and the felling of the timber required in the erection of
this lighthouse, were by the work of Indian convicts.
In 1845 the foundation stone of a second lighthouse was laid on a reef
near a small island at the eastern entrance to the Straits of Malacca
called "The Coney." It was also laid with masonic honours by the
Worshipful Master and Brethren of the Lodge Zetland in the East, No.
748, in the presence of the Governor, Colonel Butterworth, and many of
the British and foreign residents at Singapore. This lighthouse was
named after the eminent founder of the settlement, Sir T. Stamford
Raffles, and was completed in 1856. It was built by free labour, but
many convicts were employed, as at the "Horsburgh," as stone cutters,
blasters, and as labourers, under the charge of an officer of the
Convict Department.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account