We previously wrote about The Fullerton Hotel, one of Singapore’s oldest buildings, but did you know that it’s just one part of an entire area that’s steeped in history? We’re talking as far back as Singapore’s founding years, when our earliest immigrants first arrived – and their very first steps into Singapore would take them through Clifford Pier.
Here’s all you need to know about this very important player in our history:
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
Before it was Clifford Pier, the jetty was named Johnston’s Pier, for Alexander Laurie Johnston, a Scotsman who was one of the earliest European settlers in Singapore, alongside Sir Stamford Raffles.
Image credit: Lambert & Co., G.R., Leiden University Library
He was one of baby Singapore’s most prominent businessmen, and established A. L. Johnston & Co. – the island’s first mercantile firm, as well as a shipping, banking, and insurance agent.
P.S.: Alexander Laurie Johnston even helped found the Singapore Chamber of Commerce in 1837, and served as its first president.
Collyer Quay with Johnston’s Pier in the background.
Image credit: National Museum of Singapore
Before Johnston’s Pier was constructed, most of the merchants operating out of Commercial Square, AKA Raffles Place today, had their own jetties. The idea of a larger wooden jetty was then floated to the municipal committee, before they sanctioned the building of a stone ghaut and embankment – Johnston’s Pier, which was completed in 1856.
At the end of the pier hung a red oil lamp, lit to warn ships entering the shallow waters near the shoreline. Thanks to this, Johnston’s Pier became known as Ang Teng Beh Tau (Red Lantern Pier) in Hokkien, and Lampu Merah (Red Lamp) in Malay.
Clifford Pier, 1900s.
Image credit: National Archives of Singapore
As Singapore’s economy boomed, Johnston’s Pier was unable to handle the volume of sea traffic that it was receiving. Construction of a new pier further down Collyer Quay began in 1927, designed to mirror the industrial grandeur of historic European train stations such as London’s St. Pancras.
Image credit: @fullertonbaysg via Instagram
Spanning 62m by 33m, without internal columns to maximise passenger flow and cargo handling, this architectural wonder featured a roof made with concrete arched trusses in a ribbon-like form.
You might even recognise the name of the local contractor who was in charge of driving the steel piles into the seabed of the quay – Woh Hup, still a leading construction firm today.
Image credit: The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore via Facebook
All was fine and well, until it was announced that the pier would be renamed Clifford’s Pier, after Sir Hugh Clifford, Governor of the Straits Settlements between 1927 to 1929. The local merchant community revolted against this, wanting to retain the pier’s historic name.
The colonial government refused, and the Straits Settlements (Singapore) Association boycotted the official opening, which took place on 3rd June 1933.
Spectators would line the banks to watch the regatta.
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
Besides being the landing point for hundreds of thousands of immigrants seeking a better life in Nanyang, or South Sea, Clifford Pier was also where the Annual New Year’s Day Sea Sports Regatta, started by the Royal Singapore Yacht Club (RSYC) in 1834, took place.
These celebrations shifted from off the coast of the Padang, where they were originally held, to Johnston’s Pier, and eventually Clifford Pier.
Malay koleks at a regatta in 1900.
Image credit: National Museum of Singapore
Every 1st January, regional and European maritime vessels would compete against one another. There would be traditional koleks, sampans, indigenous prahus, canoes, dinghies, and even canoes, with the races watched by tens of thousands of spectators both local and expatriate.
Tub race.
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
The races were just one part of the festivities; like any carnival today, there were lots of fringe activities too.
Greasy pole match, 1954.
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
These included greasy pole matches, where competitors made their way across oiled logs suspended over the bay to grab a prize, and tub races, with contestants paddling their way to the finish line in wooden laundry tubs.
Makan break at the New Year Sea Sports Regatta, 1950.
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
It’s before most of our times, but this annual tradition carried on until pretty recently, only fading away in the late 1960s!
Interior of Clifford Pier, 1950s.
Image credit: National Museum of Singapore
Clifford Pier underwent a renovation in 1949, where the damages from World War 2 were repaired. It became the launchpad for day trips to the Southern Islands, and to Kusu Island in particular during the 9th lunar month, when devotees of Tua Pek Kong would make their pilgrimage there to celebrate his birthday.
Besides the day trips, Clifford Pier was also the ferry terminal for day and night leisure cruises in the region.
The carpark that would transform into a street food market by night, mid-1900s.
Image credit: National Museum of Singapore
Long before pasar malams were a thing, we had Clifford Pier in the 1960s, whose open-air parking lot would transform into a street food market by night. It’s not clear if these operated at night, but some recounts tell of floating hawkers on sampans serving noodles, and sarabat stalls, AKA pushcart stalls, selling teh tarik.
Image credit: @fullertonbaysg via Instagram
After more than a hundred years of being the gateway for people and goods entering and leaving Singapore, Clifford Pier officially closed to maritime traffic on 1st April 2006, and on 14th March 2007, was gazetted for architectural conservation.
Image credit: The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore via Facebook
The landmark was meticulously restored under the hands of architect firm DP Architects, who preserved the original stained glass fanlights, iron brackets, and signature arched trusses, while adding in modern touches such as air-conditioning.
It was then integrated into The Fullerton Bay Hotel, and is today The Clifford Pier restaurant – the hotel’s flagship dining venue, which can be booked for weddings and such events.
History, as they say, lives all around us – if we only take the time to look. While Marina Bay is now synonymous with glittering skyscrapers, landmarks like Clifford Pier offer a glimpse into Singapore’s past. It’s not simply a beautiful building; it’s a living reminder of the maritime heritage that helped shape the nation we know today.
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Cover image adapted from: @fullertonbaysg via Instagram, Heritage SG Memories via Facebook
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