Clarke Quay
Encyclopedia
Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore
, located within the Singapore River Planning Area. The quay is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River
and Boat Quay
.
, Singapore's second Governor
and Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1873 to 1875, who played a key role in positioning Singapore as the main port
for the Malay
states of Perak
, Selangor
and Sungei Ujong.
Clarke Quay is also the name of a road
along the quay, part of which has since been converted into a pedestrian mall
. Clarke Street, located next to Clarke Quay, was officially named in 1896, and was originally two streets known simply as East Street and West Street in north Kampong Malacca. Similar to Clarke Quay, Clarke Street has since been converted into a pedestrian mall.
The Hoklos (Hokkien) refer to Clarke Street as gi hok kong si au, meaning "behind the new Gi Hok Kongsi" (house). The new Gi Hok Kongsi was near Carpenter Street. Another Chinese
reference, which only refers to the Southern bank around Read Bridge area, was cha chun tau (柴船头), meaning "jetty
for boats carrying firewood
". Small tongkang
s carrying firewood from Indonesia
berthed at this jetty. The firewood trade was primarily a Teochew
enterprise.
era, Boat Quay was the commercial
centre where barge lighters
would transport goods upstream to warehouse
s at Clarke Quay.
At the height of its prosperity, dozens of bumboat
s jostled for mooring
space beside Clarke Quay. This continued well into the later half of the twentieth century. By this time, the Singapore River had also become very polluted
. The government decided to relocate cargo
services to a new modern facility in Pasir Panjang
. The bumboats and lorries
departed to their new home and Clarke Quay fell silent.
The government then cleaned up the Singapore River and its environment from 1977 to 1987. Plans were made to revamp the area and turn it into a flourishing commercial, residential and entertainment
precinct. These plans took into serious consideration the historical value of Clarke Quay, making it mandatory that new buildings complement the historical character of the area and that certain old buildings be restored.
Clarke Quay Festival Village, the biggest conservation
project for the Singapore River, was developed and officially opened on 10 December 1993. In later years, Clarke Quay was managed and owned by CapitaLand
.
Ten years later, works were commenced to revamp the Clarke Quay area in order to give the place a better tenant
mix. The development also saw major changes to the exterior and riverside areas. The Satay
Club and a number of establishments vacated Clarke Quay to make way for new tenants. The upgraded Clarke Quay features the Zirca, The Clinic, Forbidden City by the Indochine Group and the whole development was completed in October 2006.
The Clarke Quay area at present is drastically different from the preservation/conservation effort from 1993.
s and nightclub
s. There are also moored
Chinese
junks (tongkangs) that have been refurbished into floating pubs and restaurants. The Cannery is one of the anchor tenants of the place. There are over 5 different concepts in one block. Another anchor tenant, The Arena, will be home to Singapore's First Permanent Illusion Show (starting Aug 2008) starring J C Sum
and 'Magic Babe' Ning
. The G-MAX reverse bungee
, the first in Singapore, is located at the entrance which opened in November 2003. Notable restaurant
s and nightclub
s include Hooters
and Indochine. River cruise
s and river taxi
s on the Singapore River can be accessed from Clarke Quay. One of its most popular attractions is its exciting host of CQ's signature events happening once every quarter. Clark Quay has become known as a hub of singaporean nightclubs including Zirca, and up until 2008, the Ministry of Sound
.
Clarke Quay MRT Station
is located within the vicinity. A new SOHO
concept development cum shopping centre called The Central
, above the MRT station, was completed in 2007.
]
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, located within the Singapore River Planning Area. The quay is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River
Singapore River
The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean...
and Boat Quay
Boat Quay
Boat Quay is a historical quay in Singapore which is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River on its southern bank.It was the busiest part of the old Port of Singapore, handling three quarters of all shipping business during the 1860s...
.
Etymology
Clarke Quay was named after Sir Andrew ClarkeAndrew Clarke (administrator)
Lieutenant-General Sir Andrew Clarke, GCMG, CB, CIE was a British soldier and governor as well as a politician in Australia.-Background and education:...
, Singapore's second Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
and Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1873 to 1875, who played a key role in positioning Singapore as the main port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
for the Malay
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
states of Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
, Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
and Sungei Ujong.
Clarke Quay is also the name of a road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
along the quay, part of which has since been converted into a pedestrian mall
Pedestrian mall
Pedestrian malls in the United States are also known as pedestrian streets and are the most common form of pedestrian zone in large cities in the United States. It is a street lined with storefronts and closed off to most automobile traffic...
. Clarke Street, located next to Clarke Quay, was officially named in 1896, and was originally two streets known simply as East Street and West Street in north Kampong Malacca. Similar to Clarke Quay, Clarke Street has since been converted into a pedestrian mall.
The Hoklos (Hokkien) refer to Clarke Street as gi hok kong si au, meaning "behind the new Gi Hok Kongsi" (house). The new Gi Hok Kongsi was near Carpenter Street. Another Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
reference, which only refers to the Southern bank around Read Bridge area, was cha chun tau (柴船头), meaning "jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
for boats carrying firewood
Firewood
Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....
". Small tongkang
Tongkang
Tongkang or "Tong'kang" was a type of light wooden boat used commonly in the early 19th century to carry goods along rivers in the Malay Archipelago.-Description:...
s carrying firewood from Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
berthed at this jetty. The firewood trade was primarily a Teochew
Chaozhou
Chaozhou is a city in eastern Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the South China Sea to the southeast...
enterprise.
History
The Singapore River has been the centre of trade since modern Singapore was founded in 1819. During the colonialColonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
era, Boat Quay was the commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
centre where barge lighters
Lighter (barge)
A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps," with their motive power provided by water currents...
would transport goods upstream to warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
s at Clarke Quay.
At the height of its prosperity, dozens of bumboat
Bumboat
A bumboat is a small boat used to ferry supplies to ships moored away from the shore. Originally referring to a scavenger's boat, the name comes from the combination of the Dutch word for a canoe - "boomschuit" , and "boat"....
s jostled for mooring
Mooring
Mooring may refer to:* Mooring , any device used to hold secure an object by means of cables, anchors, or lines* Mooring mast, a structure designed to hold airships and blimps securely in the open when they are not in flight....
space beside Clarke Quay. This continued well into the later half of the twentieth century. By this time, the Singapore River had also become very polluted
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
. The government decided to relocate cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
services to a new modern facility in Pasir Panjang
Pasir Panjang
Pasir Panjang is an area in the south-western part of Singapore. It is located at the southern part of the Queenstown Planning Area, an urban planning zone under the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Kent Ridge is a topographical feature which runs through Pasir Panjang.-Etymology:The name Pasir...
. The bumboats and lorries
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
departed to their new home and Clarke Quay fell silent.
The government then cleaned up the Singapore River and its environment from 1977 to 1987. Plans were made to revamp the area and turn it into a flourishing commercial, residential and entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
precinct. These plans took into serious consideration the historical value of Clarke Quay, making it mandatory that new buildings complement the historical character of the area and that certain old buildings be restored.
Clarke Quay Festival Village, the biggest conservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
project for the Singapore River, was developed and officially opened on 10 December 1993. In later years, Clarke Quay was managed and owned by CapitaLand
CapitaLand
CapitaLand Limited is the result of a merger in the year 2000 of then DBS Land and Pidemco Land. It is one of Asia's largest real estate companies. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, the company's core businesses are real estate development, hospitality and real estate financial services...
.
Ten years later, works were commenced to revamp the Clarke Quay area in order to give the place a better tenant
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
mix. The development also saw major changes to the exterior and riverside areas. The Satay
Satay
Satay , or sate, is a dish of marinated, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. Satay may consist of diced or sliced chicken, goat, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu; the more authentic version uses skewers from the midrib of the coconut palm frond, although bamboo skewers are...
Club and a number of establishments vacated Clarke Quay to make way for new tenants. The upgraded Clarke Quay features the Zirca, The Clinic, Forbidden City by the Indochine Group and the whole development was completed in October 2006.
The Clarke Quay area at present is drastically different from the preservation/conservation effort from 1993.
Today
Presently, five blocks of restored warehouses house various restaurantRestaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s and nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s. There are also moored
Mooring
Mooring may refer to:* Mooring , any device used to hold secure an object by means of cables, anchors, or lines* Mooring mast, a structure designed to hold airships and blimps securely in the open when they are not in flight....
Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
junks (tongkangs) that have been refurbished into floating pubs and restaurants. The Cannery is one of the anchor tenants of the place. There are over 5 different concepts in one block. Another anchor tenant, The Arena, will be home to Singapore's First Permanent Illusion Show (starting Aug 2008) starring J C Sum
J C Sum
J C Sum is a Singaporean illusionist and illusion designer. Nicknamed "The Thinking Man's Magician", J C is one of the most highly regarded illusionists and illusion designers from Asia. AsiaOne named him as "one of the most celebrated illusionists in Asia" and MagicSeen called him "The Ace in...
and 'Magic Babe' Ning
Magic Babe Ning
Ning Cai , better known as ‘Magic Babe’ Ning, is a Singaporean magician and entrepreneur. She has been recognised by Channel News Asia as "South East Asia's First Professional Female Magician" and when she first burst onto the entertainment scene, she was acknowledged as "Singapore's Only...
. The G-MAX reverse bungee
Reverse bungee
The Reverse Bungee is a modern type of fairground ride that was invented by Troy Griffin in 1995...
, the first in Singapore, is located at the entrance which opened in November 2003. Notable restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s and nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s include Hooters
Hooters
Hooters is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Incorporated, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hooters, Incorporated, based in Clearwater, Florida...
and Indochine. River cruise
Cruising (maritime)
Cruising by boat is a lifestyle that involves living for extended time on a boat while traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising generally refers to trips of a few days or more, and can extend to round-the-world voyages.- History :...
s and river taxi
Water taxi
A water taxi or water bus, also known as a commuter boat, is a watercraft used to provide public transport, usually but not always in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar...
s on the Singapore River can be accessed from Clarke Quay. One of its most popular attractions is its exciting host of CQ's signature events happening once every quarter. Clark Quay has become known as a hub of singaporean nightclubs including Zirca, and up until 2008, the Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...
.
Clarke Quay MRT Station
Clarke Quay MRT Station
Clarke Quay MRT Station ' is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the North East Line in Singapore. It is located next to Swissôtel Merchant Court at the junction of Eu Tong Sen Street, New Bridge Road and Merchant Road...
is located within the vicinity. A new SOHO
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
concept development cum shopping centre called The Central
The Central
The Central is a commercial and residential building located on Eu Tong Sen Street, opposite Clarke Quay along the Singapore River in Central Area, Singapore...
, above the MRT station, was completed in 2007.
External links
- Clarke Quay website
- Clarke Quay Virtual Reality Tour
- http://www.timeoutsingapore.com/clubs/venues/Club/ministry-of-sound-singapore
]