Keppel Harbour
Encyclopedia
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...
between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani
Pulau Brani
Pulau Brani is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore, near Keppel Harbour. The island is situated between the main island of Singapore and the resort island of Sentosa, and is linked to the mainland via Brani Terminal Avenue...
and Sentosa
Sentosa
Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
. Its naturally sheltered and deep waters was to meet the requirements of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colonists
Colonialism
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...
attempting to establish a Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
maritime colony in that part of the world, and thereby setting the stage for the eventual formation of Singapore
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...
as a successful independent state.
Etymology and history
William Farquhar
Major-General William Farquhar was an employee of the East India Company, and the first Resident of colonial Singapore.-Early life:Farquhar was born at Newhall, Aberdeenshire, near Aberdeen in 1774, and joined the East India Company as a cadet when he was 17...
, who reported his discovery of a "new harbour" inhabited by orang laut (sea Gypsies) living in boats to Sir Stamford Raffles the following month.
In the 1830s, the Straits Settlements
Straits Settlements
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia.Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under direct British control as a crown colony on 1 April 1867...
, consisting of Singapore
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...
, Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
and Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, was a pirates' haven. By 1832, Singapore had become the busy centre of government for the three areas.
It was also at this time that Captain Henry Keppel
Henry Keppel
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, GCB, OM was a British admiral, son of the 4th Earl of Albemarle and of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Lord de Clifford.-Naval career:...
came to Singapore and helped to clear the Straits of pirates. Whilst based at Singapore, he discovered the deep water anchorage that came to be called by his name. Keppel first sailed to Singapore as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
in 1832 and took part in the Naning (Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
) expedition, and came again later in 1842 to help with the suppression of piracy in the Malay Archipelago
Malay Archipelago
The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....
. Keppel had a long association with Singapore, having visited the island on several occasions up to 1903. He survey
Hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...
ed the new harbour of Singapore, which was formed based on his plans. The harbour was completed in 1886.
In 1855, Captain William Cloughton, William Paterson and William Wemyss Ker purchased Pantai Chermin from the Temenggong of Johor. In 1859, Cloughton built the first dry dock
Dry dock
A drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
known as Number 1 Dock. In 1868, the second dock, Victoria Dock, was inaugurated by Sir Harry George Ord
Harry Ord
Major-General Sir Harry St. George Ord GCMG, CB, RE, was born on 4 August 1819 in North Cray, Kent, England. He was the son of Henry Gough Ord and grandson of Craven Ord of Greenstead Hall, Essex, a prominent antiquarian.-Education and career:...
, Governor of the Straits Settlements. The Albert Dock was opened in 1879.
For a while, the harbour was simply known as New Harbour but it was renamed Keppel Harbour by the Acting Governor, Sir Alexander Swettenham, on 19 April 1900 when Admiral Keppel
Henry Keppel
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, GCB, OM was a British admiral, son of the 4th Earl of Albemarle and of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Lord de Clifford.-Naval career:...
visited Singapore at the age of 92.
New Harbour Road was also renamed Keppel Road. This reportedly pleased Admiral Keppel very much. The Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
names for Keppel Road and Keppel Harbour were sin kam kong chu u or "Kampong Bahru dock", and sek lat moi or "selat passage" (selat is Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
for strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
s).
Future plans
Singapore's largest conglomerateConglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
, the Keppel group, has announced plans to build exclusive villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
s on the 5.3 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
Keppel Island that it owns in Keppel Bay at Keppel Harbour — home to a shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
until 2000.
The group will also launch a condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
designed by renowned architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...
, who is designing the masterplan for New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's ground zero
Ground zero
The term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
site. The 1,200-unit waterfront condominium — known as Keppel Bay phase two — will be launched in early 2007. It will sit on about 84,000 square metres of land on the mainland opposite Keppel Island, with a shoreline of 750 metres. It will have six high-rise blocks and some spacious low-rise apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s.
The condominium will be part of the 4860000 square feet (451,508.8 m²) Keppel Bay mega development, which is 70 per cent owned by Keppel Corp and 30 per cent by its unit Keppel Land. About 2,800 homes are set to be built, including the existing 969-unit Caribbean at Keppel Bay.
The most exclusive homes of the lot are likely to be reserved for Keppel Island, where the Marina@Keppel Bay, a separate development, will be completed by late 2007. The marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
will have high-end 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 tentative plans are for high-end villas and possible condominium units on the island.
A 245 metre cable-stayed bridge
Cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
, links Keppel Island to the mainland.
Keppel also has two other smaller plots for condominium on the other side of the Caribbean. One is 3.4 ha in size while the other, a joint venture with Mapletree, is 2.9 ha.There will be an MRT station named Keppel
Keppel
-People:*Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle , the right-hand man of William of Orange*Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel , a British admiral*William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle , a British aristocrat...
(Working Name)
