Raffles didn’t always stand here

Posted by noelbynature under Buildings and Monuments, National History
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Besides the Merlion, another one of Singapore’s famous statues must be the one of Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles standing by the Singapore River near Empress Place, believed to be near the original landing location when he first came to shore in 1819. That statue is a copy of the original statue that stands in front of the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. But did you know that the Raffles in front of the Victoria Concert Hall was moved there from another prominent location?

Jerome finds out about the history of the Raffles statue at the Victoria Theatre:

It’s original location was right smack in the middle of the Padang, strange as it may seem, facing the sea. Based on the infopedia article on the statue, it was placed there on Jubilee Day, which was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the reign of Queen Victoria at the Padang. The undignified location in the middle of a sports field called for a respectable location to be found and it was only on the occasion of Singapore’s centenary celebrations in February of the year 1919, that it was relocated to its present location and placed with a grand semi-circular colonnade. The colonnade disappeared at the end of the Japanese occupation, during which the statue was moved. Popular belief has it that the Japanese had intended for it to be melted for the bronze that it was made of and we are very fortunate that it wasn’t eventually, being placed back in its location after the war.

Check out the history of Raffles’ statue in Jerome’s post here.