Wordless Wednesday

Fort Canning Park, Singapore
(March 10th, 2006)

I know it's hard to read those words from the above picture, so I typed them out for your easy reading:

The Gate of Fort Canning

This gate and adjoining wall are all that remain of a fort which was built on this hill between 1859 and 1861. The hill, previously known as Government Hill, was then renamed Fort Canning Hill after Lord Charles John Canning, the Governor General of India.

Fort Canning was part of a series of 19th-century fortifications including Fort Fullerton, Fort Palmer, Fort Teregah, and Fort Faber. To construct Fort Canning, the top of the hill was levelled to create a flat area of 7 acres (3 hectares).

In 1867 the fort had seven 68-pounder guns, eight 8-inch guns, two 13-inch mortars, and some 14-pounder cannonades. The Fort buildings included barracks for Indian and European soldiers, a hospital, and gunpowder magazines.

Most of the fortress was demolished in 1926 when a service reservoir was constructed.