Boat Quay

Once known as the flourishing stop for business for immigrants and travellers, the exchange point for the trading of goods and services, and the stop point for refreshment for overseas travellers Boat Quay accounted for up to 75% of Singapore’s shipping business by the 1860s. However, if one was to walk the streets of Boat Quay today, there would be no reminisce of the trading port that this place formerly used to be, except for the occasional passing by of boats and scattered artworks and sculptures depicting the trading activities that were prominent once.

The starting point for Singapore’s trading port and business hub, Boat Quay is now a hot spot among expatriates for chilling out. The south side of the Boat Quay River which was previously crowded by shop houses and run mainly by small wholesalers, it is now filled with bars, pubs, small scale seafood eateries and waterfront restaurants.

At this station we were supposed to look out for particular units, No 31 and No 45C. Number 31 housed the ‘Dallas Restaurant and Bar’ whereas Number 45C was ‘The Aluminium Corporation’. Little did we know that Number 31 was the previous premise for the Gambier and Pepper Society (monopolised by the Teochews) and that Number 45C used to be the headquarters of the Rubber Trade Association (dominated by the Hokkiens). Both Rubber and Gambier (a plant used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery) were prominent and important commodities of trade in the export market back then.

Did you know?

However my group and I did realise that the shop houses were of different heights. There was a reason to the height difference of the shop houses and the reason was parallel to that of the social and economic status of the owners of the shop houses. The higher the height of the building the wealthier and more profitable the business was. Take for example, unit 45C was a three levelled shop house where as unit 31 was a single level shop house probably an indication that the Rubber trade was more profitable than the Gambier trade at that time.

There was a reason as to why this particular area (the south side of the Boat Quay River) was concentrated with many lighters, shop houses, godowns and wholesalers’ offices. The south side of Boat Quay River resembled the belly of a carp which according to Chinese beliefs was a sign of prosperity and wealth hence accounting for the overcrowding of shop houses along this particular area.

Bum Boat Tours

It was also at this station that we were supposed to look at the bumboats/lighters that are a common sight at Boat Quay. Bumboats, formerly a method of both transportation and communication for traders, it is now merely a favourite tourist ride.

1. The River trade was commonly dominated by the Chulias (Indian Muslims), however they were soon displaced by the Teochews and Hokkiens.
2. The bumboats - small and much lighter in weight compared to other boats are often scrutinised by the foreign tourists for its seaworthiness and safety reasons. However, not many realise that the size of the bumboats are actually a symbol to the depth of the Singapore River. It was because the River wasn’t deep enough for large ships to ferry goods and services, that small bumboats and lighters were made instead.
3. ‘Eye see you’. Though we didn’t notice this feature on the river boats initially we did realise thereafter that ‘eyes’ were painted on the bows of these river boats to individualise itself from rival boats. Take for example the Hokkiens had on their river boats painted ‘green eyes’ whereas the Teochews had ‘red eyes’.
4. While some owners looked at the ‘eyes’ as a decorative purpose a few others who were more superstitious refused to ride without the ‘eyes’ for it both helped them and the boat to ‘see’ where they were headed towards.
5. It was also an indicator of the overloading of goods. Back then, if the water level was higher than and covering the ‘eye’ the owner would take it as a sign of overload of goods.
6. It is on this bumboat ride, that one can see many artwork statues mounted along the sideways of Boat Quay – each representing a different trade and each having a story to tell.
7. Most of these bumboats and lighters were removed by 1983 due to the government’s efforts to clean up the Singapore River.