Jace's reflection

On the heritage trail of the Singapore river, I have gained many new insights about Singapore in the past. I was rather amazed by the history of the many bridges that we saw along the way, like that of the Cavenagh bridge, dating back to 1869. I may have walked past this part of Singapore many times but it never crossed my mind to probe the reasons for the infrastructure or its existence.

What I found especially interesting was that Cavenagh Bridge was built with a mistake, that is – its arch was too low and boats could only pass during low tides. In addition, I learnt about the significance to the various sculptures along Singapore River and what it embodies. To the unknown, these sculptures may just be mere pieces of art, but after learning about the history of it, the sculptures took on new significance.

An example, ‘The River Merchants’ near the Cavenagh Bridge is a reminder of the site of former godowns that Mr Alexander Laurie Johnston once owned. This provides an illustration of how river activities were like last time and it is merely one of the many that we encountered along the way.