Buildings on Singapore River, originally uploaded by Swami Stream.

Shot of the buildings along the Singapore River .

Info from Wikipedia
The mouth of the Singapore River was the old Port of Singapore, being naturally sheltered by the southern islands. Historically, the city of Singapore initially grew around the port so the river mouth became the centre of trade, commerce and finance. To this day, area around the old Singapore River mouth, the Downtown Core, remains the most expensive and economically important piece of land in Singapore.

At one time, Singapore River was the very lifeblood of the colony, the trade artery, the center of commercial activity, the heart of entrepot trade, the vessel of importance, the capillaries of life and the place which was frequented by the secret societies, the swaylos (Cantonese for coolies who worked on a boat) and the coolies who worked for the philanthropist Tan Tock Seng at Ellenborough Market and the towkay (Hokkien for business owner) Tan Kim Seng who was busy filling his godown with the riches of the East.

Singapore River is where the colourful and romantic history of the river and the myths and legends can still conjure up memories of the lighters, bumboats, tongkangs with their painted eyes to see the danger ahead and sampans of yesteryear. This is where the Malayan princes once sailed and this is where the bullock carts plodded their way up and down each bank as the river found its way to the former rocky river mouth. This is also where an early civilisation was conquered by the Javanese Majapahit Empire, in the year 1376.

It was here too that the Chinese lived, on the south bank, the Malays in kampongs further upstream, and the Indians used to reside until the Chinese forced them out to Rochor, Kallang and Geylang.

Some of the temples, shrines and other places of worship still stand in the vicinity of the river. So too are the godowns, the bridges such as Anderson Bridge, Elgin Bridge and Cavenagh Bridge, the Merlion, the shophouses, and the large trees such as Banyan and Madras Thorn. Some parts of this area include quays such as Clarke Quay and Boat Quay, which generated trade and extensive demand for services with the boats that landed at the quays. Boat Quay itself was handling three quarters of the shipping service in the 1860s. Shophouses and warehouses flourished around the quays due to their proximity to trade during the colonial era, but presently house various bars, pubs and restaurants, as well as antique shops.

The river still borders places where seamen and others, for example, near Raffles Landing Place, made offerings and burned their joss sticks. Poles with streamers flying were once used to tie up the barges as the water lapped against the old stone steps and walls.

Sir Stamford Raffles lost no time after January 1819, when he landed on Singapore River among the orang laut and the human skulls, the victims of river pirates, in bargaining with the Temenggong, the Johor chief who then ruled the place, having settled in 1811. At the very moment of landing, Raffles must have realised the importance of the river for, in the same year of 1819, the north bank was drained for government buildings and, in 1822, the south bank was reclaimed and a retaining wall and steps were built.

With the expansion of trade came congestion and pollution. Through lack of knowledge or foresight, the bridges were constructed too low and the river was too shallow for the demands that were to be made on its use. This historic river, which Raffles had fashioned from salt marshes, sand bars and mangrove swamps, has witnessed the British rule and the Japanese occupation, and has supported years of economic activity by the Chinese, Malays, Indians and others.

Old maps of the river state that it actually originates from Bukit Larangan (currently Fort Canning Hill).
[edit] Pollution and cleanup

Starting in the 1880s, there was heavy traffic on the Singapore River due to rapid urbanization and expanding trade. At the same time, it brought in water pollution caused by the disposal of garbage, sewage and other by-products of industries located along the river’s banks. The sources of water pollution into the Singapore River and Kallang Basin included pig wastes from pig and duck farms, unsewered premises, street hawkers and vegetable wholesaling. Riverine activities such as transport, boat building and repairs were also found along the Singapore River. Some 750 lighters plied along the Singapore River and Kallang Basin in 1977. Waste, oil spills and wastewater from these boats and lighters added to the pollution of the rivers.

In 1977, Lee Kuan Yew, then the Prime Minister put forth an ambitious goal for the government to clean up the Singapore River and Kallang Basin: and in ten years let us have fishing in the Singapore River and Kallang River. It can be done.

By October 1977, an action plan on “The Clean-up of the Singapore River and Kallang Basin” was submitted to the Prime Minister. By late 1977, the government was starting to take action to clean up the river. The plan involved the development of infrastructure such as housing, industrial workshops and sewage; massive resettlement of squatters, backyard trades and industries and farmers; re-siting of street hawkers to food centres; and phasing out of pollutive activities. Industries located by the river were removed and squatters were resettled into flats. Refuse was collected daily for incineration, while hawkers were issued licenses and provided specified areas with proper sewerage amenities. The dredging of the river bed and the removal of hundreds of tons of debris which had been piled up over the years helped marine life to return to the tidal river.

Ten years later in 1987, the clean-up of the Singapore River and Kallang Basin was completed. In September 1987, the Ministry of the Environment together with other government ministries and statutory boards celebrated the success of the clean-up with an event called the “Clean Rivers Commemoration”. After the massive clean-up, people can now engage in activities such as wayang performances on a bumboat, variety shows staged on pontoons anchored in the river, and boat races. Today, speedboats, dragon boats, pedal-boats and sampans can be seen plying on the clean waterways of the Singapore River.

Uploaded by Swami Stream on 22 Nov 09, 6.11PM IST.