The plan to start an oil refinery was given legs when the government reached an agreement with energy corporation Esso. A few suggested it take on new life as a tourist resort. The ministry of defence wanted to place security guns there, while other agencies envisioned a petrochemical complex or oil-related industrial hub. In 1967, Blakang Mati was officially parked under the jurisdiction of the newly independent government of Singapore 13 which was understandably excited about its potential. Some brought with them fishing rods for a day out in the sun, others spent the night there, camping along its coast and making friends with villagers. Mainland visitors were drawn to Blakang Mati. Schools and religious institutions sprung up as well. The civilian population also grew in numbers, as did economic activity on the island in the form of shops and services. Image from the National Museum of Singapore)Īfter the war, various British military units, as well as the Gurkhas, reoccupied Blakang Mati. The map was published during the war by news agency Tokyo Nichinichi Shimbunsha. 10Ī rare World War II map of Singapore by the Japanese which points out key infrastructure and areas of interest including Blakang Mati at the bottom. He discreetly disseminated news of Allied victories elsewhere in the world to keep morale up among fellow prisoners. Dineen, was a radio hobbyist who cobbled together a radio receiving set from odds and ends like silver paper and wire. 9ĭuring the occupation, Blakang Mati housed a prisoner of war camp for about 1,000 allied troops. In 1957, eight skulls and almost 100 bones were found in one of Blakang Mati’s creeks - likely the remains of Chinese men who had worked at the Singapore Harbour Board. Shortly after the invasion, the Japanese rounded up Chinese men and had them executed in remote locations around Singapore. In fact, the Japanese perceived the fortifications as a threat which explains the air raid of 18 January 1942 when 100 bombs were dropped on Blakang Mati. Image from the National Museum of Singapore)Ĭontrary to popular belief, the military installations on Blakang Mati were not completely useless in the Battle of Singapore for they were used to fire on targets in the centre, west and north of Singapore. The Royal Garrison Artillery barracks at Blakang Mati which comprised a parade square, housing quarters for military personnel, a church, grocery shop and small cinema, among other amenities. For leisure, they boarded sampans for the mainland where they could pay for a dance with a cabaret hostess at one of Singapore's three amusement parks, or enjoy a steak at one of the cafes around Victoria Street. (Image from the National Museum of Singapore)īritish personnel on Blakang Mati were served by dhobis (Indian laundry workers) and Chinese cooks. Royal Artillery units also moved in.īritish guns at Fort Siloso photographed in the mid-1970s. In the 1930s, the British added guns with the ability to pierce through armoured ships. To guard the eastern and western entrances of the harbour, Forts Serapong, Connaught and Siloso, as well as the Mount Imbiah Battery were installed in the 1870s and 1880s. The island by and large served as a military base during the colonial era.
Blakang Mati, he added, was "one vast pinery, supplying the island of Singapore with this delightful and refreshing fruit". The doctor added that the island was home to various plantations among which pineapple was the most prevalent. 4They were: Kampong Ayer Bandera, Kampong Serapong and Kampong Blakan Mati. 3 British doctor Robert Little who attended to the ill on the island in 1848, documented the existence of three villages inhabited by Malays, Bugis and Chinese. Image from the National Museum of Singaporeĭuring the colonial era, a mysterious epidemic wiped out staff working at a British signal station. Image from National Museum of SingaporeĪ pastoral scene (right) taken between the 1920s and 1950s. 2įerry service on Pulau Blakang Mati as photographed in 1915. 1 Its name translates to “the island behind which lies death”, possibly a result of brutal pirate battles of yesteryear. Located off the southern coast of Singapore, the 500-hectare island we know as Sentosa today, used to be called Pulau Blakang Mati from as far back as the 1600s. Image from the National Museum of Singapore) Lagoons and chalets line the beach of Sentosa following its transformation into a tourist attraction.
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