Elgin Bridge which spans Singapore River linking South Bridge Road and North Bridge Road is the first bridge of Singapore. First completed in 1820 as a timber foot bridge, Elgin Bridge was rebuilt five times before its present form in 1929.
First Edition 1819. No Name Bridge
Bute Map of Singapore 1820
When Stamford Raffles landed in Singapore and established the port of Singapore at Singapore River in 1819, the need for a bridge linking the north and south banks was quickly apparent. Most of the less than 1000 people living in Singapore in 1819 were settled on the north bank. There was little need to go to the other side, the south bank. They went by boat should the occasion to go to the other side arose.
Image credit: National Archives of Singapore
Raffles ordered a bridge built to link the local Malay community and Chulia Campong, the enclave on the south bank he planned for the Tamil Muslims whom were brought in from the Coromandel Coast of south India as lightermen, traders, money changers and other essential services required to support Singapore port operations. A simple unnamed wooden footbridge was built probably in 1819 or within a year in 1820.
The no name timber bridge was quickly replaced by Presentment Bridge built in 1822 which was also made of wood. It was called Jackson Bridge after Lieutenant Philip Jackson who supervised its construction. It was also called Monkey Bridge perhaps because it was a simple footbridge. Presentment Bridge was a drawbridge where the centre section can be raised to let tall boats such as tongkang pass.
Third Edition 1844. Thomson Bridge
Singapore River 1860. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore
Twenty years later, Presentment Bridge was demolished and replaced in 1844 by another wooden bridge, a larger studier structure re-named Thomson Bridge.
The wooden Thomson Bridge was demolished in 1862 and replaced by an iron bridge built in Calcutta, India.
Lord of Elgin entering Peking in 1860. Image credit: Wikipedia
The new iron bridge was named Elgin Bridge in honour of James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin who was then Governor-General of India. At that time, Singapore was part of the British Straits Settlements (which included Penang and Malacca) administered from Calcutta, India. Singapore was then within Earl of Elgin's jurisdiction, hence the name Elgin Bridge. It was probably around this time that the locals began calling it "Thih Tiau Kio" 铁吊桥 which literally means "iron suspension bridge" in Teochew Chinese. By the 1860s, the Chinese population along Singapore River had grown. They were mostly Teochew, followed by Hokkien. By the turn of the century, the Chulia Campong became part of Clarke Quay and Teochew enclave after the Tamil Muslim Chulias moved to Little India around Serangoon. The area around Singapore River (where Teochew Chinese lived), Teluk Ayer (Hokkien enclave), and Kreta Ayer (Cantonese enclave) up to Tanjong Pagar was referred to as Toa Por or "big town" (大坡). Across Singapore River at High Street, Hill Street and also around Middle Road, Seah Street and Purvis Street where the Hainanese settled was referred to as Sio Por "little town" (小坡).
In 1929, the iron Elgin Bridge was demolished and replaced by yet another larger, stronger bridge. The fifth edition of Elgin Bridge would be made of concrete reinforced with embedded steel.
Though the structure has changed, locals still call this "iron suspension bridge" or "Thih Tiau Kio".
The view around Elgin Bridge in 1962.
Elgin Bridge 2020
Elgin Bridge has not changed much since 1929, though all around it - Singapore River and Singapore itself have completely transformed in the intervening 90 years.
Elgin Bridge is decorated by street lamps designed by renowned Italian sculptor Rudolfo Nolli (who was also responsible for the sculptures at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station).
Rudolfo Nolli also designed the plaque featuring the Singapore municipal crest of palm tree and lion. Six of these stately looking plaques still adorn the Elgin Bridge today.
Elgin Bridge 2020
In 2008, Elgin Bridge was included in the Urban Renewal Authourity of Singapore conservation plan. In 2019, the National Heritage Board gazetted Elgin Bridge as a national monument of Singapore.
Elgin Bridge is within 10 minutes walking distance from Raffles MRT station and Clarke Quay MRT station.
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