Cavenagh Bridge. A National Monument of Singapore

Cavenagh_Bridge_National_Monument_Singapore

Cavenagh Bridge is my favourite bridge on Singapore River as I feel it is the prettiest and it has an interesting history.

Spanning just 61 metres, Cavenagh Bridge is the oldest bridge in Singapore still in its original form since its opening in 1869 (151 years old in 2020). All other historic bridges went through several rebuildings or are not as old. (Image courtesy of NAS.)

Cavenagh bridge was designed by John Turnbull Thomson of PWD (Public Works Department) and built by P&W Maclellan, Glasgow Engineers for Straits $80,000. P&W Maclellan was also responsible for Teluk Ayer Market or Lau Pa Sat (Singapore's oldest market and food centre).

(Note: Other sources attribute design of Cavenagh Bridge to George Chancellor Collyer, chef engineer of the Straits Settlements.)

The cast iron, suspension bridge constructed and tested in Glasgow to carry a load four times its own weight was shipped to Singapore in parts and reassembled by convict labour in 1869. This was the last major project by convict labour in Singapore which included Saint Andrew's Cathedral, the Istana (then Government House), Collyer Quay etc.

By Xavi Garcia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link.

Cavenagh Bridge was launched to commemorate the establishment in 1867 of the British Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements comprising Singapore, Malacca, Penang and Dinding (today's Manjung in Perak, Malaysia). The Straits Settlement was originally established in 1826 under the British East India Company. (The British planned to develop Dinding which included Pangkor island, Lumut and Sitawan into a major seaport but it never materialised.)

The bridge was christened Edinburgh Bridge at launch in 1869 to commemorate the visit to Singapore that year by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (second son of Queen Victoria then ruling monarch of the British Empire).

It was renamed Cavenagh Bridge to honour Major General Orfeur Cavenagh, who was the last India-appointed Governor of the Straits Settlements (which Singapore was part) from 1859 to 1867.

Before Cavenagh Bridge, the only bridge across Singapore River was Thomson's Bridge north of Boat Quay (today's Elgin Bridge). (Map of Singapore 1878 courtesy of NAS.)

People who needed to travel between Empress Place (north side) and Raffles Square (south side) had to use Thomson's Bridge (today's Elgin Bridge) or take a boat ride. It cost 1 Duit to cross Singapore River by boat. (Image courtesy NAS.)

Between the 1820s to 1860s, Boat Quay was served by two types of lighter boats, tongkang and twakow which transferred cargo between ocean going ships and the quays of Singapore River. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Tongkang had tall masts. Once Cavenagh Bridge spanned Singapore River, tongkang boats could no longer access Boat Quay.

Since the opening of Cavenagh Bridge, Singapore River became the domain of twakow which were smaller and had no masts. However, the draught of Cavenagh Bridge was too low even for twakow during high tide. (Image courtesy of NAS.)

A troop of Madras Sepoy soldiers marched up and down to load test the bridge before it was opened to the public.

(In this picture, a company of soldiers parade along Battery Road at Commercial Square after marching across Cavenagh Bridge - visible in the background. The parade was in honour of Thailand's King Chulalongkorn's visit to Singapore in 1871.)

With heavy use by rickshaws, bullock carts and even tramcars, traffic demands soon exceeded the carriage capacity of Cavenagh Bridge. The colonial authorities built the larger Anderson Bridge in 1910 to replace Cavenagh Bridge.

The initial plan was to demolish Cavenagh Bridge (foreground) once Andersen Bridge (background) was operational. Fortunately, Cavenagh Bridge was spared and survived to this day in its original form.

Cavanagh Bridge remained in use to this day with a weight limit of 3 cwt (152 kilograms or 336 pounds) imposed on vehicles using the bridge. Cattle and horses were also banned from the bridge.

Today (2020), Cavenagh Bridge is used by pedestrians and cyclists.

In 1973, the popular Empress Place Food Centre with 92 hawker stalls was opened at the Empress Place end of Cavenagh Bridge. (Image courtesy of NAS.)

At the Raffles Place end, there was Boat Quay Food Centre which also opened in 1973. (Image courtesy of NAS.)

Both hawker centres were demolished in the 1990s for Singapore River redevelopment.

Empress Place and Boat Quay food centres are gone. What are your memories of these places?

Boat Quay Food Centre is gone but the Kucinta (river cat) sculptures at the abutment of Cavenagh Bridge are still there today. (Image courtesy of NAS.)

View of boat quay from Cavenagh Bridge today (2020). Seen from the air, Boat Quay is shaped like the belly of an egg laden carp.

In Chinese geomancy or Fengshui, the belly of the carp is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune. (Image courtesy of Flickr.)

In Chinese mythology, when a carp leaps over the dragon gate 鲤鱼跳龙门, it transforms into a mighty dragon. It is a symbol of tenacity in overcoming adversity in achieving one's goals.