Kent Ridge is the name of a ridge and a neighbourhood located in

Pasir Panjang Pasir Panjang is an area located at the southern part of Queenstown in Singapore. Kent Ridge Park is a topographical feature which runs adjacent to Pasir Panjang. History Pasir Panjang Road, which once hugged the coastline, was laid down a ...

, in the Queenstown Planning Area of Singapore. The area is notable for housing two parks within the

Southern Ridges The Southern Ridges comprise of trails connecting three parks along the southern ridge of Singapore. Some of the attractions along these trails include its greenery and the connecting bridges. This project linked up the parks between the Kent ...

Kent Ridge Park Kent Ridge Park is a 47-hectare public park located in Kent Ridge, Singapore, between the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Science Park. Due to its undisturbed habitat and abundant plant life, it is a popular venue for bi ...

and HortPark. The main campus of the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

is located adjacent to it, straddling along the southern boundary of Kent Ridge. It is served by the

Kent Ridge MRT station Kent Ridge MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle line in Queenstown, Singapore. The station is named after the geographical feature, Kent Ridge and is near the junction of South Buona Vista Road and Lowe ...

. The area occupied by Kent Ridge was formerly known as Pasir Panjang Ridge, and was originally a lowland evergreen

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

. The natural vegetation of the area mainly consists of groves of

Tembusu The tembusu is a large evergreen tree in the family Gentianaceae, native to Southeast Asia (from Indo-China to New Guinea). It is the Malay name for ''Cyrtophyllum fragrans'' (synonym ''Fagraea fragrans''). Its trunk is dark brown, with deeply ...

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

s and

Dillenia ''Dillenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dilleniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of southern Asia, Australasia, and the Indian Ocean islands. The genus is named after the German botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius, ...

s. When the first settlers arrived in Singapore in the early 19th century, they grew crops such as rubber, pepper, gambier and pineapple on the ridge. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it was used as a fortress by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in the defence of Singapore. Many of the plantations were destroyed or abandoned during the Japanese Occupation (1942–1945), allowing the crops to grow wild. On 23 February 1954, the Governor of Singapore, Sir John Fearns Nicoll unveiled a plaque which declared the area had been renamed Kent Ridge to commemorate the visit by the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

and her son, the

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwar ...

, on 3 October 1952. The plaque was erected at the junction of what is now Kent Ridge Road and South Buona Vista Road. The ridge contains Bukit Chandu, alternatively known as ''Opium Hill'' (in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

), after the opium processing factory owned by the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

that was at the foot of the hill until 1910.Information obtained from on-site information board at the Reflections at Bukit Chandu war museum. During 12–14 February 1942, it was the site of the Battle of Bukit Chandu, fought by the 159 survivors of the

Malay Regiment The Royal Malay Regiment ( ms, Rejimen Askar Melayu DiRaja; Jawi: ) is the premier unit of the Malaysian Army's two infantry regiments. At its largest, the Malay Regiment comprised 27 battalions. At present, three battalions are parachute train ...

led by Lieutenant

Adnan Bin Saidi Adnan bin Saidi ( Jawi: ; 1915 – 14 February 1942) was a Malayan military officer of the 1st Infantry Brigade who fought the Japanese at the Battle of Pasir Panjang in Singapore during World War II. He is lauded as a national hero in Singa ...

against the 13,000 men of Lieutenant-General Mutaguchi Renya's 18th Division. The Malay Regiment's position on the hill was overrun by the Japanese and the battle ended in hand-to-hand combat after the last few defenders ran out of ammunition. All the officers except one, Lieutenant Abbas Abdul-Manan, and most of the men, were massacred in the aftermath.

References

Places in Singapore {{Singapore-geo-stub