Napier Road () is a major

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

located within the Tanglin Planning Area in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. The road starts with its junction with Holland Road and Cluny Road near the

Singapore Botanic Gardens The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a -year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...

to the west, and ends at its junction with Tanglin Road and Grange Road to the east, near the

Orchard Road Orchard Road, often known colloquially as simply Orchard, is a major –long road in the Central Area of Singapore. Known as a famous tourist attraction, it is an upscale shopping area of Singapore, with numerous internationally renowned depa ...

shopping belt.

Etymology and history

Napier Road is named after William "Royal Billy" Napier (born 1804), the first

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

in Singapore in 1833. He arrived in Singapore in 1831 and married

George Drumgoole Coleman George Drumgoole Coleman (179527 March 1844), also known as George Drumgold Coleman, was an Irish civil architect who played an instrumental role in the design and construction of much of the civil infrastructure in early Singapore, after it wa ...

's widow, Maria Frances. Napier Road originally led to Napier's house, known as ''Tang Leng'' in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, which he built in 1854. He was one of the founders of the

Singapore Free Press ''The Singapore Free Press'' was an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore. History The paper was founded as Singapore's second English-language newspaper by William Napier, Edward Boustead, Walter Scott Lorrain and Geo ...

and a

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

of the

Raffles Library and Museum ms, Muzium Negara Singapura ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் தேசிய அருங்காட்சியகம் , native_name_lang = , logo = , image = 2016 Singapur, Museum Planning Area, Narodowe Muzeum Singapuru (02) ...

. Later he became the Lieutenant Governor of

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...

because of his friendship with Sir

James Brooke Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868. Brooke was bor ...

(1803-1868). He retired in 1857.

Landmarks

The prominent landmarks located along Napier Road include: *Australian High Commission *

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

British High Commission A British High Commission is a British diplomatic mission, equivalent to an embassy, found in countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Their general purpose is to provide diplomatic relationships as well as travel information, ...

*Embassy of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Gleneagles Hospital Gleneagles Hospital is a private hospital on Napier Road, Singapore next to Napier MRT station. It provides medical and surgical services. It is part of Parkway Pantai, itself a subsidiary of the Malaysian–Singaporean private healthcare group ...

*Gleneagles Medical Centre *

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

* Napier MRT station *

*Former

Tanglin Police Station The Tanglin Police Division (or 'E' Division) is one of the seven land divisions of the Singapore Police Force. Tanglin Division oversees the safety and security of the central region in Singapore. The division's policing jurisdiction covers sev ...

*Tanglin Post Office *

INTERPOL The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI)

References

*Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2004), ''Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names'', Eastern University Press, {{Major roads in Singapore Roads in Singapore Tanglin