Tyersall Park is an
estate
Estate or The Estate may refer to:
Law
* Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations
* Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries.
** The Estates, representat ...
in Singapore, bound by Holland Road and Tyersall Avenue, and near the
Singapore Botanic Gardens. Previously a private land belonging to the
Sultan of Johor
The Sultan of Johor is a hereditary seat and the sovereign ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a ''bendahara''. Currently, the role of ''bendahara'' has been take ...
from 1862, some portions of it had been acquired by the Government of Singapore in 1990 and in 2009 respectively.
The property is generally restricted from the public (excluding the parts that have been acquired) and is fenced along Tyersall Avenue. The
ring road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
known as Catterick Circle used to run through the estate, and was still shown on maps even after the late Sultan of Johor's former palaces were no longer charted on any modern maps of Singapore. Catterick Circle was officially removed from updated maps of Singapore in the 1990s.
History
Early colonial years
About three to four decades after Singapore was established as a
Straits Settlement
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
trading port in 1819, the adjoined estates consisted of Woodneuk and Tyersall at
Tanglin and were first owned by the English trader Captain
John Dill Ross
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Seco ...
, and the lawyer
William "Royal Billy" Napier respectively, as their private residences.
The first mention of Tyersall in a Singapore newspaper was on 5 November 1860, when the wife of William Paterson, the merchant of
Paterson, Simons & Co., gave birth to their son in
Tyersall House as reported by the ''
Singapore Free Press''. The estates would later be bought by
Abu Bakar
Abū Bakr ( ar, أبو بكر ) is an Arabic given name meaning "Father of a Young Camel" (Abu meaning 'Father of' and Bakr meaning 'Young Camel') that is widely used by Sunni Muslims.
Other transliterations include Abu Bakar, Abu Bekr, Ebubekir, ...
in the late 1850s. He would later move his residence there from
Teluk Belanga
Telok Blangah (, ta, தெலுக் பிளாங்கா) is a subzone region and housing estate located in the area behind Keppel Harbour in Bukit Merah, Singapore. ''Teluk Blanga'' is the district between Pasir Panjang and Tanjong Paga ...
upon his reign as the
Temenggong of Johor of the death of his father
Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim in 1862. He made
Woodneuk House
Istana Woodneuk is an abandoned two-storey palace at the former Tyersall Park, bounded by Holland Road and Tyersall Avenue, near the Singapore Botanic Gardens in Singapore. Before it was rebuilt in 1935 it was known as Istana Woodneuk. It suffer ...
his official residence named "Istana".
On 19 November 1881, the
Maharaja of Johor, Abu Bakar, held the first
drag hunt
Drag hunting or draghunting is a form of equestrian sport, where mounted riders hunt the trail of an artificially laid scent with hounds.
Description
Drag hunting is conducted in a similar manner to fox hunting, with a field of mounted riders foll ...
in Singapore with his hounds around the Tanglin area, including Woodneuk and Tyersall. It was revealed later on 21 May 1883, that the first telephone line in Singapore had been in operation between Tyersall House and Woodneuk House (or Istana Woodneuk), before the opening of telephonic communication between Singapore and Johor by the
Oriental Telephone Company the following month. On 7 September 1887, the Tyersall Drag Hunt Club was established there by the Committee. In 1890, Sultan Abu Bakar had Napier's former house demolished to build his palace on its former ground. The
Istana Tyersall, or Tyersall Palace, was completed and had a grand opening by the 13th
Governor of the Straits Settlements Sir
Cecil Clementi Smith on 3 December 1892. The Sultan held receptions for several historic events and parties. The palace was known to be first building in Singapore to be supplied with electricity.
On 10 December 1892 at the palace, the Sultan received the First Class of the First Grade of the
Order of the Double Dragon by the
Guangxu Emperor, as conveyed by the Consul General in Singapore of his care, sympathy and kindness for permitting the Chinese to settle in Johor. The presentation event was witnessed by a gathering of Chinese towkays (businessmen). On 6 April 1893, the Sultan held his reception to the
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
F ...
and his party who arrived at his residence in the evening at 5.30 pm. The Archduke and Prince Franz Ferdinand, and his party was shown various rooms and items of the palace, before proceeding on the Sultan's carriages towards the direction of
Tanjong Pagar.
In his will made on 14 April 1895, Woodneuk was bequeathed to his fourth wife, Sultana Khadijah, and the rest of his premises were made state property of the
State of Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime bor ...
. The Sultan held his last reception at the palace on 15 April 1895, before he left Singapore on the
mail steamer ''Pekin'' for Europe on 23 April 1895. Upon his death from pneumonia in
South Kensington, London, on 4 June 1895, the Tyersall and its premises were soon handed over to his son upon his reign as the Sultan
Ibrahim of Johor in November 1895. The new Sultan however, would preferred to stay at the Woodneuk House. On 3 August 1896, Ungku Maimunah, the 1st Sultana to Sultan Ibrahim of Johor, invited
King of Siam
The monarchy of Thailand (whose monarch is referred to as the king of Thailand; th, พระมหากษัตริย์ไทย, or historically, king of Siam; th, พระมหากษัตริย์สยาม) refers to the c ...
Rama V and his Queen
Savang Vadhana
Sri Savarindira ( th, ศรีสวรินทิรา; , 10 September 1862 – 17 December 1955), also known as Savang Vadhana ( th, สว่างวัฒนา; ), was a consort and half-sister of Chulalongkorn (Rama V), but she was no ...
to the palace, where they met the Sultan's family with a cordial reception.
On 29 May 1897, the Sultan gave a huge Race Week Tiffin in front of about a hundred of guests at Tyersall. On 24 April 1899, the Sultan Ibrahim set up a training ground for
polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
players from the
Singapore Polo Club to use when the
Serangoon Road Race Course (part of the present day
Farrer Park) was not available for their training. The training ground later became known as the Tyersall Polo Ground. On 30 September 1899, the Singapore Polo Club hosted the first Horse and Dog Show there.
On 17 February 1900, the Sultan held the Farewell
Gymkhara with 4th
King's Own Regiment at the Tyersall Polo Ground, Following the gymkhana, he held the farewell luncheon party at the palace on 21 February, with over 60 guests which included officers of the King's Own Regiment, the
16th Madras Native Infantry and the rest of the Garrison, and also the representatives of the official, commercial and sports. The Singapore Polo Club held a second Horse and Dog Show on 14 July 1900. Sultan Ibrahim later took over Woodneuk following the death of Sultana Khadijah on 1 February 1904. On 11 September 1905, a fire broke out at Istana Tyersall at midnight and was put out by 6:00 a.m. the following day. The palace's ballroom and billiard room were destroyed as well as several pieces of furniture and art collections within the rooms which were badly burned. The palace was abandoned following the fire.
The Sultan gave his permission to the Singapore Hunt Club to use the Tyersall Polo Ground to hold
gymkhana on 10 February 1907. Later, he gave his permission to the Singapore Automotive Club to hold the first
motor gymkhana which involved thirty cars on 18 October 1907. On 30 November 1910, a meeting was held at the
Straits Chinese Recreation Club's pavilion clubhouse in
Hong Lim Green
Hong Lim Park, formerly known as Hong Lim Green and Dunman's Green, is a heritage park in the Downtown Core district of Singapore located next to the Parkroyal Collection Pickering hotel and Clarke Quay station.
The park is notable locally a ...
, Singapore, and it was announced that the Sultan was willing to lease the premises and the grounds for 21 years at a rent of
S$150 per month for the first seven years, S$250 per month for the following seven years, and S$350 per month for the final seven years. This was approved by the committee and members of the Straits Chinese Recreation Club.
On 7 December 1910, the Tyersall Country Club was formed at a meeting attended by the members of the various Singapore clubs chaired by the 16th Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir
John Anderson John Anderson may refer to:
Business
*John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland
* John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...
at the abandoned Istana Tyersall house. The Club's proposed plans to become the lessees of Tyersall Palace (Istana Tyersall). It had to determine the issue of debentures and other matters, which included the dividing of its halls and apartments, the rebuilding of its ballroom and the erection of the new buildings nearby. However, later in the early 1912, this scheme was reported to have fallen through during a meeting at the
Tanglin Club
The Tanglin Club is a private members’ club in Singapore, offering social and sporting amenities in the Orchard area. The club has 4,000 principal members and reciprocal partnerships with over 130 private clubs.
The club's recreation faciliti ...
.
The last use of Tyersall Polo Ground by the Singapore Polo Club as a training ground was on 9 January 1915. In 1924, the road known as Garden Road which divided between Tyersall and
Singapore Botanic Gardens was renamed to Tyersall Avenue. In 1932, a new palace
Istana Woodneuk, or Istana Wooden York to the State of Johor, was rebuilt on its former site on another hill not far away and completed in September 1935 as a replacement residence for the Sultan Ibrahim and his new wife
Sultanah Helen
Lady Helen Ibrahim ( Helen Bartholomew; previously Wilson; 21 December 1899 – 13 August 1977), was the 3rd Sultanah of Johor while married to Sultan Sir Ibrahim Iskandar Al-Masyhur ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Abu Bakar, the 22nd Sultan of Johor ...
. The dilapidated Istana Tyersall was reportedly demolished under the tender issued by the Sultan in 1935.
World War II
In 1939, the Sultan Ibrahim, based at Johor at the time, had allowed part of Tyersall, which was the once the sites of the former Istana Tyersall and former Tyersall Polo Ground, and including their surrounding grounds, to be used by the
Indian Army to be stationed and converted as a military camp area. It included many vehicles in a mechanisation effort in preparation for
World War II.
Meanwhile, on 8 August 1939, the Second Battalion of
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
under Lieutenant Colonel
Ian MacAlister Stewart
Brigadier Ian MacAlister Stewart, 13th Laird of Achnacone, (17 October 1895 – 14 March 1987) was a Scottish military officer who served in the British Army during both the First and Second World Wars. Known for his eccentric training methods, h ...
arrived in Singapore from India and first settled temporarily at the
Gillman Barracks
Gillman Barracks is a contemporary arts cluster in Singapore that is home to international art galleries, restaurants and the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, which are all housed in conserved colonial barracks. Gillman Barracks lies ne ...
.
The
12th Indian Infantry Brigade
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
headquarters, and the Indian Military Hospital, which consisted of a cluster of thatched huts was completed by the contractor A. G. Dobb and Co. for the
4/19th Hyderabad Regiment and
5/2nd Punjab Regiment at Tyersall Park.
Following which, the Second Battalion of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders later moved to Tyersall Park in December 1939 as part of 12th Indian Infantry Brigade under
Brigadier Archibald Charles Melvill Paris
Brigadier Archibald Charles Melvill Paris, (28 May 1890 – 3 March 1942) was a British Army officer.
Although he is better known for having died during the events that followed the sinking of the Dutch ship '' Rooseboom'' off Sumatra in 1942, ...
. The estate, or grounds, was referred to as Tyersall Park, Tyersall Camp, or Tyersall Park Camp in the news and by the military stationed there.
On 7 August 1941, the
Maharaja of Patiala Yadavindra Singh
Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh () was the 9th and last ruling Maharaja of Patiala from 1938 to 1971. He was also an Indian cricketer who played in one Test in 1934.
Early life and family
Born at Patiala City in Patiala State, within the ...
, during his two-day visit in Singapore to inspect its defenses, visited the Indian Military Hospital at Tyersall Park on a Thursday afternoon.
On 29 January 1942, the 210
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
, who were the survivors of the sunken and after the
Naval Battle of Malaya
The sinking of ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Repulse'' was a naval engagement in World War II, as part of the war in the Pacific, that took place on 10 December 1941 in the South China Sea off the east coast of the British colonies of Malaya (pr ...
, moved to Tyersall Park to join the 250 Argylls. Later on 3 February 1942, they were amalgamated into a composite battalion known as the Plymouth Argylls (in reference to the Argylls affiliation with the
Plymouth Argyle Football Club
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
and that all the Marines were from the Plymouth Division).
Japanese invasion of Singapore
On 9 February 1942, during the
Battle of Singapore, the Plymouth Argylls left late in the morning and moved towards the
Tengah airfield.
The Istana Woodneuk, under the name of "Tyersall Palace", served temporarily as the
2/30th Battalion AIF headquarters under Major General
Gordon Bennett Gordon Bennett may refer to:
People
* Gordon Bennett (artist) (1955–2014), Australian artist
* Gordon Bennett (football) (died 2020), English football manager
* Gordon Bennett (general) (1887–1962), Australian soldier
* Gordon Bennett (union or ...
.
On 11 February 1942, the 2nd Battalion of the
Gordon Highlanders moved to Tyersall Park from the bombed
Birdwood Camp Birdwood may refer to:
Places
In Australia
* Birdwood, New South Wales
* Birdwood, South Australia
In Canada
* Mount Birdwood, a mountain in Alberta, Canada
In the United States
*Birdwood, Nebraska, an unincorporated community
*Birdwood (Thomasvi ...
at
Changi, and departed for
Bukit Timah to
fight
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
the invading
Imperial Japanese Army. After the blast from a Japanese mortar attack which indicated that the nearby junction of Holland Road and Ulu Pandan Road was held by the Imperial Japanese Army, Major General Bennett withdrew his headquarters from Woodneuk to
Tanglin Barracks.
The Indian Military Hospital, despite having Red Crosses painted on its roof, was destroyed by a fire caused by incendiary bombs deliberately dropped by Japanese fighter planes.
Later on the following day in the afternoon of 12 February 1942, the surviving Plymouth Argylls arrived back at Tyersall Park, only to find themselves involved in a major rescue operation there.
It was later estimated that about 700 medics and patients had reportedly burned to death in the area.
Japanese occupation of Singapore
Following the
Japanese Occupation of Singapore
, officially , was the name for Singapore when it was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan, following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942 during World War II.
Japanese military forces occupied it after ...
, on 17 February 1942, Piper Charles Stuart was ordered by the Japanese to march the surviving Plymouth Argylls out of Tyersall Park to Changi.
Tyersall Park would later serve as one of seven
POW camps for interned Indian Army personnel in Singapore under Lieutenant Colonel
Gurbaksh Singh
Gurbaksh Singh (1895–1977) was an Indian novelist and short story writer with more than fifty books to his credit in Punjabi. He is also considered the father of modern Punjabi prose and received Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, New Delhi in 1971. ...
of
Jind State Forces. It was under the supervision of the
Imperial Japanese Army until 1945.
Post-war era
After Singapore was liberated in 1945, the
Supreme Allied Command South East Asia
South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War.
History Organisation
The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir Ar ...
(SACSEA) headquarters was set up at the Tyersall Park. 58 members of the
Women's Voluntary Service were also stationed there. The Istana Woodneuk was briefly occupied by General Sir
Miles Dempsey and later by Commander-in-Chief Sir
Montagu Stopford
General Sir Montagu George North Stopford (16 November 1892 – 10 March 1971) was a senior British Army officer who fought during both World War I and World War II. The latter he served in with distinction, commanding XXXIII Indian Corps in t ...
in 1946 until SACSEA was disbanded in November.
On 16 January 1947, the palace was occupied by the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
of
Malaya
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia:
Political entities
* British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
Malcolm MacDonald and his wife.
By 1948, the palace was returned to the Sultan for his official residence in Singapore.
In 1954, the Tyersall Park was leased out for military use and in 1959, the estate was returned to the Sultan of Johor. On 17 April 1959, the Johor State Council approved
$5,000 for the maintenance and upkeep of Tyersall Park.
Recent developments
In December 1990, the
Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...
had acquired part of the former Tyersall Park from the
State of Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime bor ...
. On 1 June 2004, the sum of S$25 million was awarded as compensation for the compulsory acquisition of Tyersall. On 9 June 2004, the Collector obtained a court order to pay said compensation into court due to a dispute with the State of Johor over the title to receive the compensation.
In 2009, the Government of Singapore had acquired a 9.8 ha part of the 24.4 ha of the former Tyersall Park estate from the State of Johor as part for the "Tyersall" extension of the
Singapore Botanic Gardens. This involved the repositioning of the existing Tyersall Avenue, the demolition of the two historic gate posts along Tyersall Avenue which once lead to the former Tyersall Park and Istana Woodneuk, the restructuring of visitor access to the
National Orchid Garden and Ginger Garden, the creation of fresh water swamp forest and the extension of the National Orchid Garden nursery.
On 31 March 2017, the Singapore Botanic Gardens' new extension was officially opened by
Lee Hsien Loong, the 3rd
Prime Minister of Singapore, as the Learning Forest.
As of 2019,
Tunku Ismail Idris
Major General Tunku Ismail Idris Abdul Majid Abu Bakar Iskandar ibni Sultan Ibrahim Ismail (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: تونكو إسماعيل إدريس عبدالمجيد أبو بكر إسكندر ابن سلطان إبراهيم إسماعيل; b ...
, the Tunku Mahkota of Johor, is the current registered landowner of this estate, which was since zoned for "special use of green space", meaning that no developments of residential and commercial nature will be improvised on the site. According to Alan Cheong, a senior director at Savills Singapore Pte Ltd, if this estate was put up on sale, it could fetch at least S$4.7 billion.
On 26 September 2021, it was reported that the representatives for the Tunku Mahkota of Johor were in discussions with the Singapore authorities since last year for permission to develop a cluster of high-end homes on the estate itself, but the final decision has yet to be reached.
In popular culture
Tyersall Park was first mentioned in the first novel of
Kevin Kwan
Kevin Kwan (born ) is a Singapore-born American novelist and writer of satirical novels ''Crazy Rich Asians'', '' China Rich Girlfriend'', and '' Rich People Problems''. His latest book, ''Sex and Vanity'', was released in June 2020.
In 2014, ...
's the ''Crazy Rich'' trilogy, ''
Crazy Rich Asians'' (2013), being re-imagined as a estate belonging to Shang Su Yi, Nick Young's grandmother. The estate would later become a major plot point in Kwan's third and final novel in the trilogy, ''
Rich People Problems
''Rich People Problems'' is a satirical 2017 romantic comedy novel by Kevin Kwan. It is the third and final novel in Kwan's "Crazy Rich..." trilogy that looks at the rich and powerful families of Singapore. The plot revolves around the three clan ...
'' (2017).
In the production of the 2018 film ''
Crazy Rich Asians'' based on the novel of the same name,
Carcosa Seri Negara, the former luxury hotel which consisted of the two abandoned colonial mansions at
Perdana Botanical Gardens, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, were used to depict the interior and exterior of the restricted Tyersall Park mansion. A lake was later digitally added to the estate grounds in post-production.
See also
*
Istana Tyersall
*
Istana Woodneuk
*
Abu Bakar of Johor
*
Ibrahim of Johor
References
{{Parks in Singapore
Parks in Singapore
Places in Singapore
Royal residences in Singapore
Protected areas of Singapore
British rule in Singapore
Military installations of Singapore
Military installations established in 1939
Japanese occupation of Singapore
Military history of Japan during World War II
World War II prisoner of war camps in Singapore