Istana Woodneuk is an abandoned two-storey palace at the former
Tyersall Park
Tyersall Park is an estate 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 from 1862, some portions of it had been acquired by the Gov ...
, bounded by Holland Road and Tyersall Avenue, 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 ...
in Singapore. Before it was rebuilt in 1935 it was known as Istana Woodneuk. It suffered a major fire in 2006 and has been deemed beyond repair. The remains of the palace, as well as the land it sits on, is private land belonging to 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 ...
. It is not charted on most modern maps and is currently not accessible to the public.
The former palace is commonly confused with the demolished
Istana Tyersall
Istana Tyersall is a demolished historical palace that used to be in the former Tyersall Park bound by Holland Road and Tyersall Road near the Singapore Botanic Gardens in Singapore. The land it was formerly built on is currently restricted fro ...
, which is nearby. The most obvious difference between the two former palaces is the colour of the roof tiles: Istana Tyersall had red tiles, while those of Istana Woodneuk were blue.
History
in the mid 1800s, Woodneuk House was located on a 36-acre section of the
Tyersall Park
Tyersall Park is an estate 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 from 1862, some portions of it had been acquired by the Gov ...
estate owned by the English trader Captain
John Dill Ross. Ross died in 1888 and is memorialized in a biography written by his son
John Dill Ross Jr.
William Napier owned an adjoining estate. Both of these plots of land were sold to
Wan Abu Bakar ibni Daeng Ibrahim in 1860. Abu Bakar became
Temenggong of Johor
The Temenggong of Johor is one of the members of the Orang Kaya Council first established by Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah himself. The first Temenggong being appointed in 1757 was Temenggong Abdul Jamal.
The Temenggong of Johor was given the task of ...
when his father,
Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim
Raja Temenggong Tun Daeng Ibrahim bin Temenggong Daeng Abdul Rahman (8 December 1810 – 31 January 1862) was the Temenggong of Johor and later the ''de facto'' Maharaja of Johor from 1855 to 1862.
Biography
Early life
Daeng Ibrahim was born ...
died in 1862. Three days after his father's death he moved his residence to the new combined estate, Tyersall, from
Telok Blangah
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 ...
. He made Woodneuk House his main residence (
Istana ''Istana'' is an Indonesian language, Indonesian and Malay language, Malay word meaning "palace".
Notable Istanas
*Istana Alam Shah, the official palace of the Sultan of Selangor
*Istana Besar, 19th- and early 20th-century residence of the Sultan o ...
).
The Istana Woodneuk served as a temporary residence for Sultan Abu Bakar's third wife Sultana Fatimah bte Abdullah, She was overseeing the design and planning of
Istana Tyersall
Istana Tyersall is a demolished historical palace that used to be in the former Tyersall Park bound by Holland Road and Tyersall Road near the Singapore Botanic Gardens in Singapore. The land it was formerly built on is currently restricted fro ...
, which was under construction on a small hill not far away from Woodneuk. Sultana Fatimah did not live to see the completion of the palace she designed; Istana Tyersall was completed in 1892, a year after her death on 25 February 1891.
Abu Bakar made a will on 14 April 1895 bequeathing the palace to his fourth wife, Sultana Khadijah. He died on 4 June 1895. Sultana Khadijah died in the palace on 1 February 1904, and Abu Bakar's son and successor Sultan
Ibrahim Al-Marhum took over.
The former palace was later taken down. On its former site, a replacement structure, Istana Wooden York, was later designed by
Denis Santry of
Swan & Maclaren
Swan & Maclaren Architects is a Singaporean architectural and industrial design firm. One of the oldest architectural firms in the country, it was formerly known as Swan & Maclaren and Swan & Lermit, and was one of the most prominent architectur ...
, and built by Nanyang Structural Co. Construction began in 1932 and was completed in 1935, in time for the celebration of the 62nd birthday of Sultan Ibrahim of Johor and his 40 years of reign. The new palace was built for Sultan Ibrahim and his Scottish wife
Sultanah Helen. Its new name Wooden York was not generally used, except for a few members of the royal family in the State of Johor, as the name Woodneuk was well entrenched.
In 1939, Sultan Ibrahim lent part of the Tyersall estate to be used by the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
as a military camp area to support an effort to mechanise the Indian Army in preparation for
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 ...
. The palace itself continued as the royal residence for the Sultan's family before the beginning of the
Battle of Singapore
The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...
in 1942. Sultan Ibrahim himself was primarily based in
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, 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 ...
.
On 9 February 1942, during the Battle of Singapore, the palace temporarily served as the headquarters of the
2/30th Battalion AIF under Major General
Gordon Bennett. It was incorrectly known as "
Tyersall Palace
Istana Tyersall is a demolished historical palace that used to be in the former Tyersall Park bound by Holland Road and Tyersall Road near the Singapore Botanic Gardens in Singapore. The land it was formerly built on is currently restricted fro ...
" by the battalion stationed there.
On 11 February 1942, after a blast of Japanese mortar attack indicated that the nearby junction of Holland Road and Ulu Pandan Road was held by the
Japanese Imperial Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
, Major General Bennet withdrew his headquarters to
Tanglin Barracks
Tanglin is a planning area located within the Central Region of Singapore. Tanglin is located west of Newton, Orchard, River Valley and Singapore River, south of Novena, east of Bukit Timah, northeast of Queenstown and north of Bukit Merah.
...
.
Aftermath
After Singapore was liberated in 1945, the palace was briefly occupied by General Sir
Miles Dempsey
General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, (15 December 1896 – 5 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. During the Second World War he commanded the Second Army in north west Europe. A highly professional an ...
, followed 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. On 16 January 1947,
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
Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle U ...
and his wife Audrey Marjorie Rowley moved into the palace after their long journey from Canada.
By 1948 it was returned to the Sultan for his official use.
In December 1951 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 ...
spent S$14,500 to re-roof the palace and the
Istana Besar
Istana Besar or Grand Palace is the royal palace of the Sultan of Johor which is located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Overview
Standing tall in the city of Johor Bahru, the palace was built in 1866 by Sultan Abu Bakar. The palace overlooks the ...
in
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru (), colloquially referred to as JB, is the capital city of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is located at the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia,along the north bank of the Straits of Johor, opposite of the city-state Singapore. T ...
. From 1957 to 1986, the palace and its compound were maintained by caretaker Hj. Sulaiman, hired by Johor State Council, who lived with his family not far away from the building.
The
Singapore Government
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 o ...
made a compulsory purchase of Tyersall Park in December 1990, but it remained inaccessible to the public and was left abandoned and uncared for. The palace fell into ruin and the surroundings were covered by thick vegetation due to decades of abandonment. It became a spot for ghost seekers and photographers due to its inaccessibility.
Its walls were graffitied by vandals, and it was used as a store by construction workers for a nearby construction site.
On 10 July 2006, the palace burned down due to a major fire attributed to drug addicts. Its blue roof tiles caved in and its condition was deemed beyond repair and structurally unsafe. In April 2015, the forest path leading to the premises was cordoned off by the
Singapore Police
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapo ...
. In February 2016, a police signboard was spotted near the path warning would-be trespassers to stay away.
See also
*
Istana Tyersall
Istana Tyersall is a demolished historical palace that used to be in the former Tyersall Park bound by Holland Road and Tyersall Road near the Singapore Botanic Gardens in Singapore. The land it was formerly built on is currently restricted fro ...
*
Tyersall Park
Tyersall Park is an estate 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 from 1862, some portions of it had been acquired by the Gov ...
*
Abu Bakar of Johor
Sultan Sir Abu Bakar Al-Khalil Ibrahim Shah ibni Almarhum Temenggong Seri Maharaja Tun Daeng Ibrahim ( Jawi: ; 3 February 1833 – 4 June 1895) was the Temenggong of Johor. He was the 1st Sultan of Modern Johor, the 21st Sultan of Johor and th ...
*
Ibrahim of Johor
Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al-Masyhur Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar Al-Khalil Ibrahim Shah (17 September 1873 – 8 May 1959) was a Malaysian sultan and the 22nd Sultan of Johor and the 2nd Sultan of modern Johor. He was considered to be "fabulously ...
References
{{reflist
Places in Singapore
Abandoned buildings and structures
Palaces in Singapore
Royal residences in Singapore
Protected areas of Singapore
Houses completed in 1935
1935 establishments in Singapore
20th-century architecture in Singapore