Pearl's Hill

Going back to Pearl's Hill last weekend really bring back the happy memories of my childhood. My dad was then a police constable at the Police HQ located along Eu Tong Sen street. My family stay at the police hostel which was at Pearl's Hill Terrace.

It was one of the best times I ever had when I was a kid. I remember playing with my neighbors at the old OG. At that time, OG was consider one of the best shopping malls around. Just ask any aunties today and they will vouch for it; I still vividly recall buying a pair of wooden swords from an old lady at the old rundown bridge that connects OG building to the opposite side of People's Park Centre. Strangely, it continues to linger in my memory to this day. I wonder why? Naturally, since I'm a Pearl Hillen, like many other kids I study at Pearl's Hill School. I believe it was the first primary school in Singapore to have a lift at that time that could fit an entire class. Till today it continues to amaze me. The lift was necessary because we have 12 storeys, quite high for primary school children. During those days, my dad will accompany me to school every morning and we will have to take the route passing through the forest. We saw squirrels running across our path, big lizards laying lazily on a tree branch, the accompany of cool fragrant fresh air swamp us from the surroundings and big old trees providing the shade from the sun. It was incredible and mesmerizing. Unknowingly, the experience have probably make me fall in love with nature and the creatures of the forest ever since. I suspect my father suffer the same fate.

I have lost contact with most of my primary school mates when I moved to Serangoon. I sometimes do wonder about them. When I visited my old school last weekend, it was rundown and vacant. I think it is now use as a hostel? (Maybe somebody can enlighten me on this?) Just by walking around Pearl's Hill I can recall post war ruins around the police hostel, eerie locations that still dwells in the era of Japanese occupation, days of my parents wearing bell bottom trousers and the original Chinatown before it was fully developed for tourist. Never did I thought my own country's history could be so fascinating. Thus, being curious and mystified about Pearl's Hill since I was a child, I have decided to find out more about the history of this unique hill right in the heart of Chinatown.

The history of Pearl's Hill

Pearl's Hill a.k.a. Mount Stamford hill, located in the Central Region of Singapore and at 56.4 ha, is the largest sub-zone of the Outram area. Initially the location of Chinese-owned spice plantations, the hill was first called Mount Stamford, after Sir Stamford Raffles. Institutional buildings located here have included the Seaman's Hospital, Tan Tock Seng's Pauper Hospital, and Pearl's Hill Prison a.k.a Outram Road Gaol or H. M. Prisons. Its current name is taken from Lieutenant James Pearl, Royal Navy owner and commander of the ship "Indiana" which brought Stamford Raffles to Singapore in 1819.

In the early days of Singapore, the yet unnamed hill was the location for spice plantations owned by the Chinese, some of whom must have occupied and settled here before the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. In May 1822, Lt. James Pearl, Captain and owner of the Indiana, began acquiring several plots on the hill from certain Chinese gambier planters until he owned the entire hill. His house was built on top of the hill and Chinese and Malay workmen cleared the slopes and grew pepper vines for him. He called his hill Mount Stamford as a compliment to Sir Stamford Raffles. Lt. Pearl's agents sold it back to the Government in 1828, for Rs 10,000 (Indian Rupees), after he had retired to Europe, but the name Pearl's Hill continued to be used. Before that, some of the soil from this hill was used to fill the mudflats of Commercial Square in 1825, with the help of the first batch of convict labourers transported to Singapore. Government Surveyor, John Turnbull Thomson, in the mid-1850s estimated that Pearl's Hill was 170 ft high.

When Fort Canning was completed in 1861, it was discovered that the height of Pearl's Hill was higher, and stood in the trajectory of the guns mounted at Fort Canning. To correct this, a military engineer simply cut off the top of Pearl's Hill. In 1889, the Municipality took over Pearl's Hill.

The first Tan Tock Seng Hospital

The first Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the fourth Pauper's Hospital established in Singapore, had its foundation stone laid on 25 July 1844 in the presence of Resident Councillor, Thomas Church. It was not used until 1849. By 1854, the building had extensions for the Hospital Surgery or Apothecary's House, designed by John Turnbull Thomson, the architect of the original Tan Tock Seng Hospital building. In 1857, the Government acquired the building, and in 1860, the hospital moved to Balestier Plain. The Seaman's Hospital was completed in 1845, also designed and built by John Turnbull Thomson. Both hospitals of classical designs with imposing facades of columns rising the height of the buildings, were erected side by side at the base of the hill. In 1857, after the Indian Mutiny, the colonial government took over the buildings and Pearl's Hill. For military purposes the hospitals were transferred to other locations.

Apart from spice plantations on the hill, sago factories were situated on the flat ground near the base of Pearl's Hill. The first factories were small rough sheds, processing raw material imported mainly from Sumatra. In 1849, there were fifteen Chinese and two European sago factories in Singapore. There was much money to be made from this trade, so many sago factories became permanent brick structures, employing twenty to thirty men. The processed sago was exported to Europe or India and commanded a high price.

At the foot of the hill, on Eu Tong Sen Street, was an open public park. It later became the People's or Pearl's Market with outdoor stalls. Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire in 1966. The People's Park Complex stands on this site today. Pearl's Hill Reservoir, then known as a 'High Service Reservoir', built in 1898 and completed in 1904, with a water storage capacity of 6 million gallons, is still the main source of fresh water supply to Chinatown today. In the recent past, the Police Operational Headquarters was located at Pearl's Hill Terrace. This had also housed the Operations Command, Radio Division, Criminal Investigation Department, Public Affairs, and Police National Service Headquarters. For a while the Ministry of Interior and Defence (today's Ministry of Defence) was located here, after Singapore became a Republic in 1965. The Central Narcotics Bureau have their own building behind Pearl's Centre on Eu Tong Sen Street.

Bank Apartments

build by Archurban Architects Planners


Completed in 1976, the impressive and imposing Pearl Bank Apartments may have been the tallest residential building in Singapore and possibly Southeast Asia. The 38-storey hollow, horse shoe shaped, 3/4 cylindrical tower has the largest density for a private residential development. The 272-unit apartment block comprises three types of split-level units. Each unit is further zoned into "public" and "private" areas to offer maximum exclusivity and views to the occupants. The opening in the circular structure faces west and minimises direct penetration of heat and light from the afternoon sun into the building. Located in Pearl's Hill Road, this is the first all-housing project in the Urban Renewal Department of the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) 'Sale of Sites' programme, carried out in 1969. Pearl Bank Apartments is one of the pioneers of high-rise, high-density living in Singapore, and continues to act as a landmark in the Outram area.

Pearl's Hill Primary School

Formerly known as the Singapore Chinese Branch School, it was established in 1876 at Cross Street. Pearl's Hill Primary School was among the pioneer batch of Government Schools set up by the colonial government.

The PHPS role in early 1906

Outram School functioned as a Primary School. Acting as feeder school, Pearl's Hill Standard One proceeded to Standard Two at Outram. Likewise, Outram was the feeder school to Raffles Institution. The working arrangement between Pearl's Hill School and Outram School continued up to January 1953 whereas the working agreement between Outram and Raffles Institution ceased with the fall of Singapore in February 1942. After the war, Outram boys competed with other Government Primary School pupils in securing places in Government Secondary Schools. PHPS ceased operations at its Pearl's Hill site on 31 Dec 2001.

Pearl's Hill surrounding buildings

On the Chin Swee Road foot of Pearl's Hill, are Pearl's Hill School, Landmark Tower, San Centre and Manhattan House. In the midst of all this, on top of the hill, stands 8.4 ha Pearl's Hill City Park, the 'green lung' of the area. Pearl's Hill is today part of Outram Estate.