SINGAPORE - Fort Siloso on Sentosa has been put forth to be gazetted a national monument.
Announcing this on Tuesday (Jan 18), the National Heritage Board (NHB) said Fort Siloso is the best-preserved 19th century fort in Singapore, and serves as an important site to mark the nation’s war years.
Now a historical attraction, the fort was constructed in 1878, and was part of a set of strategic coastal fortifications set up as Singapore grew in importance as a trading port in the late 19th century.
Designed to protect Singapore from a seaward attack, its guns fired at Japanese troops in the west of Singapore during World War II and destroyed the oil refineries at nearby Pulau Bukom and Pulau Sebarok to prevent the Japanese from using them as a resource, said NHB on its Roots.gov.sg portal.
NHB noted that between 1963 and 1966, Fort Siloso was manned by the 10th Singapore Gurkha Rifles Unit during Konfrontasi to prevent Indonesian saboteurs from landing on Sentosa and Keppel Harbour.
A national monument gazette is the highest form of recognition for a structure or site's significance. It accords it legal protection from alterations and changes that would affect its character and significance.In addition to their national importance, monuments also have to be of historic, cultural, traditional, archaeological, architectural, artistic or symbolic significance.
Following changes to the Preservation of Monuments Act last year, the public can now give their feedback on proposed monuments.
NHB deputy chief executive of policy and community Alvin Tan said this change reflects the board’s efforts to be more consultative, and that it is seeking public feedback in the process of gazetting monuments in response to requests from heritage non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Ms Jean Wee, director of NHB’s Preservation of Sites and Monuments division, added that discussions with Sentosa Development Corporation, which manages Fort Siloso, are under way to finalise the exact boundary of the site to be gazetted.
Mr Tan said that the board is hoping to gazette Fort Siloso a monument in February, and added that heritage NGOs were informed of the board’s plans for Fort Siloso on Monday.
Among those present was International Council on Monuments and Sites Singapore president Yeo Kang Shua.
Dr Yeo said Fort Siloso’s upcoming gazette will mark the first time multiple structures within a larger context or site have been recognised as monuments.
“The collective preservation of these structures and their landscapes is important to preserve the historic integrity of the site,” he added.
Dr Yeo said he hoped the authorities could look into protecting other military fortifications in Sentosa and around Singapore, as they collectively tell the story of Singapore’s historical coastal defences.
Singapore Heritage Society president Jack Lee added that there are not many physical reminders of Singapore’s World War II history left, and hence the society feels it is worth giving a higher degree of protection to those that remain.
Singapore's last national monument was gazetted in October 2019, when Cavenagh, Anderson and Elgin bridges were protected as an ensemble, bringing Singapore's list of monuments to 73.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat had also announced in August 2019 that the Padang would be gazetted as a monument.
The Preservation of Monuments Act was amended last November to allow sites such as the Padang to be gazetted, though it has yet to be.
Also on Singapore's list of monuments are places of worship such as St Andrew's Cathedral and Sultan Mosque, as well as post-independence buildings, including Jurong Town Hall.
In addition, more than 7,200 buildings have been conserved across the island.
Feedback on Fort Siloso can be e-mailed to NHB_Feedback@nhb.gov.sg, and substantive objections should be sent by Jan 31.
