- Farrer Park
SG neighbourhood
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englishname=Farrer Park
chinesename=花拉公园
pinyin=Huālā gōngyuán
malayname=Taman Farrer
tamilname=ஃபேரர் பார்க்Farrer Park is a historic
neighbourhood in the central part ofSingapore , located within the urban planning area ofKallang . Farrer Park is defined by the boundary formed byDorset Road ,Hampshire Road andNorthumberland Road .Etymology
Farrer Park and
Farrer Road were named afterR.F. Farrer (died 1956), who wasMunicipal Assessor and later President of the MunicipalCommissioner s in the 1920s. In 1952, there was an abortive attempt to change the name of Farrer Road in order to avoid confusion with Farrer Park, situated in a different location.History
It was at Farrer Park that Singapore's first
racecourse was built and the island'saviation history began.The Racecourse on Farrer Park was established in December 1842 and was run by the
Singapore Sporting Club . Races were held mostly onweekend s and attracted a largelyEurope an audience. On non-race days, the Racecourse's large turf doubled as agolf course ,grazing pasture andrifle range . Staffing the Racecourse wereBawean ese settlers fromJava inIndonesia . A sizeableIndia n community also lived in the Farrer Park area; they were workers and owners of thecattle farm s,rattan processing houses andpineapple factories in the vicinity. It was these cattle farms which gave the area its Malay name of "Kandang Kerbau", or "Buffalo Shed".The first
plane to fly over Singapore was here in March 1911, followed by the pioneerEngland -Australia flight of 1921 byCaptain John Alcock and threecrew members.On
6 February 1919 , Singapore celebrated itscentenary and one of the many events that marked the occasion was a grandfair at Farrer Park. The Racecourse grounds were also used as anairstrip .In 1924, the Racecourse was renamed the
Singapore Turf Club . It remained at Farrer Park for a further nine years until 1933 when it moved toBukit Timah . Farrer Park was then opened to thepublic .Playing field s were created and a Sports House was set up in what used to be thegrandstand .Farrer Park remained a favourite
sport ing venue for decades, with the Sports House becoming theheadquarter s of theNational Sports Promotion Board from 1971 to 1973. Several othersports association s occupied Sports House until 1985 when it was destroyed by afire .Farrer Park saw its share of
political gatherings during Singapore's turbulent pre- andpost-war years. In 1942, immediately following the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, Indian and Malaysoldier s were rounded up at Farrer Park and urged by the newruler s to switchallegiance .In the post-war struggle for
independence , political rallies took place at Farrer Park. In 1955, Singapore had its first local politicalelection s for the Legislative Assembly. On15 August 1955, thePeople's Action Party campaigned at Farrer Park forself-government .When Singapore became an independent
republic on9 August 1965 , returningmilitary personnel were stationed at Farrer Park until properbarracks were found.ee also
*
Farrer Park MRT Station , the North East Line MRT station serving the area.
*Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital
*Little India, Singapore References
*National Heritage Board (2002), "Singapore's 100 Historic Places", Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3
*Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2004), "Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names", Eastern University Press, ISBN 981-210-364-3
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