Tanjong Katong

Title

Tanjong Katong

Year/Period

c. 1890

Region

Singapore

Object Type

positives (photographs), photographic prints

Material

photographic paper, ink

Technique

photographic processes, photographic printing techniques

Dimension

Image size: 20.6 x 26.4 cm

Accession No.

1994-04921

Collection of

National Museum of Singapore

This photograph shows a village in the old Tanjong Katong, which had stretched from Upper East Coast Road to Tanjong Rhu. A vast coconut estate, the Grove Estate, was located along the stretch from Tanjong Katong Road to the former Grove Road, now Mountbatten Road; the estate was owned by Thomas Dunman, Singapore's first Superintendent of Police. Tanjong Katong means 'turtle point', where Katong was a species of sea-turtle that is now extinct. The coastline was a popular spot as wealthy Straits Chinese, Europeans and Jews often built mansions, hotels and recreation clubs along the beach for weekend retreats.