Located off the southern coast of mainland Singapore, Sentosa (Isle of Tranquillity) was initially known as Pulau Blakang Mati (Island Behind Death). Starting from the 1880s, the island was an important British military base with a number of forts built on it to protect the southern shipping lanes. In 1970, the island was renamed Sentosa following a naming contest organised by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB). The development of the island into a tourist and recreation resort came under the management of the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), which was formed in 1972.One of the projects under the development plan for Sentosa was a man-made swimming lagoon around 34 acres in size located near the Kuching Creek estuary. Opened in 1974, the creation of the lagoon involved land reclamation works and the construction of timber bridges linking the beach area to an offshore islet.Shortly after its opening, two drowning incidents occurred in the lagoon. This resulted in a temporary closure of the lagoon to allow investigations to be conducted. After the lagoon was reopened, visitors were kept away by the discovery of 14 human skeletons found in shallow graves in the area. Nevertheless, the crowds soon returned to the popular swimming spot.
