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There have been numerous tributes to Stamford Raffles over the years; the more overt and visible ones include monuments and paintings. However, in Singapore today, many buildings, roads, educational and even health institutions have been quick to use the very name which has become almost synonymous with prestige, quality and class.
Here are several of these monuments of tribute to Raffles, and the stories behind them.
As you examine them, reflect on the irony that a city-state in Southeast Asia should hold an Englishman with such high esteem.
Do you think that Raffles deserves such honour?
Does this mean that he alone was responsible for the founding and the foundation of the colony?
1817 - Portrait of Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, while he was Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen, on Java.
This was painted by George Francis Joseph. Notice the vivid background, both the tropical vegetation as well as the icons of deity in Java. Raffles was often busy writing letters, official correspondence and journals. This portrait today hangs in the National Museum of Singapore, very near the spot where he landed in 1819.
1887 - Grand Unveiling of the Monument of Sir Stamford Raffles, at its first location, in the middle of the Padang.
A popular icon of Singapore, the statue depicts Raffles, standing tall, arms folded, with "an aura of quiet assurance." It was installed on Jubilee Day on 27 June 1887 at the Padang. The statue was the work of the famed sculptor-cum-poet Thomas Woolner. The blackened 8 ft figure in bronze was nicknamed orang besi or "iron man". The statue was unveiled by Sir Frederick Weld, then Governor of the Straits Settlements, on Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee Day on 27 June 1887. A little known detail was added by Woolner at the base of the statue. Here he had traced a map depicting the area around the Straits of Malacca and Raffles having his foot over British Malaya. The statue originally stood at the Padang, facing the sea, between St Andrew's Road and Connaught Drive. However, it was often struck by flying footballs or used as a seat for a vantage view of a field game at the Padang, so the authorities felt a more respectable location was required. (Information taken from NLB Singapore Infopedia)
1909 - Postcard of the St. Andrew's Cathedral and the Raffles Monument, at the Padang along the famous Esplanade.
1915 - Postcard of the same Raffles Monument at the Padang.
This time, the angle of the view is different, though still with the sea to the back of the viewer. The large, squarish imposing building to the left of the statue in the background is the famed Hotel de l'Europe.
1919 - The original Raffles Monument, now relocated to the front of Victoria Memorial Hall, where it still stands today.
The statue was moved here for Singapore's Centenary Celebrations on 6 February 1919. A semi-circular colonnade of the Italian Doric order framed the statue and in front of it was laid a marble-lined pool with fountain jets. Two rows of flower vases around the pool added colour to the classical setting. The statue was placed such that it looked toward the assumed place of Raffles' original landing at the mouth of the Singapore River. It was also carefully positioned axially with the centre of the clock tower of the Victoria Hall.
During this move, the base of the statue was found to be supported by a rod which went through one leg of the statue. The corrosion which occurred around it was duly repaired before the move. A tablet was placed at its plinth, recognising the special importance of Raffles in Singapore for the Centenary Celebrations. Raffles' Arms and the Knight's motto were engraved on a bronze shield placed at the base of the granite pedestal. A cast of the statue's head was also made for a bust to be located at the Raffles Museum and Library. (Information from NLB Singapore Infopedia)
And when the new PAP government deliberated the removal of Raffles' statue from its place of prominence outside the Voctpria Theatre, as a symbolic shedding of the past, Dr Winsemius advised against it, stating that such a drastic move would be perceived unfavourably by the West, whose investors and businesses Singapore now needed and sought.
The advice was heeded. According to then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, writing his memoirs in 2000, the statue would stand as a "symbol of public acceptance of the legacy of the British and could have a positive effect" on Singapore's future development. There it remains even until today.
1969 - New Monument of Raffles, erected at the Singapore River. The photograph was taken in 2015.
A plaster cast of the original was used to recast this polymarble copy which now stands at the side of Empress Place, marking what is believed to be Raffles' landing site. It was erected on the 150th anniversary of Singapore's founding.
1980s - Diorama depicting the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance on 6 February 1819.
This life-sized model display exists, along with several others, at the Images of Singapore museum on Sentosa Island. The men present at the signing were Sultan Hussein Shah, Stamford Raffles, Temenggong Abdul Rahman and William Farquhar. Behind the peaceful signing, however, were a series of political contrivances which saw Raffles install Tengku Long, the rightful ruler of Johor under which sphere of influence Singapore was, as the new Sultan of Singapore.
2015 - SG50 Celebrations at the National Day Parade on 9 August.
This historical re-enactment of the arrival of Stamford Raffles in 1819 is a small tribute by a nation that has long remained grateful for the footprints left behind by the man as well as by the British Empire. It is certain that Raffles did not come on shore in January 1819 with his wife, and so the liberties taken might reflect the government of Singapore's desire to portray the softer, gentler side of Raffles.
Singapore's Bicentennial and the 'New' Raffles Statue!
The nation's commemoration of the 200th anniversary of its founding inspired new and creative ways to view our colonial legacy and even question the place of Raffles in our collective memory.
One project was to simply make Raffles 'disappear'!
Another fresh idea was to surround the statue of Raffles with other statues. Why do you think this was done?
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