Southern Islands

Compiled by: Choon Kiat / Instr (TU)

* This page is about the cultural and natural heritage of Southern Islands only.
Please refer to Sea Charts for navigational and cautionary information.

“The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.”

Ralf W. Sockman

(1) Points of Interest (East Coast)

Bedok Lighthouse

This is Singapore's first automated and unmanned lighthouse. Standing 76 metres above sea level, it began operating on 9 August 1978 and its beam is visible at sea for up to 42 km. Costing $225,000, it replaced the Fullerton Lighthouse (1958 - 1978) on top of Fullerton Building, which itself replaced the Fort Canning lighthouse (1855 - 1958).

Bedok Jetty

At 250m, Bedok Jetty is one of Singapore’s longest public jetty. Built in 1966 by businessman Yap Swee Hong at a cost of S$1.5 million, it was used for importing scrap metal from the Americans during the Vietnam War.

Bedok Jetty was taken over by MINDEF as a base for conducting military exercises as well as humanitarian missions such as Operation Thunderstorm of 1975 [processing of refugees from Vietnam].

Amber Beacon

Named after the nearby Amber road, Amber beacon serves an important role, in directing ships approaching Singapore off the east coast.

Amber Beacon is the site of one of Singapore's most infamous unsolved murders that occurred in 1990; a couple was stabbed by two unknown attackers, resulting in the death of the female. The attackers were never identified or caught. Since then, tales of hauntings began to spread, supposedly by the restless soul of the victim.

Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant

Situated at Bay East and slightly hidden by the tree-line, this is Singapore's 4th Desalination Plant which started operation in Jul 2020. Capable of producing 30 million galleons of water per day, this translate to 7% of Singapore's daily water demand. It is also the world's first water plant that can treat both sea water and reservoir water (from Marina Bay Reservoir).

Marina Barrage

Conceptualised by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew in 1987 and built in 2008, Marina Barrage dammed the Kallang basin / Marina Bay area to create Singapore's 15th reservoir. Beside providing a source of water, Marina Barrage is also important for flood control and an iconic lifestyle and tourist attraction.

Marina Bay Cruise Centre Jetty

Completed in 2014, MBCC was built to compliment the Singapore Cruise Centre due to the latter's physical limitation due to channel width and depth. It is one of Singapore's key tourism infrastructure.

(2) Points of Interest (Southern Islands)

Fun Facts:

(1) Singapore currently has 63 offshore islands, of which 4 are used by the Military (Pulau Tekong, Sudong, Senang and Pawai). There used to be 22 more but these are either transferred (Coco Island, Christmas Islands to Australia) or combined as part of land reclamation).

(2) All Southern Islands are part of West Coast GRC based on the latest Election Boundary.

Sentosa (Pulau Blakang Mati)

Known as Pulau Blakang Mati (Blacan Mati in a 1604 map), the name was thought to refer to the island being the “paradise” of “warrior spirits” whose bodies were entombed at the adjacent Pulau Brani.

Considered a strategic location for the protection of ships, it was included in defence plans as early as 1827. In the 1880s, three artillery forts- Serapong, Connaught and Siloso, and the Mount Imbiah Battery were constructed on the island. The guns on Blakang Mati were involved in the defence of Singapore during WWII, and following the fall of Singapore, a beach on Sentosa was one of the Sook Ching sites where Japanese soldiers executed numerous Chinese.

Post WWII, the island was used as home of the 1st Singapore Regiment of the Royal Artillery and then the Gurkha contingent. Formally handed over to Singapore in 1967, it was also the base of the Singapore Naval volunteers.

The island was renamed Sentosa (tranquility in malay) and rezoned for tourism in 1969. It is now one of Singapore's most well known attractions.

St John's Island

Raffles' ship, the Indiana, first anchored off St John's Island before making landfall on the mainland in 1819. In the 1800s, it was used as a quarantine and reporting station for migrants coming into Singapore or pilgrims passing through Singapore. In the 1900s, it was used at various times as a POW camp (WWII), housing for political detainees (1950s) and a drug rehabilitation centre (1950s - 1970s). From 1975, it was revamped as a holiday destination while in the 2000s, marine ecology and research facilities were created on the island.

St John's Island (Pulau Sakijang Bandera) and the land-linked nearby Lazarus Island (Pulau Sakijang Pelepah) used to also house vibrant kampongs, but it became steadily more deserted with time. The last residents of St John's were relocated to the mainland in 2016.

Kusu Island

A small island beside St John's/Lazarus Island, its name means turtle in Hokkien. Legend has it that this island was formed by a large turtle during a storm to save a Chinese and a Malay sailor, hence the building of a Chinese temple and several Malay shrines (Keramat) on it. The Chinese temple was dedicated to Tua Pek Gong and Guanyin. The 3 Keramats, situated on top of the hill were meant to commemorate a pious man (Syed Abdul Rahman), his mother and his sister.

Read More: IslandNation.sg story about Kusu Island

Sisters' Islands

Subar Laut and Subar Darat or the Sisters' island are 2 small islands that is home to Singapore's first marine reserve and turtle hatchery. Legend has it that these islands were formed when 2 beautiful sisters (Minah and Linah) drowned when they ran away from a pirate who sat his eyes on abducting one of them.

Read more: WildSingapore page on Sisters' Island

Pulau Jong

Shaped like a "pau" or a Chinese junk ("Jong"), this small island is one of the last untouched natural islands of Singapore. At high tide, only the top of the island is visible and the sedimentary rocks layer of the island will be very obvious. At low tide, the submerged reefs around the island is exposed, extending all the way out to the cardinal buoy east of the island.

Pulau Bukom and Pulau Anak Bukom

Pulau Bukom (linking Bukom Besar and Bukom Kechil, as well as incorporating Pulau Ular and Pulau Busing through reclamation) used to be a mangrove island with a small Malay village of fishermen. It was used for petroleum transfer operation since the late 19th centuries and is currently a major Petroleum complex owned by Shell. This island houses living quarters and amenities on top of refinery infrastructure. It also has the only mosque in Singapore's southern islands.

On the southern corner is a very small Mangrove outcrop called Pylau Anak Bukom (Son of Bukom) that is a major hatchery for migratory birds like herons.

Read more: NLB's Infopedia on Pulau Bukom

Pulau Semakau

The current Pulau Semakau is Singapore's only land-fill and the parts that are completely filled have been converted for ecological purposes. This island was actually made up of 2 separate islands (the original Pulau Semakau and Pulau Seking). The original Pulau Semakau was home to a Malay kampong and a smaller Chinese village where the islanders were mainly fishermen There were also facilities like school, mosque, football field and cemeteries. There was a brief population boom on the island when villagers from Pulau Bukom relocated here but most people moved to mainland Singapore in the late 1970s.

Stories on IslandNation.sg (Pulau Seking, Pulau Semakau)
NEA's webpage on P Semakau

Pulau Sebarok

Pulau Sebarok is an oil storage and refueling port at one of the Southern Islands of Singapore. It is distinctive for the many massive white storage tanks that cover the entire island.

Pulau Satumu (Raffles Lighthouse)

Pulau Satumu (One-tree island in Malay) was named after a tall mangrove tree on the island. It was also formerly known as Coney Island. Situated on the Southernmost part of Singapore water. it was originally thought to be too small to build a lighthouse but one was built nevertheless in 1855 by Colonel WJ Butterworth. This island is currently out of bounds except for lighthouse personnel.

Pulau Biola

Pulau Biola or Violin Island (referencing its shape) is a small islet near Pulau Satumu at the southern extreme of Singapore water. Despite its small size, it is an important navigational feature in the past. Today, the area between Pulau Biola and Pulau Satumu is recognised as place of ecological importance due to its large coral flats and biodiversity.