William Farquhar - An Exhibition

William Farquhar - Singapore's First Resident, a man i remembered from our Secondary School History textbook.

I was thus drawn to the Exhibition about the man and his work in our tiny Singapore in the early days.

Sir Stamford Raffles maybe history!? As i read that Farquhar was the one who advised and persuaded Raffles on making Singapore a trading port.

It now seems unfair for Raffles to make a sole claim on the founding of Singapore Island.

But what really impress me were his contributions in nurturing and administering Singapore in its nascent years with very limited resources and support from his superiors, Raffles included.

During his 58 months appointment, Farquhar built some 24km of roads - including North Bridge Rd, Hill Street and High Street - as well as a reservoir along Singapore River to supply fresh water.

Consider this: Raffles spent mere 296 days in Singapore, compared with Farquhar's fulfilling and laborious 58 months.


Nation Library Building
Promenade, Level 7
31 Mar - 31 August 2010.