Great Britain's Great Project
Dear Friends
Browsing through The Straits Times, April 1924 Digitised NewspapersSG, I
found a matter concerning the Claim Over Sembawang Acquisition to
build the Naval Base, which some members may find amusing.
Apparently,
there were several individuals and companies such as the Bukit Sembawang Estate; Mr Tan Cheong Kee; and Mr
Oscar Olsen who owned land from whom the Govt had to acquire for building the
Naval Base, known as the Great Project. Hence the matter was brought before the court.
In
the case of Mr Oscar Olsen, the 265 acres of land he owned was estimated at
$185, 140 and the Buildings, et cetera at $12, 000, totaling $197,140.
Mr
Olsen had bought the property consisting of rubber ‘of varying character’,
and 7 acres of fruit trees and mangrove to retire and said it was difficult to
find a similar property. He stayed on the property till 1916.
The
cost per acre was assessed between $500-$600 for building and planting
good rubber, and $250 for swamp land. This estimation was determined
by Mr J Lornie the Commissioner for Land for the Straits Settlements who took
into consideration prevailing land prices in Mr Olsen’s neighborhood and in Penang
and Malacca.
The
case was heard before Chief Justice Sir Walter Shaw and assessors J Robertson and
A.E Baddeley. (Interestingly, Wikipedia tells when Chief
Justice Shaw came to Singapore, he introduced the custom of wearing a wig in
court).
Mr.
W.H. Dinsmore the Solicitor General was present on behalf of the Collector of
Land Revenue and Mr V.D. Knowles for the owner Mr Olsen.
The
defense considered the 14.5 acres, fronting the Straits of Johore, prime land
for constructing seaside bungalows and consequently felt its value should be higher, which Mr T
Mayhew assessed at $2,600 an acre. He believed it would fetch 10 cents a foot if
sold in lots of one or two acres and fetch $4356 an acre. This part of the land
was however accessible by sampan as no roads existed during that period.
In
its 13 July 1929 issue titled Our Naval Base, The Singapore Free Press
and Mercantile Advertiser, reported that Sir John Jackson Ltd were appointed contractors
for the construction of the Dry Dock, Naval Stores Basin, North Wharf running
parallel with the floating dock at the foreshore, and that the Admiralty will
erect the pump house, departments, and workshops.
The earthworks entailed excavating 8.5 million cubic yards of soil from hills rising 60-70 feet high. The article states, two and half million cubic yards will be removed for the construction of the floating dock by two dragline excavators from the Navy and one due from America. The excavated land will also be used to fill 250 acres of mangrove swamp on the west of the dockyard for a propose recreational (Deptford?)field for dockyard personnel.
Work
also involved the demolition of a quarry from which stones will be
used to build the wharves. Stones were also derived from Bukit Lunchu in Johore
and transported by ferries and rail on 12 trucks capable of transporting 100
tons per trip. These boulders weighing two tons will be broken by crushing plants
into 2-inch diameter stones. Besides building the Dockyard, an armament depot
was also planned.
The construction of the great project, (stretching over five miles and covering over 2400 acres), was scheduled to be completed in 7 years and Naval Base was opened in 1938.
Mr Oscar Olsen
Sadly, The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, 2 November 1939, in its obituary column, announced that: Mr Oscar Olsen died in his home in East Coast of heart failure, age 78 on 1 Nov 1939. Born in Goteborg Sweden in 1861, he has been in Malaya for 54 years, returning only once to his homeland in 1925. He was prospecting in Borneo in early nineties and later gold mining in Pahang. He joined Singapore Municipality in 1896 and retired in 1919 after 23 years of service and was survived by his widow.
Article Contributed by Alfred Dass
The railway tracks brings to recall those found in the dockyard. There seemed to exist a network criss-crossing the whole of the dockyard premise. Also there was evidence of same outside the main gate.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the network began at the Store Basin and extended up to the respective armament depots to the west (RNAD and RNTD)
I notice them when I was bike riding in the Yard doing internal audit work; it was the most effective means of "transport" between office and the different departments in the Yard.
I believe the resurfacing of the roads in the dockyard has covered up all the tracks leaving only the irons visible at road level....