Sembawang (Park)

Sembawang is a residential town to the North of Singapore. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Singapore, Sembawang is rich in Singapore history.

There are still many black and white colonial houses in the area. They were built around 1920s and 1930s, and primarily used as accommodation for the British military personnel and their families.

Many roads in Sembawang are named after various Royal Navy dockyards, warships, admirals, countries and cities. Examples include Wellington, Canberra, Gibraltar, Kenya and Falkland. These names were given during the previous British administration, and reflect the town's history as a British naval base. 

Sembawang Park used to be part of the former Singapore Naval Base, built by the British in the 1920s to defend their interests in the Asia Pacific.

“The completion of Royal Navy’s Singapore Naval Base (also known as HMS Sembawang) in 1938 and RAF Sembawang (also known as HMS Simbang) in March 1940 marked the start of military presence in Sembawang. In February 1942, both bases were partially torched and wrecked by the retreating British forces during the Battle of Singapore to deny their use by units of the advancing Imperial Japanese Army. After the end of World War II in 1945, both bases were reverted to British control and would eventually go on to play an important part in Britain's continued military presence in the Far East…” - Wikipedia

Apparently it was the largest British naval base East of Suez Canal, at that time. The base included dockyards, wharves and workshops, as well as supporting administrative, residential and commercial areas. The naval base operated until 1968 when it was handed over to the Singapore government upon the withdrawal of the British forces.

Beaulieu House

According to a notice in the park, the Beaulieu House was built before the establishment of the navel base. The buildings stands out with its use of Victorian style ironwork and Neo-classical plaster details. It is unclear how the house got its name.

When work of the naval base began, the house was acquired by the colonial government. It served as the residence for senior engineers while the base was being built, and was later used to house senior navel officers.

The building was granted conservation status by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on the 8 April 2005

Within the park, one may still find links to the area’s naval past – like this one. Not quite sure what it is supposed to be, but it looks like the skeleton of a ship.

Unique benches in the park.

There is a beach next to the park. From here, one can look across to Malaysia.

Although tucked away, Sembawang is accessible by public transport and now with development of the area, it is only five minutes drive to the nearest mall. There are also a row of shop houses of pubs, sports bar, karaokes and eateries, a couple of bus-stops away from the park. It looked a bit out of the way to city folks, but I guess in times gone by, it would be a popular haunt for the navy personal in the area. And now with new housing in the area, business should be picking up for them.

Some creeper flowering plants on the way.

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