Time for another history lesson.
When one mentions 火城 (huo cheng) in the past, most people know one is referring to Kampong Bugis or Kallang Junction. Specifically 火城 referred to Kampong Bugis instead of Kallang Junction. However the name 火城 (Fire City – direct translation) is probably due to the installation of the Gas Work at the Kallang Juction or Kampong Bugis.
Kallang Gasworks was completed in 1862 and piped gas supply was turned on in Singapore for the first time. It was first owned by the Singapore Gas Company which was formed in 1861 to provide gas for street lighting.
Later in 1901, the Municipal Commissioners acquired the gasworks and expanded its capacity. When the Public Utilities Board (PUB) was formed in May 1963, it took over the supply of piped gas and electricity and the Kallang Gasworks came under PUB's charge. In October 1995, Kallang Gasworks was transferred from PUB to the newly corporatised company, Singapore Power, under its subsidiary PowerGas Ltd. Two years later, the Kallang Gasworks ceased gas production in 1997 after having served Singapore faithfully for 135 years. Since then, the newly commissioned Senoko Gasworks has taken over the function of producing sufficient gas to meet the demand of consumers in Singapore.
With its modest beginnings in a sparsely populated swampy surrounding, the Kallang Gasworks became a prominent landmark of the area. As the Kallang Basin area went through extensive reclamation and development, the Kallang Gasworks found itself in the heart of the city adjacent to a busy MRT station. Thus, it had to be demolished in order to facilitate the development of Riverwalk Park along the Kallang Basin and other more compatible land use in the surrounding city environment.
This big blue cylinder is really a landmark at Kallang back in the old days. Most people will know of it’s existence in the past.
Let’s take an aerial view of this blue cylinder from an old photo;
Photo Credit : National Archives, PICAS
This was how it looked in 1961. Take note of the surrounding buildings and landmarks.
Take a look at this very old street directory;
Credit : Singapore Street Directory, Chief Surveyor
The Gasworks was shown clearly on the map. Below is another old street directory showing the Gasworks location and its surrounding;
Credit : Singapore Street Directory 1976 edition, Chief Surveyor
What remains now is one of the gasholder located at the Car Park of Kampong Bugis (Kallang park).
Map credit : Mighty Minds, Singapore Street Directory
See how this gas holder looked like in 1900;
Photo Credit : National Archives, PICAS
The other remains are the hardware used in Gasworks incorporated into a sculpture that looks like this. It is named the 'Spirit of Kallang'.
Photo Credit : Nusantara.com
Previously, one can find this sculpture on the left if one was driving along Crawford Street towards Beach Road as shown in the picture above. However, it has since moved.
Today, this micro cache will bring you to the NEW home of this sculpture.
Cache is a micro, BYOP! Please practice stealth as place is muggly.
Oh, by the way, you may like to try 'GC3JKVM Lion Gates III , a simple jigsaw puzzle that leads you to another interesting structure nearby this cache not known to many.