WD2971

View of Singapore from the sea. 1823.

By Lieutenant P. Jackson

Inscribed on front in pencil: ‘NB. The perspective of this hill’ -’ is incorrect 2/3 of an Inch - was diminished in the one given to Sir S. Raffles 4 June 1823 PJ.’ Above:’ this is the Height of the Hill.’ To the right: ‘Property of Captn. Flint.’ In another hand: ‘ Mount Sophia Singapore’.

Pencil; 28 by 43.6 cm.

Note: As suggested by the initials in the inscription, this sketch is by Lieutenant Philip Jackson, the Settlement Engineer. It is the earliest known drawing of Singapore and depicts the infant town much as it was during Raffles's third and final visit between October 1822 and June 1823. It is of considerable historical importance since it shows a cluster of houses on the northern side of the Singapore River, thus indicating that Raffles's attempts to clear the Cantonment Plain of private buildings were less successful than his orders imply. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the drawing is the bungalow which Raffles had built on Singapore (Government) Hill. The site for this was chosen on the evening of 7 December 1822 when he and Nathaniel Wallich, Superintendent of the Calcutta Botanic Gardens, were walking on the Hill and the latter threw a stone to decide the Spot. The bungalow was built in less than a month, Raffles and his wife taking up occupancy on 5 January 1823 while the Chinese carpenters were still at work. To his friend, William Marsden, Raffles wrote: 'We have lately built a small bungalow on Singapore Hill, where, though the height is inconsiderable, we find a great difference of climate. Nothing can be more interesting and beautiful than the view from this spot. I am happy to say the change has had a very beneficial effect on my health, which has been better during the last fortnight than I have known it for two years before.' In a letter to Charlotte, Duchess of Somerset, he gave the dimensions of the bungalow as one hundred feet in length and fifty feet wide. It may be inferred from the inscription on the drawing that a similar sketch had been given to him by Jackson some time earlier, and it seems likely that it was destroyed when the ship ‘Fame’ caught fire and sank on 2 February 1824. Six days after that disaster Raffles wrote to his sister, Mary Ann Flint, in Singapore asking her to 'entreat Jackson to send me some sketches of the place as the former ones are gone'. Obviously the present drawing, and probably also the following one, were sent to him in response to this request.