|
Pathlight students had a different outing this term- a heritage trail tour to Fort Canning Hill.
It was a good opportunity for most of our students who had some historical knowledge of Singapore to see some artefacts or places used during World War 2 or before that.
Teachers armed with maps were the tour guides on this trip. The various levels were given different worksheets to describe what they saw. Most were given written journals as assignments but the secondary school students were asked to do an e-journal to maximise what they have learnt in their CPA lessons.
The students were guided to these places:
- Gothic gate- graveyard for 600 Christians between 1830s and 1865.
- Keramat Sultan Iskandar Syah, ruler of Temasek in the 14th century.
- Archaeological Dig Exhibition, which began in 1984. Thousands of artefacts were found confirming Fort Canning’s historical significance.
- Sally Port- small doors which lead in and out of forts so that defenders would not be detected.
- Fort Gate- remains of the fortress that once occupied the hill form 1861 to 1926.
- Battle Box – nerve centre of the British Military operations in South East Asia, also the place where Lt. General Percival made the decision to surrender to Japan in 1942.
- Fort Canning Centre- served as an army barrack for the British. Currently houses the Singapore Dance Theatre and the cooking academy.
- Spice garden- original site of Raffles’ experimental and botanical garden.
- Cupolas- a place to for people to relax and enjoy the tranquillity of the hill. Also a good way to marvel at its unique architecture.
- 9-pound cannons- used as decorations for the main gate at Fort Canning. They were from the 19th century and might have been obsolete before Fort Canning was built.
It was an educational trip for the students despite the scorching afternoon sun.
|
