Your base for exploring this destination is the city of Singapore. For travel information about Singapore, go to Singapore Travel Guide. If planning a trip to Singapore, view the Singapore Budget Accommodation Map to find a suitable place to spend the night.
The Dalhousie Obelisk is a memorial on the north bank of the Singapore river, near Connaught Drive, and in close proximity to the Asian Civilisations Museum at Empress Place and the Victoria Concert Hall & Theatre. The obelisk was erected to commemorate the second visit of the Marquis of Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856. The purpose of his visit was to look into ways to reduce the government's administrative cost.
Dalhousie Obelisk near the bank of the Singapore river.
However, the local people of Singapore, particularly the merchants and traders, had a totally different agenda for the marquis. They felt that Singapore's infrastructure has not been developed in tandem with its economic development, and they wanted Dalhousie to exert his influence on that matter. To win him over, they renamed the pier where he came ashore after him - calling it Dalhousie Ghaut - and placed a commemorative obelisk there. Unfortunately, nothing of that sort materialised from the visit.
The Dalhousie Obelisk was designed by John Turnbull Thomson, the engineer who also designed a previous version of the St Andrew's Cathedral. He obviously drew his inspiration from the Cleopatra's Needle of London.
Like many historic memorials in Singapore, the Dalhousie Obelisk has been moved a number of times. The first was in 1886, when land reclamation for the building of Connaught Drive affected the Dalhousie Ghaut. To save it, the obelisk was moved closer to the sea wall, where the Cenotaph now stood (at that time, Queen Elizabeth Walk had not existed yet).
Five year after that, in 1891, the obelisk was moved once more. This time, on the instruction of Governor Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, it was transferred to its present site where it stays to this day.
Hotel Room Price Checker
Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?
The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!
If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.
Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.
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