Labrador Park. Labrador Nature Reserves. The Tunnel. 6 inch Canon. Fishing.
Labrador Nature Reserve is the site where many historical relics and natural artifacts are located in Singapore, most of which date from World War II and earlier periods of time, much of which were left behind mainly by the former British colonial legacy on the island. This is due to the fact that the area has a long history dating way back to the 19th century and its playing of a significant role in the history of the city-state.
The entire nature reserve, together with the current park, used to be known as Pasir Panjang Beach (Pasir Panjang, translated from Malay, means similarly as "Long Beach"). The area used to be where a long strip of coastal land was at high tide and a rocky beach was at low tide before land reclamation took place and formed the seawall and the modern park seen today.
There was an old British military base (a fort), referred to as Fort Pasir Panjang, located on the top of the hill and above the cliff in front of the sea (the fort was first constructed as early as the 1890s). The cliff’s high vantage-point led the British government to identify it as a strategic defence site to protect the entrance to Keppel Harbour in the southern part of mainland Singapore as well as Singapore's southwestern coastline (near Pulau Blakang Mati (present-day Sentosa)). It became one of nine major sites where the British military had set up their gun batteries and is a crucial part of the entire British defence system for Singapore.
The rocky beach below the cliff was still accessible to the public at that time (lasting until the 1930s). The area was a popular place for recreational sports and there was also a seaside resort for the residents living in villas located in the surrounding areas, as well as for the nearby villages. In fact, there were even private beach-houses, self-constructed seawalls and personal jetties built along the area's shoreline.
Labrador Beach was one of the five designated nature reserves that were established in 1951] This designation helped to prevent any extensive development from taking place in the area, which might threaten and endanger the flora and fauna of the immediate surroundings. However, in 1973, Labrador Beach's designation of a nature reserve was downgraded to that of a nature park. The future of the beach environment became uncertain as there were, at that time, no laws enacted which prevented the damage or destruction of nature parks. It was feared by many that the area would have to make way for a site for industrial development. There were consistent calls and appeals from the public to the government and the relevant authorities to preserve the rich history and the unique nature of the area, especially considering that the area was home to the last rocky shore and coral reef on mainland Singapore.
Finally, in November 2001, it was announced that Labrador Park (renamed from Labrador Beach) would be gazetted as a nature reserve once more. The old jetty (once owned by the nearby BP oil refinery, which was closed down and demolished by the end of the 1990s) was extensively renovated and opened to the public (it was initially opened daily from 7 am to 8 pm until it was declared by NParks to be closed indefinitely (due to safety reasons) at some time between 2014 and 2016, before being reopened once again but now being open for 24 hours), together with the rocky shoreline (now closed off indefinitely to the public), while much redevelopment and landscaping works took place in the reclaimed section of the part of the rocky beach right up to Tanjong Berlayer and just beyond to Berlayer Creek.
Also, in 2001, a labyrinth of tunnels, which were an integral part of the old fort built by the British government, were also discovered within the area of the park(located on the top of the cliff). These used to serve as a storage place for ammunition and other important military supplies, as well as being a base-camp for British troops guarding the fort. One of the tunnels goes under the waters of the entrance of Keppel Harbour and leads to Fort Siloso on Pulau Blakang Mati, present-day Sentosa (this is alleged by many to exist although there is a lack of concrete evidence to prove it). A small portion of the tunnels have since been opened to the public (but are recently declared to be structurally unsafe and have been sealed off until further notice).
How to get there.
Since the 8 October 2011, the Labrador Park MRT station on the Circle line (located just beside the entrance of the road leading to the park) offers a mode of public transport to the park. SBS Transit bus service 408 (available on weekends and public holidays only) used to be another mode of public transport to the park until 31 July 2016 (the bus service was officially terminated on the following day).
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