History of the Lavender District in Singapore
Located in the Jalan Besar Town, the township exudes old-school charm, with remnants of yesteryears.
The early settlers along the Kallang River, a muddy tidal plain then. Boyanese and Bugis seafaring communities were amongst the first to settle along the banks of the Kallang river, forming villages with huts built on stilts, made entirely from the attap trees. During early 1900s, the swampland was reclaimed by the governing Municipal Council, using by-products from a nearby incinerator, the first that was built on Syed Alwi Road.
In the 1930s, Mr Pana Noor Mohamed acquired land and had engaged an architect, J.M. Jackson, for the construction of the shophouse rows. The rows of blocks on both sides of Hamilton Road used to be occupied by early small/light industrial enterprises in Singapore. Not long ago, it was included in the government’s list of preserved heritage buildings and a portion of it became Hotel Hamilton.
The roads in Jalan Besar were named after important British generals who fought in wars for the expansion and defending of British overseas colonies and strategic locations. Hamilton Road was named after Sir Ian Standish Hamilton, a British general and commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, who was knighted in 1902. Next to it, Horne Road, was after Sir Henry Horne who was known for his talent in war strategy and commanding units assigned. An adjoining road, Cavan Road, was named after Frederick Lambart who had served as a British commander at an Italian battle front and held the inherited title of the 10th Earl of Cavan.
