The Dalhousie Obelisk and the Governor-General of India

Imagine you’re on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, just about to win one million dollars, and the final question you’re posed asks; What was the focus of Singapore’s first public statue? 

There are many guesses that one could make. Stamford Raffles would be the obvious choice. Temenggong Abdul Rahman would demonstrate a deep knowledge of how the British came to establish their position on Singapore to begin with. The woman with the single most amount of places, things and statues raised in her honour across the British Empire, Queen Victoria, would surely be a strong contender. 

But if you chose any of these options, then unfortunately you would have gone home empty handed. The focus of Singapore’s first public statue is actually a rather obscure figure in the history of Singapore, mostly because they had nothing to do with Singapore initially. The Dalhousie Obelisk was named after Lord James Andrew, the Marquess of Dalhousie, a Governor-General of India who voyaged to Singapore during his tenure, and much like Chulalongkorn, had his visit immortalised in Statue. But the story of Singapore’s first public monument is one of pride and the desire for a more prosperous future to materialise in the humble trading post Singapore was during it’s days in the Straits Settlements. 

When Singapore joined the the Straits Settlements colonies in 1826, coming into a union with Penang, Malacca and Dinding as ports along the Malay Peninsula under the control of the British Empire, it was administered under the jurisdiction of British India. Make note that this was not the British Raj, which would be formed in 1858 and held under the authority of the British crown, thus making the monarchs of the United Kingdom the Emperors of India. Instead, this institution was controlled by the British East India Company, a joint-stock enterprise of merchants and traders who used their sailing resources to trade with far eastern nations like India, Hong Kong and Malaysia, before growing a monopoly by using their profits to create militia forces that would protect their commerce interests and create spheres of British economic influence that would eventually become direct colonies. 

It is difficult to think of Singapore as anything other than the vibrant, exciting jewel of South-East Asia, famous for it’s maritime prowess now, but during the mid-1800’s, Singapore was just another port. Granted, one that had a number of natural benefits, such as an ideal middle position between Australia and Hong Kong, as well as a growing labour force that was used to create a robust economy, these factors leading to Singapore becoming the capital and Seat of Government of the Straits Settlements in 1832. But outside of it’s region, Singapore was just a dot on a map that could conveniently be handled by the British East India Company. 

The locals of Singapore however thought that their island had a far brighter future in store for it than as the afterthought of moneymakers in India, who’s primary attention was always focused on Kolkata and Delhi, never the Straits. The population needed an opportunity to demonstrate to the larger imperial machinery of the British Empire that Singapore was worth being paid attention, and that opportunity presented itself in 1850. 

The Governor-General of India was a position that had very little administrative power in the way of governing, as previously stated the British East India Company was mostly responsible for economic interests, and thus exercised a large sway over other matters such as warfare and domestic concerns. The role was intended to represent the British Monarch within the territory and supervise the actions of the Company which was regarded as corrupt and concerned only with money, a drive that could engulf the British in unintended conflicts with other Empires just to make investors a profit. The Marquess of Dalhousie became Governor-General in 1848, and would have a tremendous effect on India. Under his supervision telegraph cables and railroads were laid, female infanticide and human sacrifices were banned, schools were established and the British forces would win both the Second Anglo-Burmese war and the Second Anglo-Sikh war, cementing the Empire’s presence and authority within the subcontinent. 

In 1850, Dalhousie decided to undertake a voyage in order to observe the maritime outposts that fell under British India’s sphere of influence, a general checkup on the easy to forget islands and ports across the Indian Ocean. Singapore saw this as the opportunity they needed to demonstrate their potential, and thus his scheduled three-day visit to the island beginning on February 17 saw pomp and circumstance fit for Queen Victoria herself. The Governor-General was welcomed by a parade and a sealane of boats, all lined in the harbour and filled with waving locals. Members of Singapore’s chamber of commerce, Chinese merchants and Freemason authority figures all gave public speeches and talks, boasting of the strengths of Singapore as an outpost and it’s potential to become an economic hub. Local temples were opened for tours and gambier plantations offered their harvests as a showing of the island’s produce. The Governor-General would leave on the 19th, spending only three days in Singapore which nonetheless made an impact on his perception of the island. 

The next year, Dalhousie would bring the governance of the Straits Settlements under his direct authority, divorcing any attachment and authority that British India and the British East India Company had over Singapore. Furthermore, the responsibilities (and the salary) of the Governor of the Straits Settlements was increased. The dreams of locals for Singapore to be given free trade authority did not materialised, but the goal of divorcing their position from India was achieved and for this the visit of Dalhousie was seen as a success. 

In the weeks following Dalhousie’s visit, a number of wealthy locals felt that a monument to the Governor-General would help maintain the good impression Singapore had made upon him and place a bit of pressure on his goodwill to give the Straits a reward for their effectiveness in maritime activities. As no changes had been made yet, many questioned the validity of erecting such a monument, especially as there were no public statues in Singapore at this point, not even to the Founder of Singapore, Stamford Raffles. But this skepticism was pushed aside and architect John Turnbull Thomson was commissioned to create a marker in honour of Dalhousie. Sourcing inspiration from ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’, a statue that stands on the banks of the River Thames, Thomson created the Dalhousie Obelisk built of plastered brick and stone, which was placed at the mouth of Singapore River. 

The Obelisk now stands before the Empress Place Building, just behind Singapore’s Parliament and surrounded by it’s many successor statues. A text written on a metal tablet in Malay, Tamil, Mandarin and English, states that the Obelisk was created in honour of Dalhousie, who ‘recognised the wisdom of liberating commerce from all restraints’, a phrase that slightly jumped the gun as pertains to the changes the Governor-General would actually make. Nonetheless, it was Dalhousie’s decision to divorce the Straits Settlements from the authority of the British East India Company that would lead to their eventual recognition as a crown colony in 1867, putting Singapore on par with India, Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong in the scheme of the Empire, and finally realising the desires of the local population for their island to be recognised as the prosperous, vibrant and bountiful economic and maritime hub that it was and would continue to be. 

Sources: 

https://www.visitsingapore.com/see-do-singapore/history/memorials/dalhousie-obelisk/

https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_481_2005-01-20.html