Mount Faber
Highest point
Elevation348 feet (106 m)
Coordinates1°16′25.7″N 103°49′03.0″E / 1.273806°N 103.817500°E / 1.273806; 103.817500
Naming
Native nameTelok Blangah Hill (Malay)
Geography
Mount Faber is located in Singapore
Mount Faber
Mount Faber
Location in Singapore
LocationSingapore
Parent range56 hectares
Geology
Mountain typehill
Mount Faber
Name transcription(s)
 • Chinese花柏山
 • PinyinHūa bǎi shān
 • MalayBukit Faber
 • Tamilபேபர் மலை
CountrySingapore

Mount Faber, formerly Telok Blangah Hill, is a hill about 94 metres (308 ft) in height, located in the town of Bukit Merah in the Central Region of Singapore. It overlooks the Telok Blangah area and the western parts of the Central Area. The summit is accessible by Mount Faber Road[1] or Mount Faber Loop via Morse Road, but there are many footpaths or trails leading up the hill. The main paths are: Marang Trail, which leads from Marang Road at the Harbourfront MRT station (Exit D), and the Southern Ridges Park Connector which connects from Telok Blangah Hill Park, Kent Ridge Park, and Henderson Waves.

It is a major tourist attraction, as it provides a panoramic view of the dense central business district within the Central Area.[2] Its slope includes a tower that is part of the Singapore cable car system that connects to HarbourFront and Sentosa.[3] It is accessible from the HarbourFront MRT station.

History

View of Mount Faber from Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant

Mount Faber was known as Telok Blangah Hill but was later renamed after Captain Charles Edward Faber of the Madras Engineers, the superintending engineer in the Straits and Governor Butterworth's brother-in-law, who arrived in Singapore in September 1844. Faber cut through the thick undergrowth, allowing the road to the top of the hill to be built. The original winding road was referred to in the press at that time as a "stupidly narrow road".

The article also questioned the change of the name from what it deemed its originally more appropriate Malay name. A signal station was erected on the hill in 1845. This signal station was transferred from Pulau Blakang Mati (now Sentosa) because of the "injurious miasma" on the island.

After the Indian Mutiny of 1857, the Straits government decided to convert Mount Faber into a fort for fear of revolt among the local Indian sepoys. Defence work was carried out and granite emplacements for guns were completed halfway up the hill, but Mount Faber never became a fort.

In 1972, the government spent S$63,910 to renovate the bunkers and turn Mount Faber into a landscaped scenic spot.[4] Construction on the S$2.94 million cable car system to link Mount Faber and Sentosa together also began.[5][3][6]

Geography

The vegetation around Mount Faber is a secondary rainforest that is smaller and less dense than on Bukit Timah Hill. Mount Faber is one of the higher hills in Singapore at 106 metres (348 ft),[7] lower than Bukit Timah Hill (164 m (538 ft)) and Bukit Gombak (133 m (436 ft)) and 113 m (371 ft)). It is separated from the adjacent slightly lower Telok Blangah Hill Park by Henderson Road.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Mount Faber Rd closed". The Straits Times. 5 June 1983. p. 15. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  2. ↑ Mohamed, Sulaiman (12 April 1972). "Untidy roads at Mt. Faber". New Nation. p. 6. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  3. 1 2 "Copter used to instal cable car system". The Straits Times. 15 February 1974. p. 11. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  4. ↑ "Govt. to spend $64,000 more on Mt. Faber". New Nation. 12 September 1972. p. 7. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  5. ↑ "A scenic lookout post for tourists at Mt Faber". The Straits Times. 19 February 1978. p. 7. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  6. ↑ Poteik, Chia (14 August 1971). "$2.9 m cable car contract". The Straits Times. p. 19. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  7. ↑ "MAST-HIGH VIEWPOINT OVER THE COLONY". The Straits Times. 1 May 1953. p. 12. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  8. ↑ Tan, Hui Leng (9 June 2005). "Mount Faber's new jewel box". Today. p. 8. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via NewspaperSG.

Bibilography

  • Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Tan Le Ci(2007)Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1
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