Places Tours & Trails

Steamy Tales of New Harbour

by thelongandwindingroad (Jerome Lim)
3, 9, 23 May • 04:00pm

Join Jerome Lim on a trail to discover ‘New Harbour’. A historic navigation channel, it was where Singapore’s first wharves and drydock were constructed. Their development enabled Singapore to benefit from shipping developments in the late 1800s.

Steamy-Tales-of-New-Harbour

This programme is sold out. 

Sunday (3 May): 4pm - 6.30pm
Saturday (9 & 23 May): 4pm - 6.30pm

The Harbourfront precinct, formerly New Harbour, also featured as a navigation channel identified by early Chinese maritime explorers. As New Harbour, it would also be where Singapore’s first shipping wharves and drydock were constructed. Their appearance in the 1850s placed Singapore in an ideal position to benefit from the shipping revolution of the 1860s, driven by rapid advances in steam propulsion technology, as well as the opening of the Suez Canal.

Take a stroll with retired Naval Architect Jerome Lim along the Caribbean, Corals and Harbourfront Promenades, to discover how developments at New Harbour in the age of steam fuelled European colonial ambitions and had far reaching consequences for Singapore. The stroll will also provide a glimpse of some of Singapore’s earliest drydocks, including its very first. See also where Singapore’s earliest shipping wharves were built, and discover some artefacts associated with it.

thelongandwindingroad (Jerome Lim)

Jerome Lim is a heritage enthusiast, a keen photographer, and a blogger who captures Singapore’s fast evolving urban and cultural landscape through the award-winning ‘The Long and Winding Road’ blog.

He is also the author of ‘Uncommon Ground: The Places You Know, The Stories You Don’t’ and co-author of ‘Secret Singapore’ through which he brings out the stories that are hidden in many of Singapore’s lesser-known sites.

Through Jerome’s collaboration with the Singapore Land Authority, he has led guided visits to State Properties under the agency’s care since 2017, including several that have featured in NHB’s Battle for Singapore and Singapore HeritageFest tour programmes.





Other fascinating stories & events…

Places Others
A Bump Through Time

A Bump Through Time

9, 16, 23 May • 03:30pm

9, 16, 23 May • 05:00pm

9, 16, 23 May • 07:00pm

9, 16, 23 May • 08:30pm

Blending performance, play and place, A Bump Through Time invites audiences to experience the Singapore River beyond the usual sights; through the people, trades and small moments that once defined the river; on a moving bumboat.

Find out more
People Places Tours & Trails
Currents & Crossings – Maritime Stories of Singapore

Currents & Crossings – Maritime Stories of Singapore

9, 17, 24 May • 09:30am

Currents and Crossings is a guided art walk from the Singapore River to Telok Ayer, uncovering the human lives behind Singapore’s maritime rise. Through river sculptures and murals depicting port-era neighbourhoods, participants explore stories of labour, migration, and everyday resilience along the waterfront. Discover how the early communities shaped the city and how traces of their lives remain embedded in today’s urban landscape.

Find out more
Objects Places Others
Ebbs & Flows

Ebbs & Flows

23 May • 05:00pm

Ebbs & Flows is an exclusive stamp rally activation at HYPE Weekend at HOMEGROUND @ ACM Green that brings Singapore’s maritime heritage to life through hands-on, youth-designed activities. Participants move through interaction stations like knot-tying, sand art, and quizzes, collecting stamps to complete a rally card and earn keepsakes.

Find out more