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.

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Steamy-Tales-of-New-Harbour

Register here: https://shf2026jeromelimharbour.peatix.com

*Programme tickets will go live on 22nd April 2026 12pm

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.





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