Sunday, January 15
National Heritage Project Part 3
Introduction:
Labrador Nature Reserve contains many historical relics from World War II and earlier, left behind by the British. The entire nature reserve, together with the current park, was used to be called Pasir Panjang Beach, or Long Beach.
The old British fort, the Fort Pasir Panjang, was located on the cliff next to the sea as the cliff’s high vantage point allowed for better protection of the harbours of Singapore.
In World War 2, Labrador Park became one of nine sites in which the British had set up their batteries, and was part of the British overall defense system for Singapore as the steep cliffs and thick mangrove swamps acted as natural barriers against intruders. The area was very heavily defended but alas, the site did not see much action during the war as the Japanese arrived from the Northern coast, not the Southern coast as the British had expected. Hence, no Japanese ships passed through the area at all and the heavy military equipment at the fort was unused.
In 1995, the site was gazette by the National Heritage Board as one of the 11 World War 2 sites in Singapore.
