Changi
Encyclopedia
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It is now the site of Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport , Changi International Airport, or simply Changi Airport, is the main airport in Singapore. A major aviation hub in Southeast Asia, it is about north-east from the commercial centre in Changi, on a site....
/Changi Air Base
Changi Air Base
Changi Air Base or Changi Air Base ', formerly the RAF Changi, is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force located at Changi, in the eastern tip of Singapore...
, Changi Naval Base
Changi Naval Base
Changi Naval Base is the latest naval facility of the Republic of Singapore Navy and was built to replace Brani Naval Base. Located about 1.5 kilometres east of Changi Air Base and 3.5 kilometres east of Singapore Changi Airport, the base was built on 1.28 km² of reclaimed land, it was...
and is also home to Changi Prison
Changi Prison
Changi Prison is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.-First prison and POW camp:...
, site of the former Japanese Prisoner of War Camp
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
which held Allied
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
prisoners captured in Singapore and Malaysia after Singapore's fall in February 1942.
Being close to the sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
, Changi also has 2 commercial ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
terminals, Changi Point Ferry Terminal at Changi Creek and Changi Ferry Terminal near to Changi Naval Base.
James Clavell
James Clavell
James Clavell, born Charles Edmund DuMaresq Clavell was an Australian-born, British novelist, screenwriter, director and World War II veteran and prisoner of war...
based his novel King Rat
King Rat (1962 novel)
King Rat is a 1962 novel by James Clavell. Set during World War II, Clavell's literary debut describes the struggle for survival of British, Australian and American prisoners of war in a Japanese camp in Singapore—a description informed by Clavell's own three-year experience as a prisoner in the...
on his experiences as a World War 2 Allied prisoner of war at Changi Prison.
Etymology
The early Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
place name of Changi was Tanjong Rusa, which is found in the 1604 E.G. de Eredia map of Singapore.
The native place name Changi is found very early in Singapore's history. In the 1828 map by Franklin and Jackson
Philip Jackson (surveyor)
Philip Jackson was a British Royal Navy lieutenant, who laid out the city plan for Singapore in 1822. He was a key person in Raffles plans for the settlement. The Elgin Bridge in Singapore was once named in his honour.-References:...
, the extreme southeastern tip of the island is referred to as Tanjong Changi. The local name Changi must have been a significant point for the Malays
Malays in Singapore
Malays in Singapore are defined by the Singaporean government using the broader and antiquated "Malay race" concept, rather than modern-day Malay ethnic group. Although Malays have inhabited the area that is now Singapore since the 17th century, most of the Malays in Singapore today are immigrants...
, especially in the days of the sixteenth century Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
kingdom located on the Johor River. Vessels using the Johor Straits
Straits of Johor
The Straits of Johor is a strait that separates the Malaysian state of Johor to the north from Singapore to the south....
would have to pass by Changi.
There are many versions for the etymological roots of the name Changi. One source says that it comes from a climbing shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
, the changi ular (Apama corymbosa
Aristolochiaceae
The Aristolochiaceae, or the Birthwort family, are a family of flowering plants with 7 genera and about 400 species belonging to the order Piperales...
), which grew in the area. Another claims that it gets its name from a tall tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
, the chengai (Balanscarpus heimii), which abounded in the area in the early nineteenth century. Changi could also be a variation of the local timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
named chengai. This heavy local timber is commonly used for buildings and furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, and is valued for its strength and renowned for its deep rich colour.
During the early surveys in the 1820s to 1830s of Singapore island, Changi was also named Franklin Point after Captain Franklin who was involved as one of the early surveyors of Singapore island. It would seem that the colonial authorities had decided to latch on their own place name to the existing Malay name for Changi.
Around the 1900s, Changi was the favourite haunt for tigers. The female tigers were said to swim from Johore to Pulau Ubin
Pulau Ubin
Pulau Ubin is a small island situated in the north east of Singapore, to the west of Pulau Tekong. Granite quarrying supported a few thousand settlers on Pulau Ubin in the 1960s, but only about a hundred villagers live there today...
to rest, before completing their journey to Singapore. The tigers would land at Ferry Point and give birth in this neighbourhood, and so the tigers on the island were generally young.
Economy
Singapore AirlinesSingapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...
is headquartered at Airline House, by Changi Airport in Changi.
See also
- Changi BoardwalkChangi BoardwalkThe Changi Boardwalk , also known as Changi Point Coastal Walk , is a 1.2 km boardwalk at Changi Point, Singapore.-History:...
- Changi VillageChangi VillageChangi Village is a modern village at the north-eastern end of Singapore. The Government of Singapore has pledged in 2005 that they would try to revive the "ghost town".-Hotel:...
- Singapore University of Technology and DesignSingapore University of Technology and DesignThe Singapore University of Technology and Design will be Singapore's fourth autonomous university. It is developed in collaboration...