CHANGE AND CONTINUITY
Welcome to our blog! Here, you can obtain the main concepts of Change and Continuity after a walking trail along the Singapore river.
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Happy reading!
– Iffah, Carven, Hao Xian, Aziel
S204
Block Printing
The blocks were used as a type of stamp to apply dyes unto cloth in a certain pattern. Compared to
kalamkari, another method used, this is a labour and time saving way to decorate cloth. Coordinated blocks for different colours can create very sophisticated designs. This method of applying colour has evolved into the use of a modern-day stamp.
Dyes
In the past, natural substances were used to dye cloth in bright colours. For example, blue dye comes from the indigo plant, red dye comes from the roots of 3 species of Rubia, green dye is made by over-dying yellow on indigo blue and yellow dye comes from many materials, example turmeric winds. The dyes used are mainly primary colours, deeper colours are achieved by dying the cloth repeatably. The creation of dyes and method of dying had changed from painting with organically-created dyes to the use of artificial ink.
Weaving Machinery
The machinery use a special technique to create complex patterns of cloth with the use of only simple materials. From here we can learn from the efficient techniques they use to weave cloth. Nowadays, factories are the ones who produce cloth commercially through the use of automatic weaving machine.
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GEOGRAPHY!
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When Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles first spotted the island, he found a small Malay settlement at the mouth of the Singapore River. The mouth of the Singapore River is also where the old Port of SIngapore will be located.
Singapore River, at a certain point of time, is the lifeblood of the former British Colony, a place where trade, commence and business happens. Some part of the river include quay, such as Clark Quay and Boat Quay, which generated trade and extensive demand for service for the boats. One such service is manual labor, a perfect example is the use of coolies to load and unload goods. Shophouse and warehouses flourished around the quay due to trade during the colonial era.
During the 1880s, there was heavy traffic on the Singapore River due to rapid urbanization and expanding trade and at the same time, disposal of garbage, sewage and other by-products of industries which were located along the river banks caused the pollution of the river.
On October 1977, the government started taking action to clean the Singapore River. Ten years later, the clean-up of the Singapore River and Kallang Basin was completed. As for activities, speedboats, dragon boats, pedal-boats and sampans can be seen plying on the clean waterways of the Singapore River these days.
The Singapore River is approximately three kilometers long from its source at Kim Seng Bridge to its mouth at the Esplanade where it flows into the Marina Channel and lastly the Singapore Strait. The waterway extends more than two kilometers further away from its original source at Kim Seng Bridge as Alexandra Canal, as far as the junction of Commonwealth Avenue.
This picture clearly shows the amount of activity found at the Singapore river back in the past.
It is now a business district, with boat tours operating along the singapore river and there is the Asian Civilisation Museum which has the history artifacts of the different cultures. Till now, the mouth of Singapore River still remains the most expensive and economically important piece of land in Singapore.
Do you think the shape course of Singapore River will change in the future?
The course of Singapore River will not change in the near future. In order for a change to happen in the course of the River, there are two possibility, the first one is natural, otherwise, it would be cause by human. Singapore River's currents are not fast and coupled with the reinforced concrete banks, erosion and deposition is most likely unable to take place. Those process are usually the cause of a change in course of any river.
Singapore's government most probably would not do any major construction to change the course of the river, as the river is both historical and a tourist attraction.
It is also unlikely for there to be any changes for the various locations where the singapore river is linked to.
Reinforced Concrete banks of the river, reduce the rate of erosion.
Calm Water of the Singapore River makes it quite difficult for erosion to take place.
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