As we continued on the colonial district walking tour with Hem Lata, the feeling of disgust that Neeti and I faced gave way to our indifference. But we were here to enjoy, to experience and feel the heartbeat of Singapore. We had a great time here so far, and we were determined that Hem Lata's attitude would not deter us from enjoying this walking tour...
So we went with the flow...
From the Supreme Court, we headed along Coleman Street to the Armenian Church. The street was named after George Drumgoole Coleman, an Irish architect, who designed quite a few heritage buildings in the colonial part of Downtown, including the first design of St. Andrew's Cathedral that we had visited earlier today.
Coleman, a young lad of 19, traveled to Calcutta in 1815 where he designed bungalows for officers of the East India Company. He then got introduced to Sir Stamford Raffles and traveled southwards towards the Straits in 1822. Coleman advised Raffles on the draft layout of Singapore in 1822. In 1833, Coleman was appointed the Superintendent of Public Works and was also the surveyor and overseer of convict labour.
Coleman built a bungalow for himself at Coleman Street, which was demolished in December 1965 to make way for the 21-storey Peninsula Hotel.
Hem Lata told us that on his journey back to Ireland after 25 years in Asia, he married Maria Frances Vernon. Coleman's heart was in Singapore and found it difficult to settle down in Ireland. Coleman and Maria journeyed back to Singapore in 1843 and in about about a year, Coleman passed away. Maria, soon after Coleman's death, ended up marrying his lawyer, William Napier, a prominent figure in the judiciary - incidentally, Napier Road has been named after him.
Lawyers.... the little said the better, Napier ended up inheriting Coleman's estates in Singapore!
Coleman is credited with designing our next pit-stop on the walking tour - the Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչի Եկեղեցի – Surb Grigor Lusavorichi Yekeghetsi)
While the history of Armenians in India dates back to the times of the Mughal Empire, when Emperor Akbar invited Armenians to settle in India, the migration grew with the establishment of the British administration in India in the 1700s. Madras, Bombay and Calcutta became prominent centres for the Armenian migrants.
With the growth of trade and commerce in South East Asia in the 1800s, there was an influx of Armenians to South East Asia. As the number of Armenians grew in the early 1830s they petitioned the British administration for land to build a place of worship. In 1833, the land was acquired from the government of the time.
By 1835, construction of the church was completed with funds raised by Armenians in Singapore, Calcutta and Java. This was the first church to be built in Singapore and it was consecrated by Reverend Catchick Johannes in 1836. It was dedicated to St Gregory the Illuminator, the first Patriarch of the Church in Armenia
Figures of Christ carrying the cross adorned the lawns around the Church...
I found the architecture of the Church rather impressive...
Photos of prominent Singaporeans of Armenian descent adorned the walls of the church...
Candles were lit by devotees....
The first Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, with the head priest of the church...
In 2011, the 175th anniversary of the Church was celebrated and over 160 Armenians from 19 countries joined the local Armenian community in Singapore in festivities
The Armenian community had always fascinated me. I had always wanted to visit the Armenian legacy in Calcutta, but could never manage to because of paucity of time. But I got lucky in Singapore, I was indeed proud that I had seen the remnants of the Armenian legacy in Singapore by visiting the Raffles Hotel two days earlier, which had been founded by the Sarkies brothers.
While I had visited the National Orchid Garden at the Botanic Gardens last week and admired the national flower of Singapore - Vanda Miss Joachim, I did not realise at that moment that it too had an Armenian legacy. Named after Agnes Joaquim who was born in Singapore in 1854. Agnes never married, she divided her time between the Armenian Church and her garden in Tanjong Pagar. In 1899 at a flower show, Agnes unveiled the Vanda Miss Joaquim for the first time, and won the $12 first prize for her orchid.
Vanda Miss Joachim a cross between the Burmese Vanda teres (now called papilionanthe teres) and the Malayan Vanda hookeriana (now called papilionanthe hookeriana).
Agnes was suffering from cancer at that time, and she died couple of months after the flower show. In 1981, her contribution to Singapore was immortalised when the Vanda Miss Joaquim was designated Singapore's national flower.
It was here that I realised that the Straits Times, a newspaper I have been reading in Singapore since the day I landed was co-founded by an Armenian, Catchick Moses in 1845...
This spiritual place serves as a tribute to the once influential Armenian community of Singapore and plaques honouring prominent Armenians adorn the walls...
The interior of the Church was quite austere, unlike the grandeur we had seen at St. Andrew's Cathedral...
The tropical tranquil gardens of the Church had tombstones of Armenians who died in Singapore. The graves were exhumed and transported here in the early 1970’s from the Bukit Timah Cemetery by an American-Armenian, Mr. Leon Palian, who was residing in Singapore at the time. The tombstones were assembled to form the Memorial Garden, a sanctuary to a small community with a strong heritage and ties to the socio-economic development of this country.
The tombstones include those of the Sarkies family and Agnes Joaquim...
Heritage trees adorn the gardens.... I could sit here for etrnity admiring the lush tropical oasis in a concrete and glass jungle....
As we headed out towards CHIJMES, we said goodbye to Singapore's Armenian legacy...
Hope I will get a chance to see firsthand the Armenian legacy, back home, in Calcutta, rather soon...
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