River Valley | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Chinese | 里峇峇利 |
| • Pinyin | Lǐbābālì |
| • Malay | Lembah Sungai |
| • Tamil | நதி பள்ளத்தாக்கு |
 Eateries in pre-warshophouse buildings; these have since been demolished to make way for a new condominium. | |
 Location in Central Region | |
| Country |  Singapore |
| Region | Central |
| Government | |
| • Mayors | ---- |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.48 km2 (0.57 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 50th |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
• Total | 11,880 |
| • Density | 8,000/km2 (21,000/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups (2020) | |
| • Chinese | 7,020 |
| • Malays | 90 |
| • Indians | 1,500 |
| • Others | 1,460 |
River Valley is aplanning area located within theCentral Area of theCentral Region ofSingapore. The planning area shares boundaries withOrchard in the north,Museum in the east,Tanglin in the west, andSingapore River in the south.
River Valley consists of five subzones: Institution Hill, Leonie Hill, One Tree Hill, Oxley and Paterson.
In the 1840s, there were two River Valley roads that ran on either side of the Singapore River. The Singapore River was seen as avalley betweenFort Canning Hill, to the north side of the river, andPearl's Hill, to the south side of the river. The roads on eitherbank of the Singapore River were named River Valley Road — the current River Valley Road andHavelock Road. Both these River Valley roads were present inJohn Turnbull Thomson's 1844 map.
Adjoining the area around the Singapore River and on high ground, River Valley naturally attracted wealthyEuropeans andChinesemerchants who wanted to move away from the crowded town centre and began building their homes in the countryside up river in the 1830s.
One of the first residents to move into the River Valley district was DrThomas Oxley, the newcolony'ssurgeon. In 1827, he bought land here from theEast India Company and established Killiney Estate as anutmegplantation. He had Killiney House built as his residence, named after thehill and village near hisDublin birthplace.[3] The road nearby was namedOxley Road after the surgeon. When the plantation closed, he sold the land in several lots. River Valley Road was once part of Dr Oxley's estate before being divided up in the 1850s.[4]
Killiney House was a grandvilla built on land behind the eventual site of theChesed-El Synagogue. This house was subsequently bought byManasseh Meyer who renamed it Belle Vue and lived in it with his family. It was demolished in 1982.
ThePavilion was another villa built by Thomas Oxley on his estate. WhenRaffles House was demolished to make way for a fort atFort Canning in 1859, Government House was moved to the Pavilion.[4][5] The Pavilion was also the residence of Catchick Moses, the founder of theStraits Times.[6] This house was bought by Manasseh Meyer in 1918.[7]
River Valley was especially popular with theStraits Chinese who also built villas in the area. Among the wealthy who had homes here wasTan Jiak Kim, the grandson of merchantTan Kim Seng, who built himself amansion in the 1860s and named it Panglima Prang. He also paid for the construction of the road that came to be named after him —Kim Seng Road.
Another wealthy merchant who lived in the area wasLee Cheng Yan, aMalacca-born Chinese merchant whose mansion built in the 1870s was named Magenta Cottage. The roadCheng Yan Place is named after him.
Most of the big mansions along River Valley have since been demolished. The one surviving villa is the traditional Chinese house built by a wealthy merchant,Tan Yeok Nee, in 1885. This house,House of Tan Yeok Nee, is now anational monument. There is another interesting landmark along River Valley Road known as Nanyang Sacred Union (Chinese:南洋圣教总会),[8] which was established in 1914, is the firstConfucian Association in Singapore.
Kal alei, meaning "stone crusher", is the name given by theTamils to River Valley Road, from the steam crusher which was once kept at the corner ofTank Road and River Valley Road. The Chinese have two other interpretations —ong ke sua kha inHokkien, meaning "foot of Fort Canning Hill", orleng thau che, meaning "dragon's headwell" or "thefountain by the side of theice works". The latter interpretation could refer to thespring on the hill and thewaterfall from it. The ice works belonged toHoo Ah Kay (c. 1816–1881), which were demolished in 1981.
The residential areas within River Valley consist mainly of private property for high income sections of the population such as The Avenir[9] and Irwell Hill Residences.[10] River Valley is also a popular eating spot forSingaporeans.
Elementary education in the area is provided by the River Valley Primary School.
