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The Merlion
The Merlion celebrated its 30th birthday on September
15, 2002. Now located in a new 2,500 square metre park
adjacent to One Fullerton, overlooking the Marina Bay, the
Merlion has been cleaned and restored. The entire process
from the moving of the Merlion to the completion of the
restoration works, spanned from April to September 2002.
On September 15, 2002, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew
officially opened the new Merlion Park and inaugurated the
restored Merlion at its new home. The historic occasion was
attended by 300 guests from the tourism industry, government
agencies, major tour operators and journalists from 28 media
outlets over 8 countries, who were specially flown in by the
Singapore Tourism Board for the event.
The Merlion statue was first inaugurated on September 15,
1972, by Mr Lee Kuan Yew, then the Prime Minister of
Singapore.
Its First Home
The Merlion and the Cub were originally located by the
Esplanade Bridge, just 120 metres from their present
location. Also called the Merlion Park, the area soon became
a popular tourist attraction and took its place among the
famous landmarks of great cities of the world.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the then Prime Minister of Singapore,
officiated the installation ceremony of the Merlion on 15
September 1972. A bronze plaque commemorated the auspicious
occasion with the inscription, "The Merlion has been erected
as a symbol to welcome all visitors to Singapore". On the
21st year of the Merlion, the Park was refurbished and
re-opened in September 1993.
Today, the Merlion attracts more than one million visitors a
year who make the trip to the Merlion Park to photograph
this world famous icon.
Its Origins
The Merlion was designed as an emblem for the Singapore
Tourism Board (STB) in 1964.
The designer was Mr Fraser Brunner, a member of the souvenir
committee and a curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium. On 20
July 1966, the Merlion was registered as the trademark of
STB.
Its Physical Form
The Merlion statues were built by the late Singapore
craftsman, Mr Lim Nang Seng, who had won several prizes in
the Singapore Handicraft and Design Competition organised by
the STB in 1970.
The Merlion statue measures 8.6 metres high, weighs 70
tonnes and is made of cement fondue. It was installed at the
mouth of the Singapore River. Throughout the day it spouted
water. At night, the Merlion was floodlit.
A smaller Merlion statue was also built by Mr Lim and
located at the same site 28m behind its bigger counterpart.
The Merlion Cub measures two metres high and weighs three
tonnes. The body is made of cement fondue, the skin from
porcelain plates and eyes from small red teacups. The Cub
also spouted water and was installed in a water pool
feature.
Its Significance
The design of the Merlion incorporates fact and legend. It
has a lion head and a fish body resting on a crest of waves.
The lion head symbolises the legend of the rediscovery of
Singapura, as recorded in the "Malay Annals".
In ancient times, Singapore was known as Temasek, a Javanese
word for sea. Back then, the island was already a thriving
centre of trade.
At the end of the 4th century A.D, Temasek was destroyed.
According to some historians, the conquerors were the
Siamese, but other records trace this to the Javanese.
In the 11th century A.D, Prince Sang Nila Utama of the Sri
Vijaya Empire rediscovered the island. When the Prince first
landed on Singapore's shores, he sighted a mystical beast
which he later learnt was a lion. The Prince then decided to
name the island "Singapura" which in Sanskrit means Lion (Singa)
City (Pura).
The fish tail of the Merlion symbolises the ancient city of
Temasek and represents Singapore's humble beginnings as a
fishing village.
Relocation
The opening of the Esplanade Bridge on 2 August 1997,
triggered off a hunt for an alternative home for the
Merlion. The objective was to ensure the Merlion continued
to enjoy a prominent location, and visitors an unobstructed
view of this tourism icon.
At the end of an exhaustive two-year search involving nine
possible locations, the site adjacent to One Fullerton was
chosen as the new home for the Merlion.
This site is 120 metres from the Merlion's original home. It
has an unobstructed view of the entire Marina Bay. It also
has the impressive city skyline including The Fullerton
Singapore, as its backdrop.
New Home
The Merlion's new home is adjacent to One Fullerton, on a
newly constructed 2,500 square metre park. The area
comprises a promontory with terraced seating, and a viewing
deck to hold up to 300 people. The viewing deck provides
photographers with unrivalled vistas of the Merlion against
the city skyline and the scenic Marina Bay, including
landmarks such as The Fullerton Singapore and Esplanade -
Theatres on the Bay. The viewing deck doubles up as a venue
for outdoor performances. The new Merlion Park is
Singapore's latest free-access recreation area.
The Merlion rests on a pedestal of glass sculptured waves,
that is illuminated at night.
The Merlion Cub is located 28 metres behind the Merlion.
Pump systems for the Merlion and the Merlion cub have been
installed to enable both to spout water throughout the day
and night.
Boat Landing Point
The Merlion Park has a landing point for boats. This enables
visitors to travel up the Singapore River by river taxis to
the Merlion Park.
F&B and other amenities
One Fullerton has a choice of restaurants and nightclubs.
Ample car parking facilities and other public amenities are
also available.
Cost to build
The cost of the relocation and the new home for the Merlion
was SGD 7.5 million.
Restoration of Merlion and Merlion Cub
The Merlion and Merlion cub have been carefully restored and
cleaned up. The process, completed in August 2002, was
undertaken by contractors who worked closely with the family
of the late sculptor Lim Nang Seng and artist Chern Lian
Shan. The Merlion was washed and stripped of its old coat of
paint and stains. The Merlion cub had its old damaged
porcelain tiles replaced by new pieces of porcelain plates,
bowls, spoons and ash trays donated by The Fullerton
Singapore.
Glass sculptured waves in hues of blue were built at the
base of the Merlion and the cub. These waves are illuminated
by spotlights.
A new improved water pump system was also installed to
enable the Merlion to spout water. The system consists of
two pump units especially designed for pumping sea water.
The pump units work alternately, with one on standby at any
one time. There are two operating programmes for the
Merlion's water spout: a 15 metre jet and an eight metre
jet.
The Merlion cub has a similar water spout that spouts
treated water instead of sea water. The Merlion's spout is
contained within the pool feature it sits in.
In addition to the water spout, both the Merlion and the
Merlion cub have cascading water overflowing from their
wave-like pedestals.
Photography Competition
Singapore's Merlion celebrated its 30th birthday on
September 15, 2002. On that day, the Merlion was officially
unveiled at its new home located at the promontory adjacent
to The Fullerton Singapore's waterfront dining and
entertainment complex, known as One Fullerton, and
overlooking the Marina Bay. To celebrate this historic
occasion, the Singapore Tourism Board, The Fullerton
Singapore and The Photographic Society of Singapore are
organising a worldwide photography competition to welcome
entries of your favourite photographs of the Merlion.
Theme
The theme for this competition is "Merlion on the Bay".
Entries to this competition should capture the beauty and
grandeur of the Merlion at its new location. Photography
must be conducted from 15 September 2002. All entries to be
received by 15 November 2002.
Prizes:
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| 1st Prize : |
SGD 15,000 |
| 2nd Prize: |
SGD 10,000 |
| 3rd Prize : |
SGD 5,000 |
10 Consolation Prizes: SGD 300 each
Click here to
download the entry form.
Documentary
Catch "Merlion - A Singapore Legend", a half-hour
show on the Merlion, on Channel News Asia.
Show Times:
| Channel
News Asia (Local) |
| Telecast 1: |
25 Sep (Wed) at 8.30pm |
| Telecast 2: |
26 Sep (Thur) at
10.30am |
| Telecast 3: |
26 Sep (Thu) at 3.30pm |
| Telecast 4: |
28 Sep (Sun) at
10.30pm |
| Channel
News Asia (International) |
| Telecast 1: |
28 Sep (Sun) at 9.30am
(Singapore time) |
| Telecast 2: |
29 Sep (Mon) at 4pm
(Singapore time) |
| Telecast 3: |
29 Sep (Mon) at
11.30pm (Singapore time) |
| Channel 8 |
| Telecast 1: |
13 Oct (Sun) at 1.30pm |
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