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Bronze statue of Sir Stamford Raffles
25 July 2025
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On 27 June 1887, the bronze statue of Sir Stamford Raffles was unveiled by then-Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Frederick Weld at the Padang, to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Created by the famous sculptor and poet Thomas Woolner, the eight-foot-tall statue was nicknamed orang besi, Malay for “iron man”.
The statue was moved to Empress Place during the Centenary Celebrations on 6 Feb 1919, following unfortunate incidents of it often being struck by footballs, or wrongfully used as a seat by spectators.
On 11 Sep 1942 during World War II, the statue was briefly moved to the Syonan Museum (present-day National Museum of Singapore). Though the colonnade and flower vases were destroyed during this period, the statue remained intact, and was reinstalled at the Victoria Memorial Hall in July 1946, where it stands till today. Interestingly, a polymarble replica of the original statue can also be found at Boat Quay, where it is believed to be Raffles’ original landing spot.
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Photo credit: NAS