One of the landmarks in Labrador park used to be this rocky outcrop called the Batu Berlayar. The name Batu Berlayar means Sailing Rock and in the 1800s this rock used to be a prominent navigational aid. The name came about because of its prominent sail shape. As it turns out, Chinese sailors knew about this place at least from the 1400s. Apparently, there was another rock across the Batu Berlayar and together the Chinese sailors christened it the Dragon’s Teeth 龙牙门. In fact, the famed Chinese sailor Zheng He’s 郑和 maps included this very rock.
When the British “discovered” the rock several centuries later, the recognized that it formed the gateway to a new a deep harbor. They quickly developed the area where in the course of expansion the very rocks that served to identify the area needed to be taken down. The rocks were blown up in 1848 to make way for the expansion of the harbor in what is to become modern day Keppel Harbour.
The location of this rock was noted down by historians and just recently a replica of original Batu Berlayar has been made just a few meters away from the original site. It was rather strange to see a replica of a rock here in Labrador Park. The replica was colored peach and looked kind of off. To this day, Batu Berlayar still remains the main maritime gateway of Singapore.
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