Pedra Branca

History
Many shipping vessels have run aground in the rock-reef waters around Pedra Branca, since the earliest reported accidents of Portuguese mariners in the early 1500s. To the ancient and experienced sea-farers, Pedra Branca island itself, was a navigational marker which warned ships of the proximity of dangerous waters. With the increase of commerce and shipping in the region, accidents and losses became more numerous. Reported losses in Singapore journals, from 1824-1839, indicated that there were five ship-wrecks, four accidents; and from 1841-51, 11 ship-wrecks and six ship accidents. There would probably have been much more unreported disasters and accidents, with property losses impossible to estimate.

In late 1836, British merchants recommended the building of a lighthouse as a tribute to the late navigator and hydrographer, Captain James Horsburgh. Construction began in 1847, and was completed in 1851, when it was named Horsburgh Lighthouse.

Description
Pedra Branca at Latitude 1,20' 15" N and Longitude 104,25' 00" with a total size of 0.8ha, consists of a reef of rocks of granite. It rises up to 26 ft 11", and is about 450 ft long at low tide and has an average breadth of 200ft. Its almost white stone-rocks, covered with the dung of numerous sea-birds, was a distinctive navigational marker to ancient seafarers, before the completion of Horsburgh Lighthouse. Captain James Horsburgh in his India Directory, reported seeing numerous oysters on the island. The island is off limits to the public.

Variant Names
Portuguese Name: Pedra Branca or Bianque means "white rock", a colour effect resulting from large quantities of seabird droppings.
Malay Name: The Malay translation of "white rock" is Pulau Batu Puteh.



Author
Vernon Cornelius-Takahama, 2001



References
Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore: 1819-1867 (pp. 510-519). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC)

Thomson. J. T. (1852). Account of the Horsburgh Lighthouse [Microfilm: NL 1890]. The Journal of Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, VI, 376-499.
(Call no.: RCLOS 950.05 JOU)


Further Readings
Edwards, N. & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (p. 480). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 EDW)