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Botanical Gardens

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Singapore 3th. September 1922

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Dear flg Marriott,

You will remember that 1 asked you a couple of

months back if you could help me to gather the early history

*

of Tyersal and you said that you thought it possible* I am
writing to you about it now.

I understand that in I860 there stiod a house on the site of

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Tyersal occupied by, I believe, the Chief Justice.(Question
Ij Is this rightfj The approach to the house would be by the
present road: the low grounds were planted with coconuts and
mangosteens, for their stunts were exposed last year in the
course of draining the lakes* Kapler owned the property. In
I860 the Gardens cooly lines were placed by the stream enter¬
ing the Gardens from Tyersal i.e. where the Dell is now -

obviously for the convenience of water. Soon after i860 the

Tyersal -

State of Johore Mtf acquired the/property -/Is this right? |
/aJwu (Cu, L' ** L ~ J

Ui ^ an<i avenue of Tembusu trees from Holland road to the house

tcfyu. H+U** planted (Mr. S ea h Leang Seah tells me this)

In 1855 -66, the Government of the Colony acquired the drive

planted with tembusu s, from Holland road to the^gates of

Tyex’sal together with the bit of land between it and the

centre of the Gardens lake (then a swamp) and made ^ the

drive into a public r^&d (garden road) ; carrying it a bit

obliquely northwards along the then - west boundary of the

Gardens (see map in Gardens Bulletin II Ho. 2 p. 56 herewith)

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and threw the bit of land between the drive and the centre of
of the Gardens lakes into the Gardens.The addition of this
bit of land made the making of the Gardens’ Lake possible and
it was made and the cooly lines removed £ then ?

or later} J

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. 5

It is interesting that the ditches of the drive are within the
shade trees instead of outside them. Meanwhile( I want to know
the date) the State of Johore had bought the present property
and had ^ commenced to build tyersal (again I want to know
the date)

Other Napier property passed out of Kapler* s hands; he sold
whereon

the are* is my house to the Agri-

Horticultural Society, and the Gallop road area went to some-

one else - I thought it was Burkinshaw but that is not possible;
* *

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we oall him A.- Datoh Mohamed may 'remember his name.

In 1875 Murton was appointed Superintendent and 'began to collet 1

interesting trees! among others he got Casuarina Suraatx’ana from
Buitanzorg. That/S this rare tree occurs in the TyersalX grounds

of the same age as the Gardens trees^ suggests that I&arton was
called in to help to lay out the grounds - but this I do not

know*

The Tyersal ponds were obviously made in imitation of the

(C* OM Gardens* lake, down to the islet with p and ans; but (? later)

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^OjlaaA the vtfMO one made was cut into two.

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The conformation of the banks before the draining of 19 21

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shows that they had a roadway roun<f them.

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During ths work of draining.the survey showed that the culvett

from the Tyersal ponds to the Gardens had been made in two tBtMSJ

parts, there was the part made by Government with a fair fall

on it and the tyersal part with scarcely any fall, they joined

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in the old sump, I suspect that the hollow had been deepened at 1
the lower end in making the ponds for the sake of earth wanted
■ close by and that is why so little fall could be allowed on

tue,

the culvert, Walter Fox came out in 1878 and A’s J

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la rd was all belukar and the belukar extended into the Tyersal
property, Burkinshaw (I understand) now bought A*e prgperty^^
proceeded to cut a rentis along what he regarded on his borders,
but His Highness the Sultan disagreed and had another rentis
cut. Thereon Government found itself interested and there was
a triangular conference ending in a five and take of land and

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the making of Tyersal road. Judging by planted trees behind

aqy house I think that the Gardens gave to BurkinsJjaw a little

■

land at the top end of the T^eraa! road and Burkins haw gave
to the Gardens some of the swamp where the Cluny lake was
mad a by Ridley later. I do not know *f the boundaries of the

I

Tyersal property VMM were altered.

The polojferound in ^yeraal was perhaps made later: it spoilt

h 1 4 La a 1 /

> ?v some of the landscape effects of the grounds and could not
have been in the^arly plans.

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- , ' - jr I should value any corrections please of the above.

C*. tr / U 0 Ast, *A Aa* t

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Sincerely yours.

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