Cashin House
The Cashin House, known as The Pier, is a former residence of the Cashin family extending out to sea in Lim Chu Kang, Singapore. The house on the pier will be restored and become a new visitor gateway to the western part of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve known as Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve West.
| Cashin House | |
|---|---|
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| Alternative names | The Pier |
| General information | |
| Status | Restricted |
| Classification | R |
| Location | Lim Chu Kang, Singapore |
| Country | Singapore |
| Coordinates | 1°26′51.7″N 103°42′35.6″E |
| Named for | Joseph Cashin |
| Construction started | 1920 |
| Completed | 1921 |
| Closed | 2009 |
| Owner | Joseph Cashin Howard Cashin National Parks Board |
| Landlord | Joseph Cashin Howard Cashin Singapore Land Authority |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 1 |
History
The Lim Chu Kang area in Singapore, was once made up of mangroves rain forests and rubber plantations belonged to Namazie and Cashin Estates. A pier was built in 1906 by Henry Cashin, an Irish merchant, for his rubber estate. Henry Cashin's grandson, Joseph Cashin, would built a house on the pier some time from 1920 to 1921, hence the name The Pier.
The Pier was also one of the sites where the Japanese Imperial Army first landed on the north-western coastline on 8 February 1942, catching the defending 22nd Brigade Australian soldiers by surprise. The battle was fought over the night between the Japanese Imperial Army and Australian soldiers, which saw some 360 Australian soldiers killed despite having inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese soldiers.
Once Kranji and Lim Chu Kang fell during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, the Japanese went on to erect a war shrine at the site. The house was used by Japanese Imperial Army officers as a ‘comfort’ stop until 1945.[1]
In the 1960s, before the rubber plantation owner and lawyer Howard Edmund Cashin (1920–2009) and his wife Gillian moved into the house, he had the war shrine removed and constructed the road to the house.
According to Howard Cashin in the interview, the Japanese war shrine was something that he had difficulty removing after the war as it was not easy to find workmen willing to demolish the shrine during that time, as the stone from the pedestal of the shrine had stood on was used to construct the road to the house that he wanted to add on.
The house was extended and redesigned, its interior was redesigned with a modern touch, with ceiling fans, aircon and other facilities powered by electricity. Barbeque pit and stone tables were the later additions on the landed compound near The Pier.[2] Howard Cashin and his family would lived at The Pier occasionally as their weekend resort until his death on 5 September 2009.[3]
Redevelopment
The house has since vacated and its compound was acquired and fenced up by the Singapore Land Authority. According to URA Draft Master Plan 2013 and URA Master Plan 2014 regarding the Singapore's North Region, the house, named as the Cashin House, will be restored and become a new visitor gateway to the western part of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, which will be known as Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve West.[4][5]
See also
- Matilda House, the Cashin family former main residence.
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2018-01-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- https://remembersingapore.org/lim-chu-kang-pier/
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/issue/straitstimes20090905-1
- http://www.ura.gov.sg/MS/DMP2013/regional-highlights/north-region/Identity.aspx
- https://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/master-plan/View-Master-Plan/master-plan-2014/master-plan/Regional-highlights/north-region/north-region