An early view of Boat Quay at low tide and Fort Canning Hill, this was probably taken from a landing pier on the north bank. The site on the right with the unfinished godowns is where Parliament House now stands. Elgin Bridge, the first bridge across the river, is visible just beyond, with Boustead’s godowns with their signature double-storey pillars on the left. It was first known as Presentment Bridge in 1822, a wooden footbridge built by Lieutenant Philip Jackson, and then as Thomson Bridge, after its builder John T. Thomson when it was rebuilt in 1845. With increasing traffic by the 1860s, Thomson Bridge was demolished, and in its place, an iron bridge was constructed in 1862 and named after Lord Elgin, the Governor-General of India, who was in Singapore during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Elgin Bridge was built by a resident of Singapore, George Lyons, who also built an iron bridge across the Kallang River.
