The houses from this village off Pulau Brani were built on stilts. They belonged to the Orang Laut, otherwise known as the Sea Nomads. Pulau Brani was inhabited predominantly by the Orang Laut and also saw the birth of Singapore's first modern industry, a tin smelter that was built on the island in 1890. St. James, where this photograph was taken, was a promontory lying between Blangah Bay and Sibert Bay. By 1926, both bays were almost completely reclaimed.
