This postcard shows a view of the Central Business District (CBD) waterfront along Raffles Quay and Collyer Quay taken from the Telok Ayer Basin. Prominent landmarks shown include: the 45-storey Hong Leong Building (left), an office and retail complex completed in 1976 at a cost of some $50 million to the Hong Leong Group; the 18-storey Asia Insurance Building (centre) with its distinctive stepped roof, officially opened in 1955 to house the offices of the Asia Insurance Company; and the 28-storey Ocean Building (third from right), completed in 1974 with the distinction of being the third structure bearing the same name to be erected on the site since 1864. Docked along the waterfront are the ‘twakow’ (foreground) lighter vessels, which first appeared on the waters of the Singapore River in the second half of the 19th century. By 1900, it had displaced the ‘tongkang’ (light wooden boat) and Indian lightermen as the vessel of choice for transporting cargoes to and from ships anchored in the harbour. Influenced by traditional Chinese nautical designs, the squat-looking craft had a wide hull with an almost flat bottom designed for carrying heavy loads in shallow waters. In the 1980s, most of these vessels were barred from the Singapore River as part of the Clean Rivers Campaign. However, some twakow continue to remain in operation today ferrying tourists up and down the river.
