1. History

2. Aftermath

3. See also

4. References

Istana Wooden York, more popularly referred as Istana Woodneuk (before its rebuilt in 1935 of the said building), is an abandoned two-storey palace at the former Tyersall Park bound by Holland Road and Tyersall Avenue near the Singapore Botanic Gardens in Singapore. It was currently in its dilapidated state and its surroundings were covered by thick vegetation. The dilapidated palace as well as the land it sits on is a private land still belong to the State of Johor, it is not charted on most modern maps and currently out of bounds to outsiders.

The former palace had commonly been confused with the demolished Istana Tyersall due to its proximity, which was located on another hill not far away. The difference with the roof tiles of these former palaces is that Tyersall was red while Woodneuk was blue.

History

There was once a Woodneuk House on the part of the Tyersall estate land of 36 acres both owned by the English trader Captain John Dill Ross^[2][3] in the mid 1800s.^[4][5] Captain Ross' estate, along with William Napier's part of Tyersall estate, would later be sold to Wan Abu Bakar ibni Daeng Ibrahim in 1860, who would later move his residence there from Telok Blangah upon his reign as Temenggong within three days after his father's death in 1862, and made Woodneuk House his main residence (Istana).^[6] Captain Ross had since died in 1888, his accounts and interests can be found on the biography Sixty Years: Life and Adventures in the Far East (1911) written by his son John Dill Ross Jr.^[7]

The Istana Woodneuk served as a temporary residence for the Sultan's third wife Sultana Fatimah bte Abdullah who was the overall in-charge of the design and planning of Istana Tyersall, the Sultan's upcoming palace located on another small hill not far away from Woodneuk. Sultana Fatimah however did not live to see the completion of the palace as she had died in 25 February 1891. Istana Tyersall was completed a year later in 1892.

Woodneuk was bequeath to the Sultan's fourth wife, Sultana Khadijah under his will made on 14 April 1895, before his death in 4 June 1895.^[8] Sultana Khadijah died in the palace in 1 February 1904. The palace had since taken over by Sultan Abu Bakar’s son and successor Sultan Ibrahim Al-Marhum.

Woodneuk House was reportedly burned down by a fire in 1925, it would later be designed by Denis Santry of Swan & Maclaren and rebuilt with a new structure, with construction commencing in 1932.^[9]

Istana Wooden York was completed in 1935 by Nanyang Structural Co.,^[10] in time for the celebration of the Sultan Ibrahim of Johor's 62nd birthday and his 40 years of reign. It was built for him and his Scottish wife Sultanah Helen as a replacement palace.^[11][12] Its new name Wooden York, except for a few royalties in the State of Johor, was not popularized at that time, as most had gotten used to calling it Woodneuk over the past century.

In 1939, the Sultan Ibrahim, based in Johor at that time, had allowed part of Tyersall to be used by the Indian Army to be stationed and converted as a military camp area with many vehicles in a mechanisation effort in preparation for World War II,^[13] while the palace itself continued as the royal residence for the Sultan family before the beginning of the Battle of Singapore in 1942.^[14]

In 9 February 1942 during the Battle of Singapore, the palace was temporary served as the 2/30th Battalion AIF headquarters under Major General Gordon Bennett, it was known as "Tyersall Palace" in the process by the battalion stationed there.^[15]

Later in 11 February 1942, after the blast of Japanese mortar attack which indicated that the nearby junction of Holland Road and Ulu Pandan Road were held by the Japanese Imperial Army, Major General Bennet withdrawn his headquarters to Tanglin Barracks.^[16]

Aftermath

After Singapore was liberated in 1945, the palace was briefly occupied by General Sir Miles Dempsey, followed by Commander-in-Chief Sir Montagu Stopford in 1946 until in November. On 16 January 1947, the palace was temporarily occupied by Governor-General of Malaya Malcolm MacDonald and his wife Audrey Marjorie Rowley after their long journey from Canada.^[17] By 1948 it was returned to the Sultan for his official use.

On December 1951, the State of Johor spent S$14,500 to re-roof the palace and the Istana Besar from Johor Bahru.^[18] From 1957 to 1986, the palace and its compound were upkept by caretaker Hj. Sulaiman hired by Johor State Council, which he lived with his family not far away from the building.

Following the compulsory acquisition of former Tyersall Park by the Singapore Government in December 1990, the entire place was still restricted to the public and was left abandoned and uncared for. The dilapidating palace was since in ruins, the surroundings are covered by thick vegetation due to decades of abandonment and had since became a spot for thrill seekers and photographers due to its inaccessibility, much of its walls was graffitied by vandals with little regards for a place so steeped in history. At some point the abandonment palace also served as a store by construction workers for the nearby construction site.^[19]

In 10 July 2006, the palace was burned down due to a major fire caused by drug addicts, its blue roof tiles had caved in, its current condition was beyond repair and was deemed structurally unsafe.^[20]

As of April 2015, the open passage of the forest which leads to the premises near the bus stop at Holland Road to Istana Woodneuk have been cordoned off by the Singapore police.^[21] In February 2016, a police signboard was spotted near the open passage warning would-be trespassers from entering the open passage.^[22]

See also

• Istana Tyersall
• Tyersall Park
• Abu Bakar of Johor
• Ibrahim of Johor

References

• Alasdair MacDonald, Lord of the Isles
• Alasdair MacDonald of Islay, Earl of Ross
• Alasdair Mackenzie
• Alasdair MacLean
• Alasdair McColla Ciotach
• Alasdair Moireasdan
• Alasdair Morrison (banker)
• Alasdair Morrison (banking)
• Alasdair Morrison (Jardine's)
• Alasdair of Islay, Earl of Ross
• Alasdair Ralphs
• Alasdair Roderick Mackenzie
• Alasdair Sinclair
• Alasdair Strokosch
• Alasdair Tayler
• Alasdair Urquhart
• Alasdair urquhart
• Alas de mi patria
• Alasdhair
• Alasehir
• Alasgar Abdullayev
• Alasgar Alakbarov
• Alash
• Al-A'sha
• Alashan