Independence Square (Kuala Lumpur): Difference between revisions

In the early days of Kuala Lumpur, the Chinese and Malay communities settled along the east bank of the Klang River. To the west of river was land originally owned by [[Yap Ah Loy]] and was used to plant vegetables. In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to Kuala Lumpur by the colonial administration. The then [[British Resident]] [[William Bloomfield Douglas]] decided that the government buildings and staff living quarters should be located to the west of the river to keep away from what he considered the unsanitary condition of the town and the possibility of uprising from the locals.<ref name="gullick1"/> The government offices and a new [[Royal Malaysia Police|police headquarter]] were built on Bukit Aman, with accommodation for the police located on Barrack Road (now Jalan Tangsi and part of Jalan Raja). A patch of swampy and uneven ground immediately to the west of Klang River was then leveled and drained to be used as training ground for the police. The land was acquired from Yap by the British Resident [[Frank Swettenham]] for $50 per acre in 1882.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dewanbudaya.usm.my/heritage/SultanAbdSamad.html |title=Sultan Abdul Samad Building |work=Dewan Budaya USM |publisher=Pusat Pengajian Seni, Universiti Sains Malaysia }}</ref> This patch of land, originally named the Parade Ground, would become the field. Ten years later in 1892, the Acting British Resident [[Ernest Woodford Birch|Ernest Birch]] who was a keen cricketer then started to smooth over the ground so that it may be used as a cricket ground and other sports.<ref name="gullick1">{{cite book |title=The Story of Kuala Lumpur, 1857–1939 |author= J.M. Gullick |publisher=Eastern Universities Press (M) |pages=35–36 |year=1983 |isbn=978-967-908-028-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rRCJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA75#v=onepage&q&f=false |title= Insider's Kuala Lumpur: Is No Ordinary Travel Guide. Open Your Eyes to the Soul of the City|author= Lam Seng Fatt |edition=3rd |publisher=Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd|date= 15 October 2011 |isbn=9789814435390 |page=75 }}</ref>

 

 

As the field is located in front of the government offices, it is used for many national and civic events. The field was once leased to the [[Selangor Club]] which used it for various sports such as cricket and rugby. In 1987, the field was taken back by City Hall and in return the Selangor Club was given a piece of land in [[Bukit Kiara]].<ref name="chan">{{cite web |url=http://library.perdana.org.my/News_2006/15-Sep-2006/STAR/Others/Star-31082006b.pdf |title= So closely linked to birth of a nation |accessdate=2007-02-23 |author=Debbie Chan |date=2006-08-31 |work=The Star |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113164952/http://library.perdana.org.my/News_2006/15-Sep-2006/STAR/Others/Star-31082006b.pdf |archivedate=13 January 2017 }}</ref>