Speech by Minister Lawrence Wong at St Joseph's Church Milestone Celebration for Parochial House

Jun 30, 2016

I am very happy to join you this afternoon at the beautiful St Joseph’s Church to mark an important milestone for the Church's Parochial House.

I was here two years ago, and we witnessed then the restoration of the beautiful stained glass windows that we now see above us. I remember discussing with church leaders the possibility of conserving the Church’s Parochial House. So I am very happy that two years later, I can come back personally to witness this significant milestone, and to join all of you in officially welcoming the Parochial House of St Joseph’s Church as the latest addition to our list of conserved buildings in Singapore. It is a building that fully deserves its conservation status. It is also a good complement to the main church building which in itself is a National Monument.

Conservation buildings are not mere showpieces. They are part and parcel of our social fabric. They help preserve our memories and shape our collective identity. In this case, the Parochial House has proven its conservation merit because of its architectural, historical and social significance.

The Parochial House is a landmark not only for the Church and the Eurasian community, but also for Singaporeans. The House has stood in Singapore for close to 104 years – it has survived the Second World War, three generations and is still going strong, and is an important landmark in Singapore’s history. It was the former headquarters of the Portuguese Mission in Singapore, and it forms a critical part of the story of the Eurasian community in Singapore. It is a testament to our multi-ethnic roots, and also our open and inclusive Singaporean society.

Architecturally, the Parochial House is a prime example of a building constructed in traditional Portuguese Baroque style. It has distinctive features like the pointed Gothic arches at the façade, and pinnacles decorated with crockets adorning the roof, and it also features beautiful painted ceramic tiles that you see in palaces, churches and important public buildings in Portugal. You will find them in the Parochial House; in fact, there are a total of nine wall panels with these precious and beautifully-painted tiles.

This unique architectural style and design serves as a reminder of the links between Singapore and Europe, and between Singapore and the rest of Asia with Portuguese presence like Macau and Melaka. These historic buildings add to the distinctive character and identity of our city, and they are also critical parts of our heritage that must be preserved so that we can capture the story of Singapore for our future generations to appreciate.

Protecting heritage and conserving buildings should not be the responsibility of the Government alone. It is one that all of us should embrace and it should be a responsibility shared by the community. Conservation is more than just preserving the façade of a building. It should also involve good quality research, documentation, restoration, and ultimately, public education and awareness. For our Conservation Programme to be sustainable and effective, we need the collaboration of building owners, professionals, interest groups and the community at large. We must encourage our younger generations to visit places that we conserve, enrich them with the stories and memories of our history, so that the buildings are more than just hollow shells.

I want to thank all our stakeholders and partners here for the very strong support to Singapore’s Conservation Programme. We have come a long way in our conservation journey. When we started out in the 1980s, many building owners did not see the value of conservation and they had to be persuaded to conserve their buildings. It was seen as a burden and additional cost, and many were reluctant to do so. Now we are seeing a change of mindset, and increasingly more owners are becoming more receptive to the idea of conserving their buildings. The conservation of Parochial House is a good case in point.

With this, I would like to thank the Church for being so supportive in having the Parochial House conserved. The Church stepped forward to express their desire to conserve the building, and was forthcoming and helpful in furnishing information and documentation for review.

I understand that the Church will also be getting volunteers to give guided tours of the Parochial House this Saturday to celebrate its conservation and to increase public awareness of the building’s heritage. I encourage everyone to make the most out of this opportunity to find out more about the Parochial House of St. Joseph’s Church, and the list of many other conserved buildings and National Monuments we have in Singapore.

We have just celebrated SG50. We may be a young nation but we have rich and fascinating history waiting to be discovered. Thank you very much to all of you, and I wish you all the best for the rest of the programme.