 Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, purchased the land as part of Telok Blangah Estate from the Temenggong of Johor to set up a trading port.The deep and sheltered waters directly to the south of the area was able to meet the requirements of Raffles and other major British colonists (of Singapore) looking to establish a significant maritime colony in the Far East, in this part of the world, thus helping to set the stage for the eventual formation of Singapore to become a successful independent state.Electricity was first generated in Singapore for local public infrastructures, such as the port of Singapore, operated by the Singapore Harbour Board (SHB) in 1897., electric trams and street-lighting by the Singapore Tramway Company (STC) in 1902.