Known as the founder of modern Singapore, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was appointed Lieutenant-governor of Java. While working in South-east Asia, he looked for a new strategic trading post so that the British Empire could gain control over trade in the region from their Dutch counterparts. He arrived on Singapore on the 28th of January 1819, in a boat called ‘the Indiana’. After meeting with the ‘Temeggong’ (or ‘village-chief’) and the King of Singapore, Sultan Hussien, the three of them signed a treaty on the 6th of February 1819 establishing Singapore as a British trading post. The Union Jack flag was hoisted aloft to mark the occasion. This is a replica statue of Sir Stamford Raffles. The original was made of iron and is located in front of Victoria Theatre.