James MacRitchie

James MacRitchie was Municipal Engineer to the Singapore Municipal Commission from 1883 to 1895. Singapore's oldest reservoir Macritchie Reservoir was named after him in 1922.

MacRitchie was born in Southampton on 26 September 1847, the son of the P&O superintendent engineer. Educated in the Dollar Academy, formerly the Dollar Institution, Scotland and at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, MacRitchie worked as a civil engineer on bridges and docks in Scotland, including the Albert Bridge, Glasgow where he gained experience on the use of concrete foundations encased in iron caissons.

MacRitchie went to Calcutta in 1867 to work as an assistant engineer on the Calcutta water project, possibly the Palta Water Works which was built between 1865 and 1868 and is reported to be 'the first modern waterworks in Asia'. Since renamed the Indira Gandhi Water Treatment Works, it had a capacity of 6 million gallons per day in 1865 but has since been expanded significantly.

MacRitchie married Miss Cameron, daughter of the editor of The Straits Times, in 1883.

Upon completion of the Calcutta water project, MacRitchie spent seven years working for the Japan government as Lighthouse Engineer. According to his obituary, published in Singapore, he was responsible for designing and building lighthouses around the coast of Japan and is said to have been the last foreigner to have held this position. MacRitchie worked as an assistant to the famous Richard Henry Brunton the so-called 'father of Japanese lighthouses'. See also 'Building Japan 1868-1876' by Richard Henry Brunton.

After Japan, he moved to Brazil where he worked on water works, gas works and tramways before arriving in Singapore in 1883.

MacRitchie took over as Municipal Engineer from Thomas Cargill in 1883. His report to the Municipal Commission in 1884 demonstrates the wide range of duties he had to undertake in Singapore as well as his diligence. During his career he was responsible for numerous works and immense improvements in the streets, bridges, public markets, abattoirs and other infrastructure in Singapore.

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