Singora

Singora, or Songkla (the Sangore of early navigators), a port on the E. coast of the Malay Peninsula and the headquarters of the high commissioner of the Siamese division of Nakhon Sri Tammarat. It is situated in 7° 12' N. and 100 35' E. It was settled at the beginning of the 19th century by Chinese from Amoy, the leader of whom was appointed by Siam to be governor of the town and district. Having been more than once sacked by Malay pirates, the town was encircled, about 1850, by a strong wall, which, as both Chinese governors and Malay pirates, are now things of the past, supplies the public works department with good road metal. The population, about 5000, Chinese, Siamese and a few Malays, is stationary, and the same may be said of the trade, which is all carried in Chinese junks. The town has become an important administrative centre; good roads connect it with Kedah and other places in the Peninsula, and the mining is developed in the interior. In 1906 railways surveys were undertaken by the government with a view to making Singora the port for S. Siam; but this harbour, formed by the entrance to the inland sea of Patalung, would require dredging to be available for vessels of any size.