{{Short description|British engineer and artist active in Singapore (1821–1884)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}} [[File:JohnTurnbullThomson.jpg|thumb|Picture of John Turnbull Thomson]] '''John Turnbull Thomson''' (10 August 1821 – 16 October 1884) was a British civil engineer and artist who played an instrumental role in the development of the early infrastructure of nineteenth-century [[Colonial Singapore|Singapore]] and [[New Zealand]].<ref>http://digital.otago.ac.nz/results?lcreator=Thomson,%20John%20Turnbull&PHPSESSID=068e70c223902799 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724191939/http://digital.otago.ac.nz/results?lcreator=Thomson,%20John%20Turnbull&PHPSESSID=068e70c223902799 |date=24 July 2011 }}...</ref> He lived the last 28 years of his life in New Zealand, and prior to that 15 years in the [[Straits Settlements|Malay Straits]] and Singapore.
==Early life, family and education== Thomson was born at [[Glororum]], [[Northumberland]], England, the third child of Alexander Thomson and his wife, Janet, ''née'' Turnbull. After his father was killed in a hunting accident in 1830, the young Thomson and his mother went to live in [[Abbey St. Bathans]], [[Berwickshire]]. He was educated at Wooler and Duns Academy, later spending some time attached to [[Marischal College]], [[Aberdeen]], and [[Edinburgh University]] before studying engineering at Peter Nicholson's School of Engineering at [[Newcastle-on-Tyne]].
==Career== Thomson arrived in the [[Straits Settlements|Malay Straits]] in 1838 and was employed by the [[British East India|East India]] Survey. In 1841 he was appointed Government [[Surveyor (surveying)|Surveyor]] at Singapore and in 1844 became [[Superintendent (construction)|Superintendent]] of Roads and [[Public Works]].
He was responsible for the design and construction of a number of notable engineering works including bridges, roads, and hospitals. He conducted the allotment [[surveying|survey]] of Singapore, the [[topographical]] survey of the island of Singapore and its dependencies, and the [[marine (ocean)|marine]] survey of the [[Straits of Singapore]] and the east [[coast]]s of [[Johore]] and [[Penang]]. His outstanding achievement was the erection of the [[Horsburgh Lighthouse]] on [[Pedra Branca, Singapore|Pedra Branca]].
In 1853 his health failed and he returned to England, where he studied modern engineering techniques and travelled widely through [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] and the [[Continental Europe|Continent]] inspecting engineering works.
Early in 1856 he emigrated to [[New Zealand]], where he worked as Chief Surveyor of the [[Otago Province]] until 1873. From 1876 until 1879 he was [[Surveyor-General of New Zealand]]. He was also the original surveyor of the city of [[Invercargill]].<ref name=stimes>{{cite news|first=Michael |last=Fallow |title=Southern historian John Hall-Jones dies |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/74293425/Southern-historian-John-Hall-Jones-dies |work=[[Southland Times]] |date=2015-11-23 |access-date=2015-12-15}}</ref>
==Legacy in Singapore== During his government service in Singapore, Thomson was responsible for many projects:
*Thomson's 1852 report on Singapore's [[water supply]] led in 1862 to approval of the Thomson Reservoir, now [[MacRitchie Reservoir]]. *He made an elaborate survey of the [[Straits of Singapore]], in conjunction with Captain Congalton who was largely responsible for clearing [[Pirate|pirates]] from [[British Malaya|Malayan]] waters. He also surveyed [[Keppel Harbour]]. In 1829, he surveyed the [[Tombs of the Malayan Princes]]. *He carried out repairs and lowering of [[Coleman Bridge, Singapore|Coleman Bridge]]. *He was the architect and builder of: **[[Horsburgh Lighthouse]] on [[Pedra Branca, Singapore|Pedra Branca]], **[[Hajjah Fatimah Mosque]], **the [[spire]] for [[St. Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore|St. Andrew's Cathedral]], **[[Dalhousie Obelisk]], a monument, **European Seaman's Hospital, **the first bridge across the [[Kallang River]], known as [[Thomson Bridge]], and **[[Tan Tock Seng Hospital]] at [[Serangoon Road]].
Several extant places, roads and buildings in Singapore are named after J.T. Thomson. These include:
'''Area''' *[[Thomson, Singapore|Thomson]], a region in central Singapore
'''Roads''' [[File:Thomson Road.JPG|thumb|right|250px|[[Thomson Road, Singapore]]]] *[[Thomson Road, Singapore|Thomson Road]], the arterial road that runs through the Thomson area *Jalan Lembah Thomson *Old Upper Thomson Road *Thomson Close *Thomson Green *Thomson Heights *Thomson Hill *Thomson Hills Drive *Thomson Lane *Thomson Ridge *Thomson Terrace *Thomson View *Thomson Walk *[[Upper Thomson Road]]
'''Amenities''' *[[Thomson Medical Centre]] *Thomson/Whitley Park
==Legacy in New Zealand== [[File:ThomsonRanfurly.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Thomson memorial in Ranfurly, New Zealand]]From 1856 until 1858 Thomson surveyed and explored large sections of the interior of the [[South Island]], covering most of the southern half of the island. Many names in the area indicate Thomson's Northumbrian background, though there is a widespread belief that the naming of many places was through a disagreement with the New Zealand surveying authorities. It has long been suggested{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} that Thomson originally intended to give [[Māori language|Māori]] names to places, but these names were refused.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} Thomson gave Northumbrian names to many places. Though unconfirmed, he may have named the town of [[Middlemarch]] after the Middle March region of his native Northumberland, although another theory suggests the surveyor's wife was reading the [[George Eliot]] novel of the same name. Sometimes he gave places a form of the Northumbrian name for an animal, as with names such as Kyeburn, Gimmerburn, Hoggetburn, and Wedderburn. The area where those places are found has been referred to as "[[Thomson's Barnyard]]".{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}
[[File:One_of_John_Turnbull_Thomson's_aquarelles._1860s.jpg|thumb|right|250px|One of Thomson's water colours c. 1865]]Thomson was a founder of the [[Otago]] and [[Southland, New Zealand|Southland]] Institutes of New Zealand, to which he contributed numerous papers on [[scientific]] subjects including [[ethnological]] studies. Through his knowledge of [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] and [[Malay language|Malay]], he became interested in [[comparative linguistics]] and developed a theory of racial diffusion based on [[philological]] evidence.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}
He was also a keen amateur painter of [[landscape art|landscape]]s, working mostly in [[oil painting|oil]]s.<ref>Thomson as a painter https://eclecticlight.co/2021/02/18/painting-within-tent-john-turnbull-thomson-painted-all-he-surveyed/</ref> From a topographical viewpoint his paintings are of great interest today.
Thomson married Jane Williamson of [[Dunedin]] at "Kaikorai Bank", Dunedin on the 7 October 1858.<ref>Papers Past, Otago Witness, 16 Oct 1858, p.5</ref> He died at his home in Invercargill on 16 October 1884.
[[File:John_Turnbull_Thomson_Dunedin.jpg|thumb|right|250px| Thomson's painting of Dunedin 1856]]Thomson was responsible for the planning of the city of Invercargill in Southland, New Zealand and his mausoleum is in the St. John's Cemetery in Waikiwi, Invercargill. One of the city's major parks is [[Turnbull Thomson Park]]. He surveyed many South Island towns prior to development. His descendants have written numerous books which contain authoritative information on his life in New Zealand. Thomson's great-grandson, [[John Hall-Jones]], was a historian specializing in the history of southern New Zealand.<ref name=stimes/>
The Turnbull Thomson Falls are a cataract in the upper reaches of the [[Kitchener River]], within [[Mount Aspiring National Park]].<ref>"[https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&ll=-44.408942,168.769458&z=13 Turnbull Thomson Falls]," ''topomap.co.nz''. Retrieved 9 November 2024.</ref>
Thomson is the namesake of [[Mount Thomson (New Zealand)|Mount Thomson]] in the Southern Alps.<ref name=NZGB>[https://gazetteer.linz.govt.nz/place/3836 ''Mount Thomson''], New Zealand Gazetteer, Retrieved 28 December 2024.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Sources== *Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), ''Toponymics – A Study of Singapore Street Names'', Eastern Universities Press, {{ISBN|981-210-205-1}}
==Further reading== *John Turnbull Thomson, ''Extracts from a journal: kept during the performance of a reconnaissance survey of the southern districts of the province of Otago, New Zealand'', s.n., 1858. *John Turnbull Thomson, ''Sketch of the Province of Otago: A Lecture, Being One of the Series Delivered at Dunedin'', W. Lambert "Otago Colonist" Office, 1858. *John Turnbull Thomson, ''An Outline of the Principles and Details Connected with the Colonial Survey of the Province of Otago'', Otago Witness, 1891. *William Thomas Locke Travers, Walter Baldock Durrant Mantell, Richard Taylor, Fraser (Capt.), Gilbert Mair, W. D. Campbell, Johann Friedrich Heinrich Wohlers, James West Stack, A. C. Baines, William Colenso, John Turnbull Thomson, Julius von Haast, ''The Māori'', 1871. *John Turnbull Thomson, ''An Exposition of Processes and Results of the Survey System of Otago'', Henry Wise & Company, 1875. *John Turnbull Thomson, ''Exploration and Travel in New Zealand'', Royal Scottish Society of Arts, 1878. *John Turnbull Thomson, ''On the Cleansing of Towns'', 1879. *John Turnbull Thomson, ''Ethnographical Considerations on the Whence of the Maori'', Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 1871. *John Turnbull Thomson, ''[https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Rambles_with_a_philosopher_or_Views_at_t.html?id=jqxgAAAAcAAJ&redir_esc=y, Rambles with a Philosopher; or, Views at the Antipodes]'', Mills, Dick & Company, 1867. (Published under the pen name "An Otagonian")<ref>National Library of New Zealand, [https://natlib.govt.nz/records/20516366, catalogue entry] for ''Rambles with a Philosopher''</ref> * Singapore site about Thomson in English https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_818_2005-01-22.html
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/T/ThomsonJohnTurnbull/ThomsonJohnTurnbull/en 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand] *[http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1t97/1 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, John Turnbull}} [[Category:New Zealand public servants]] [[Category:New Zealand surveyors]] [[Category:1821 births]] [[Category:1884 deaths]] [[Category:People from British Singapore]] [[Category:Settlers of Otago]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Aberdeen]] [[Category:History of Otago]] [[Category:Burials at St John's Cemetery, Invercargill]] [[Category:Explorers of New Zealand]]