SINGORA, or SONGKLA (the Sangore of

See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early navigators)  , a port on the E. coast of the Malay Peninsula and the head-quarters of the high commissioner of the Siamese division of Nakhon Sri Tammarat . It is situated in 70 12' N. and 1oo° 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 185o, 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 s000, 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 .