Climbers frustrated at being barred from Dairy Farm rock walls; NParks says site is dangerous

SINGAPORE: It has been more than a year since signs were put up preventing entry to rock climbing sites at Dairy Farm Quarry, but no resolution is in sight for climbers seeking to scale the only natural rock walls in Singapore.

The former quarry, located to the north of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, has been the crux of a tussle between National Parks Board (NParks), which says the site is dangerous, and climbers, who argue that the risks can be mitigated.

In February last year, “no entry” signs were placed at entrances to rock surfaces, essentially prohibiting climbers from approaching the site, they told CNA. Along with these were signs that warn parkgoers of falling rocks.

But climbers said they have been scaling Dairy Farm Quarry’s granite walls from as early as the 1980s.

The reasons for the signs are unclear, with climbers saying they heard there was an accident a few months before signs were put up. NParks did not reply to queries about whether an accident had taken place.

Following the prohibitions, climbers have engaged NParks in the hopes of hashing out a compromise but to no avail as the authority has maintained its stand, climbers involved in the matter told CNA.

When CNA visited Dairy Farm Quarry, there were at least five “no entry” signs within the area leading to rock faces. Bolts and anchors that climbers use to attach ropes while scaling the facades were still visible on past established routes.

Dairy Farm Quarry is one of a handful of quarries in the area that was previously a source of granite, used in Singapore’s construction sector in the 1900s, according to NParks’ historical review of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. The quarry ceased operations in the early 1970s.

A decade later, an aspiring climber