Saint John's Island ( ) also known as St John's is an island in the Straits of Singapore located 6.5km off the southern coast of Singapore, with latitude 1°13′08.30″N and longitude 103°50′53.88″E. At an area of , it is the largest of the Marine Park islands which also include the Sisters' Islands and Pulau Tekukor. St John’s was colonised by the British along with mainland Singapore in the 19th century and was the site of a colonial quarantine centre. In the 20th century, the island served as a detention centre, drug rehabilitation centre and refugee settlement. Singapore gained independence under the Government of Singapore in the mid-20th century and maintained sovereignty over St John’s. In the present day, the island has doubled as grounds for recreational facilities and aquaculture research and development facilities. The island is part of the Jurong Rock Formation and contains both tropical rainforest and coastal habitats. It is populated by several nationally critically endangered species of plants and animals. Currently, the island has no permanent inhabitants. Etymology St John's Island was originally named (also known as ), which combines two Malay words, and ; means either 'barking,' 'one' or 'roe'; means 'deer'. According to a member of the Stamford Raffles British delegation, John Crawfurd, they had misinterpreted the island's local name as 'St John' during their attempt to establish a port in the neighboring island of Singapore in 1819. St John’s Island and the neighbouring Lazarus Island were once collectively known by the shared Malay name and English name ‘St John’s’. In maps like the 1892 British Admiralty chart of Singapore Harbor, St John's and Lazarus Island were distinguished as West and East St John’s, or St John's no. 2 and no. 1 respectively. In other maps like 1872 British Possessions In The Indian Seas, St John's was named 'Sikajang Island' and Lazarus Island was labelled 'St John's Island'. Eventually, St John's Island's Malay name became , with the term meaning flag in Malay, which is attributed to a flagstaff that existed on the island from 1823 to 1833. East St John’s was later officially renamed ‘Lazarus Island’, also known as 'Convalescent Island' after a beriberi hospital was built there in 1899. Lazarus Island is now known as in Malay, with meaning ‘palm leaves’. The original Chinese name of St John’s is (), meaning Mount Qizhang, which refers to a hill at the centre of the