The Singapore Chronicle, initially titled the Singapore Chronicle or Commercial Register, was a Singaporean English-language newspaper and the first of its kind to be published in Singapore. Its inaugural issue was released on 1 January 1824, with Francis James Bernard serving as the founding editor. A key contributor in its formative years was John Crawfurd, the 2nd Resident of Singapore, who played a significant role in shaping the paper's editorial content and political commentary. The newspaper featured a mix of commercial news, shipping reports and government notices, serving as an important channel of communication in the growing colonial settlement.

For more than a decade, the Singapore Chronicle remained the only newspaper in the settlement, holding a monopoly on printed news and information. However, this dominance ended with the establishment of The Singapore Free Press in 1835, which provided a fresher editorial voice and broader appeal. Struggling to keep up with the competition and changing reader expectations, the Singapore Chronicle experienced a decline in readership and influence, ceasing publication in 1837.

On 15 July 1823, John Crawfurd, who had been appointed the Resident of Singapore in May following the dismissal of William Farquhar, submitted an application for the establishment of a newspaper on behalf of Francis James Bernard. At the time, Bernard was serving as the head of the local police department. The proposed publication was to be both published and edited by Bernard, with Crawfurd acting as its supporter and official intermediary in dealings with the colonial administration.

The newspaper was intended to remain "entirely under the control of the local authority", reflecting the colonials desire to monitor and influence public communication within the new settlement. Its stated purpose was to provide "useful intelligence to foreign merchants rather than to the Settlers of the Colony itself", underscoring the colonials' focus on commerce and trade. This reflected the priorities of early Singapore as a trading post under British administration, where newspapers functioned not only as news sources but also as instruments of colonial governance.

Work on the first issue of the Singapore Chronicle or Commercial Register began in December and it was published on 1 January 1824. The newspaper was printed at the Mission Press of the London Missionary Society. On 9 February, Bernard resigned as publisher and editor over a quarrel with Crawfurd, who served as the newspaper's principal contributor in its first two years. The newspaper had reprinted content from the Prince of Wales Island Gazette on the farewell of William Farquhar, with statements from the Indian and Bugis communities expressing their hope for his return. Crawfurd accused Bernard of having deceived him as the latter had "assured Crawfurd that the addresses contained nothing political." He attempted to withdraw the resignation at least twice though Crawfurd refused to accept his withdrawal. According to historian Carl Alexander Gibson-Hill, Crawfurd was "pleased to see him go", suggesting that he might have "engineered the quarrel, in front of witnesses, in order to get rid of Bernard without dismissing him." William Campbell succeeded Bernard as editor in March 1824 and sent an application seeking permission to publish a newspaper "similar published at this place, but which is now discontinued", which was accepted by Crawfurd as Resident on the same day. The first issue edited by Campbell was published on 1 April. Under him, the newspaper, renamed The Singapore Chronicle, was published fortnightly.

In May 1826, as the colony's trade "flourished", Campbell made an application seeking permission to establish a separate, complementary weekly single-sheet paper focusing on commercial matters. The paper, to be known as The Commercial Register and Advertiser, would be published every Saturday and contain a list of imports and exports, a price list, current prices of foreign markets, advertisements and shipping information. It cost half a Spanish dollar a month to subscribers of the Chronicle and 25 cents an issue to those without a subscription. George Bonham, acting as Resident in place of Crawfurd, "immediately" approved the application.

In early December 1826, Campbell announced that he would soon be departing from Singapore. He made an application seeking to transfer editorship and proprietorship to James Loch, who had arrived in Singapore in the same month. The transfer was approved by the Penang Council on 23 December. Loch was critical of both the government and of press control and the newspaper began publishing articles that were critical of the local government. This led to the local government re-imposing the Gagging Act on the paper, which required each issue to be vetted by the Resident Councillor, then John Prince, before publication. However, Loch became "fairly subdued" in later issues.

On 30 March 1829, Loch sold both The Singapore Chronicle and The Commercial Register and Advertiser to William Renshaw George, who had come to the settlement "without a license to settle and seemingly with little or no capital" on 19 February. Permission to transfer proprietorship and editorship to George was granted by the Penang Council on 24 April. Under George, there was "little change in the police of the papers" from Loch's tenure as editor, although he "promised more attention to local affairs, especially commercial matters, without a serious loss on the reporting of important events from India and Europe." In early 1830, John Henry Moor succeeded George as editor of both the Chronicle and The Commercial Register and Advertiser, though George remained in charge of the commercial notes. According to Gibson-Hil, Moor "brought a new vigour to the editorial side of the paper". He also established his own press, with which he printed the newspaper beginning in September 1930. This eventually allowed for the newspaper to be published weekly.