The First Newspaper
Long before the advent of modern communications and transportation systems, merchants in 19th-century Singapore relied on the humble newspaper to track shipping arrivals and departures. As the movement...
View ArticleCrawfurd on Southeast Asia
British colonial administrator John Crawfurd once wrote that the Chinese in 19th-century Southeast Asia have a “propensity to form secret societies [that] has sometimes proved inconvenient”. But on...
View ArticleDirector’s Note
We welcome 2016 with a new exhibition titled “From the Stacks: Highlights of the National Library”. Taking place from 30 January to 28 August at level 10 of the National Library Building, the...
View ArticleOld-World Amusement Parks
Theme parks in Singapore had their heyday from the 1920s to 50s. Lim Tin Seng charts their glory days and subsequent decline. Built between the 1920s and 30s during the pre-television era, Singapore’s...
View ArticleGaston Mèliès and His Lost Films Of Singapore
Gaston Méliès may be the first filmmaker to have directed fiction films in Singapore. Unfortunately, none have survived the ravages of time. Raphaël Millet tells you why. Between 1912 and 1913, while...
View ArticleOne Small Voice: The Monodrama in Singapore Theatre
Emily of Emerald Hill is one of Singapore’s most iconic single-person plays. Corrie Tan tells you more about the history of the monodrama on the Singapore stage. An unnamed man stepped onto a bare...
View ArticleThe Story of Singapore Radio (1924-41)
The advent of wireless broadcasting created the same ripples that the Internet unleashed in more recent times. Chua Ai Lin traces its development in colonial Singapore. Although 1935 marks the year the...
View ArticleSeni Persembahan Bangsawan
Bangsawan is a form of traditional Malay opera or theatre that usually involves elements of drama, music, singing and dancing. The art form has its origins in the theatre of the immigrant Parsi...
View ArticleSingapore TV: From Local to Global
Lau Joon-Nie charts the rise of Singaporean television from the first test transmissions to the advent of foreign competition posed by the arrival of cable. Mention Growing Up to any 30-something...
View ArticleCollecting the Scattered Remains: The Raffles Library and Museum
Gracie Lee charts the history of the Raffles Library – precursor of the National Library – and its enigmatically named “Q” Collection. “The Raffles Library and Museum… is well worth a visit, for the...
View ArticleAngels in White: Early Nursing in Singapore
In the 1820s, some “nurses” in Singapore were actually chained convicts. Pattarin Kusolpalin chronicles the history of nursing from 1819 until Independence. Singapore celebrates Nurses’ Day on 1 August...
View ArticleThe Fruit of His Labour: David Marshall’s Old Apple Tree
Singapore’s fiery Chief Minister used to hold court under an apple tree at Empress Place. But was it really an apple tree? Marcus Ng separates fact from fiction. David Saul Marshall (1908–95), who was...
View ArticleBeach Road Camp and the Singapore Volunteer Corps
The SVC was the precursor of the first organised military service in Singapore and marked the beginning of a volunteer movement that would last for over a century. Francis Dorai has the story. Just...
View ArticleSingapore’s First Japanese Resident: Yamamoto Otokichi
A sailor travels halfway around the world in his attempt to return home, and becomes the first Japanese resident in Singapore in the process. Bonny Tan tells the story. During the Edo period...
View ArticleBygone Brands: Five Names That Are No More
Sue-Ann Chia traces the birth and death of five companies, reliving the forgotten stories of some of Singapore’s biggest brand names. Do you remember Chung Khiaw Bank, Setron TVs and Three Rifles...
View ArticleForgotten Foods & Mealtime Memories
Food writer Sylvia Tan remembers the foods and flavours she grew up with and the less than sanitary practices made for stomachs cast in iron. What could be more off-putting than dipping sticks of...
View ArticleMem, Don’t Mess with the Cook
European families in colonial Singapore had a retinue of servants – cook, chauffeur, nanny, gardener and houseboy – but this did not guarantee a life of ease, as Janice Loo tells us. Malay Police...
View ArticleBahau: A Utopia That Went Awry
The resettlement of Eurasian and Chinese Catholics in the jungles of Malaysia during World War II has been largely forgotten. Fiona Hodgkins chronicles its painful history. The story of Bahau has long...
View ArticleMy Grandmother’s Story
An unexpected recollection by her grandmother about her experience of the Japanese Occupation sets Yu-Mei Balasingamchow thinking about unspoken memories and the stories that haven’t been told. My...
View ArticleBaring Mind and Soul – Tan Swie Han
After a long absence of 43 years, Singapore’s celebrated multi-hyphenate artist returns to the National Library with a new solo exhibition. Chung Sang Hong tells you more. Journaling has been used by...
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