Clik here to view.
A house on which Singapore’s modern port was built
There is little doubt that Singapore’s port has been a key driver of its success. The roots of the port as we know of it today were really laid by commercial dock companies established in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Elizabeth House, nurses’ quarters to part of a nursing home , or will that be...
Developments around Singapore General Hospital in the last five years or so, have altered the complexion of its much storied surroundings. With that, a number of markers, which linked the area to its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Northern Singapore’s last fishery port
Believe it or not, the northern coast of Singapore once played host to a large fleet of fishing vessels. The fleet’s port of call was at old Kangkar Villlage down the Serangoon River, located right at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chilling out in Pasir Panjang
Deprived of the long beach that it took its name from, and with its one-time star attraction Haw Par Villa having been set on a course for hell, there seems little to draw the visitor to Pasir Panjang...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The former Police Coast Guard HQ at Kallang
Seemingly uninteresting and rather unexciting, the cluster of buildings that were used by the Police Coast Guard (PCG) to house their headquarters from 1970 to 2006, now hide an interesting secret....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Life in 1941 Singapore
Brimming with life and already one of the world’s leading port cities, early 20th century Singapore received quite a fair bit of attention from the world’s press. Numerous news features and press...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Parting Glances: Farrer Park Swimming Complex
The rapid pace of change in Singapore’s robs many of places dear to them. These places, ones Singaporeans may have grown up with and made memories in, provides a connection to the country in a way...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Forbidden Hill spiced and demystified
Fort Canning Hill, aka Bukit Larangan or Forbidden Hill, the place of many a schoolboy adventure for me, has always been a place of discovery and rediscovery for me, as well as a space that provides...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Which was your “most haunted” place in Singapore?
Where would the “most haunted” place in Singapore have been when you were growing up? In the days before the myths about a certain set of buildings in Singapore’s east acquired that reputation with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A window into the past: W J Garcia and Singapore’s first piano factory
Photographs freeze moments in time, moments that may never again be seen, or even ones with a tale or two to tell. A photograph with a tale to tell is one that belongs to a collection of photographs...
View ArticleClik here to view.
More Windows into the Past: The gilt-decorated domed mansion that depleted...
Another set of photographs from the Harrison Forman collection offering a peak into Singapore’s past is one that contains views, in complete colour, of a famous but long demolished mansion and its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The hidden remains of Sentosa’s big WW2 guns
Do note:The photographs of the remains of Connaught Battery contained in this post were taken during a recent recce accompanied by a member of Sentosa’s staff. Do note that the area in which the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dragon on fire
The fire of the dragon of Sar Kong was seen again last evening, making a reappearance on the streets around its lair at the Mun San Fook Tuck Chee temple. The temple introduced the fire dragon dance...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The old man of the strait, and a last reminder of Kampong Kranji
Singapore seems to have had quite a number of burial sites laid out across swampy grounds. Examples include the since drained old Malay cemetery at Kampong Gelam on the banks of the Rochor River, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The case of the missing beach
Street names in Singapore often hold clues to the past. Names such as “Telok Ayer Street” and “Beach Road” for example, provide an indication of where the city’s original shoreline might have been....
View ArticleClik here to view.
A lone tomb, a memory of Syonan Shipyard, and their links to Keppel House
Much has been made about the “mysterious” solitary Japanese tomb sitting on the southern slopes of Mount Faber. The tomb, which could be thought of as a memorial to a painful time in Singapore’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cashin House, “The Pier” reborn
The Pier, which was last the home of lawyer and sportsman Howard Cashin and his wife Lily in 2009, has been reborn. Sensitively rebuilt with salvageable elements such as roof and floor tiles, bricks,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The sun sets on northern Singapore’s last fishery port
Senoko Fishery Port, which has its roots in the Teochew run fish businesses of the old Kangkar fishing village at the end of Upper Serangoon Road, has less than two weeks before it shuts for good....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Identifying the house that Taylor Swift’s mum grew up in
Singapore was caught up in Taylor Swift fever with the American pop sensation in town for a six-concert Singapore leg of her sixth tour. There was also much excitement over Swift’s Singapore...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Girls of Jalan Saksama
I just uncovered this gem, from an interview that I conducted in 2014 with three sisters, Neng Atini Roslan, Danilah Roslan and Siti Dahlia Roslan. The Girls of Jalan Saksama, as I called the sisters,...
View Article