Hotels Quiz Looks like my quizzes are too simple to stump the old-timers like Peter and Philip. I shall have to up the ante a bit.Continuing with the 1961/62 magazine, Singapore – A Guide for Businessmen and Visitors; there were 5 advertisements of hotels in Singapore. Two of them, Goodwood Park Hotel and Orchard Hotel are still around. Here’s quiz to test your knowledge of the other three.Hotel No. 3. Let’s start with the easy one. What was the name of this hotel?Hotel No. 4. Where was this hotel located? What is standing there now? Hotel No. 5. What was the name of this hotel which used to be at the corner of Trafalgar Street and Rambau Street? Singapore – A guide for businessmen and visitors A friend who heard of my craze for old stuff related to Singapore lent me this magazine that she happened to have kept since 1961. Flipping through the pages of this half-century old publication of the Ministry of Culture, I came across some interesting historical facts.Social services: Singapore"At the last census held in June, 1957 the number of persons enumerated in Singapore was 1,445,929. The estimated population at the end of 1960 was 1,665,400 showing an increase of 219,500 during the past 3 ½ years…..With a high birth rate and low death rate, the population is growing rapidly and is expected to pass the two million mark by 1967. The bulk of the population is in the young age groups, e.g. in the 1957 census, the number of persons under 20 years of age will constitute approximately 56 per cent of the total population as a result of the large number of persons born immediately after 1946 entering into the reproductive age groups.The crude birth rate in 1960 was 37.8 per thousand population. The crude death rate declined from 6.4 per thousand population in 1959 to 6.2 in 1960. The infant mortality rate also declined from for 36.0 per thousand live-births in 1959 to 34.9 in 1960.The rapid increase in population makes a heavy call on the resources of the State to provide health, education and other social services and adequate housing for its people."Anyone recognize where is/was this 'modern housing estate'? Equally interesting are some of the advertisements.Finally here’s an old building quiz based on a photo on page 31. What building is this and where was it located? It’s raining It’s raining cats and dogs outside and I am not in the mood to work. Wonder if it’s going to flood again. Looking out of the window on a rainy day like this always reminds me of an occasion about 30 years ago when I was working as a young industrial engineer in Philips Singapore. We were attending a course on Work Factor (a form of Predetermined Motion-Time Systems or PMTS). Our trainer was an old man from Australia. Our seminar room was at one of the high floors of the Equatorial Hotel. Remember this hotel? It used to stand at the corner of Stevens and Bukit Timah Road. Our company liked to hold its training programmes there.Anyway, it was raining heavily and our trainer was staring out of the window during the break. He told us the part of Australia where he came from, it was very rare to see such heavy rain. In fact some places do not see rain for one whole year or more. And so he was ‘soaking in’ the sight.Enough! … Get back to work. Then and Now – Marine Police Station @ Empress Place As many of you correctly pointed out, the building featured in my previous Old Buildings Quiz is the Marine Police Station located next to the Cavenagh Bridge at Empress Place. Above is a scan from the 1963 street directory showing its exact location. Interestingly, my 1981 street directory shows a food centre on this same site.I have also done a ‘Second Shot’ so you can compare the Jacques' photo with a present day shot from the very same spot that Jacques' father must have stood in 1952. I am wondering, where was I when that shot was taken back in the year that I arrived on this earth; in my mother's womb? KK hospital? or back in my kampong home.? And yes Icemoon; it was taken from across the river. And I even try to imitate your 'precision photography by capturing a bit of the concrete at the lower right corner of my photo.The photo below is also from Jacques Lahitte. You can clearly see the Marine Police Station.You can also see the Marine Police Station in this 1954 photo from the National Archives of Singapore collection.Finally, thanks to Peter Chan you can see the empty land where this building was demolished to make way for the construction of the North-South MRT line as described by Peter here. Old Buildings Quiz No. 11 I just received this photo from Jacques Lahitte who wrote:”I am a French living in Poland. I have an old album of pictures taken in 1951-1952 in Singapore by my father who was a sailor in the French Navy and who spent one month in Singapore during maintenance operations of the French carrier aircrafts**, Arromanches, during a campaign in the former French colony Indochine. It is very interesting to see how this town changed and how she was. I located lots of places shown in these pictures with the help of Internet. I send you this one to see if you can identify this place.I'll present on the net all the pictures of this album. I think it will be better to share with people of Singapore old views of their town.”Thank you very much Jacques. I look forward to sharing more of your photos with readers here at Good Morning Yesterday. PS - Not sure if Jacques was referring to this aircraft carrier. Singapore Under Water - Peter Chan Over the decades we had many serious floods and despite improvements to our drainage systems, floods still occur. There were many reasons for these floods; some reasons are still valid today.Photo 1: When a rainstorm blocks your view of the city from Amber Road, you know there’s going to be some serious flooding somewhere (circa 2009).1) Heavy rainfall coupled with high tide2) High density populated areas3) Construction activities contributing to more surface run-off4)Drains and canals unable to support surface run-off because they are polluted, choked or simply not big enough.5) Low-lying areasPhoto 2: Rising water in the Bukit Timah Canal and a BMW is marooned in the flood waters at the corner of Chancery Lane and Dunearn Road (circa 2009). As late as the 1980s, you paid $5 and some Malay boys would push your stalled vehicle. Photo Courtesy of Beatrice Lim.At one time many residents from Strathmore Avenue to Lower Delta Road suffered from flooding. This was because of the boat-building activities next to the Kim Seng Bridge where tongkangs were built, burnt or left to rot in the waters. There was a foul smell at low tide because organic decomposed matter produced hydrogen sulphide, a pungent gas easily picked up by the nose.Photo 3: A flooded area outside the former University of Singapore’s Bukit Timah campus. Opposite is Kheam Hock Road. (circa 1964).The waters of the Singapore River and Rochore Canal were black in color because premises used for trade, business and habitation were not connected to sewers. For example housewives and hawkers were fond of this age-old habit of washing dishes with detergents in the backyard, and letting sludgy water run into open drains, which in turn run into the Singapore River and Rochore Canal. Also there were many motor workshops along Sungei Road contributing their fair share of the problem by spillage and irresponsible disposal of oil into the drains.Photo 4: View from Gilstead Road towards Dunearn Road. After the flood water subsided, petrol at the petrol station was contaminated and homes in the Malay kampong flattened. Many years later, the Malay kampung became the Chancery Court HUDC Estate. The ESSO petrol station is still at the same site (circa 1969).One area in Singapore which easily flooded was the lower Bukit Timah Road/Dunearn Road stretch between West Coronation Road and Newton Circus. The former University of Singapore sport fields became “swimming pools”. Other badly flooded areas included Robinson Road, Braddell, Potong Pasir, Norfolk Road, Whampoa, Tanjung Katong Road, Sennett Road, Balmoral Road, Kampung Java Road, Chinatown, Jalan Kolam Ayer, Jalan Ubi, and Paya Lebar.Photo 5: Grass patch on one side, business on the other side of the Rochore Canal. Near Weld Road (circa 1962).By the early 1980s, the Bukit Timah Flood Alleviation Scheme was completed with a new canal stretching from Sixth Avenue to Sungei Ulu Pandan. It was a project aimed at diverting water away from Bukit Timah – a low-lying area with a history of flooding. In the early 1990s, another diversion canal near Whitley Road was built connecting it to the Sungei Kallang. The Bukit Timah Canal, from the Institute of Education to Rochore Canal, was further deepened and widened, resulting in the loss of a row of flower nurseries called Floral Mile and the A&W Family Restaurant. The Bukit Timah Road was even raised. Rochore Canal was drained of silt, debris and toxic pollutants.Photo 6: Left – Is this policeman doing the right thing at Duchess Road, off Bukit Timah? Right – A resident who lives opposite Chai Chee Secondary School, off Sennett Road (circa 1968).When I was at secondary school between 1967 and 1968, we were always very happy when the class monitor announced; “Today no lesson” which meant it was a free period with no teacher supervision. How we wished that there were going to be no more lessons tomorrow. In 1969, I stayed at my cousin’s house at Paya Lebar Street; his terraced house was flooded. Cooking pots and woks floated out from the kitchen into the living room and we found seated on top of one of the cooking pots was a rat. In 1977, I faced an even more challenging moment when my Mini Clubman was caught in a flash flood along Napier Road, just outside Tyersall Avenue. Tactical “interplay” between clutch and first gear ensured that I got through the flood waters. When I inspected the car, I could squeeze water out of the car seats. No wonder my pants were always damp for next couple of months.Times have changed and flooding looked to be a thing of the past. But in November 2009, something unheard of took place. Flooding affected the upper Bukit Timah Road stretch between Sixth Avenue and Blackmore Drive. Although it is fair to say that the November 2009 incident was a “freak event that happens once in 50 years” according to a government minister, I am sure when you are the victim who owns a property or an expensive Masserati this is not quite on. Fallen trees crashing down on a house or a landslide is a nightmare for many people. Who likes to get involved in litigation? Any motorist can tell you that once a car gets submerged in water, there is extensive damage to engine and transmission. Not only you face expensive repair bills from the car workshop, your vehicle will not perform as normal as before.Photo 7: Left - Abandoned sailing boat in the Kallang Basin opposite the future Kallang Water Sports Center. Right – Boat building yard at Kim Seng Bridge. In the background are godowns which would be replaced by Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel in the future (circ 1966).Halleluiah, we don’t have a Tsunami. I am very assured by the 2006 National Environment Agency study telling us that in the worst scenario we could face big waves between 0.4m to 0.7m above the average sea-level, waves reaching no more 50 meters inland and at speeds slower than normal tides. Even then, do you think there will still be floods in Singapore?Related post: When we walked on water Nissen huts quiz - answers Photo no. 1 – PUB Water Works at Bukit Timah RoadLocated opposite the KK Hospital and Kampong Java Park, these are technically not Nissen huts. But I included them because they look quite interesting and probably unique in Singapore.Photo no. 2 – Keat Hong Camp at Choa Chu KangI think there are at least 6 of them, and all in quite good condition. Pity they will probably have to give way soon to yet another condo; or shopping centre perhaps? Reminds of a Dionne Warwick song – know the title?“No we don’t need another condo,There are condo’s and plazas enough to roam, enough to last,Till the end of time.” Photo no. 3 – Kranji CampThis is along Kranji Road near to the railway track. I am not sure which SAF unit used to occupy this camp. I know there used to be 7 SIR in Kranji. Also there is a 41 SAR at Choa Chu Kang Way which is also known as Kranji Camp. So which one was it?More photos and description can be found at Victor’s blog.Photo no. 4 – Bukit Timah Fourth AvenueThis is the Police Logistics Dept complex which I blogged about earlier – here. The entire camp has now been flattened for the construction of Sixth Avenue MRT Station – part of the Downtown Line. Within the camp itself, there were a few Nissen huts; but because of the high walls, I could not get a good shot (see photo below). Further up along Fourth Avenue there were two sets of Nissen huts. The ones shown in my photo have been demolished. The other ones have been converted into some kind of pre-school.This photo was taken from Fifth AvenuePhoto no. 5 – Jurong Lake ParkOnly one person gave the correct answer. I took 2 photos in 2008. If I remember correctly, it was located within a fenced-in compound next to the Far East Flora nursery, and near to the former Tang Village. It looked like some kind of tools shed. But when I went there yesterday for exercise, I could not find it. Maybe it has been demolished, or I got my orientation wrong and could not remember the exact location. I am clueless about what this place was before. Hope some readers can throw some light. Here is another photo. Mine are probably the last two photos of this mysterious Nissen hut.As you can see, out of the four Nissen huts shown in my quiz (not counting no.1), 3 have disappeared from the face of this earth. The ones in Keat Hong camp will be gone soon. Let’s hope that those mentioned by YG in his comment are still around – personally I seriously doubt that. Hope somebody will take up the challenge (Icemoon? Victor?) and investigate. Where have all the Nissen huts gone? My earlier articles about the Nishat at Bras Basah Road caused me to wonder how many of these Nissen huts are still in existence in Singapore. In case you do not know, a Nissen Hut is “A prefabricated building of corrugated steel in the shape of a half cylinder, used especially by military personnel as a shelter. It is named after its inventor, Lt Col. Peter Nissen (1871-1930), a British mining engineer.”Mention Nissen hut and my mind goes back to the early 1970’s when I was an undergraduate at the University of Singapore. At that time, there were some Nissen huts at the Bukit Timah campus. Although I attended classes at the Engineering Faculty at Prince Edward Road, I had on a couple of occasions been inside these Nissen huts. I remember there was one (or more) near to the Cluny Road entrance. My friend, Peter Chan who sent me this photo would probably be able to tell us where the others were found. Sadly, they have long disappeared from the map of Singapore.So are there any Nissen huts left in Singapore today? As far as I know, up to maybe two years ago there were at least six places where you could still find them. So with a bit of help from Peter, I put together this quiz for you. Please tell us where these photos of Nissen Huts were taken.Photo no. 1I start with the easiest. This one is just next to a busy road and you certainly will have no difficulty identifying the location.Photo no. 2This one should be quite easy as well. This place used to be a famous army camp. The first time I came here was on an unforgettable day in my life. It was the day I was called up for full-time National Service. On the way from the CMPB to Safti where we would begin our much-dreaded army life, the three-tonner made a detour and brought us here to pick up some army gear. Read my story here.It looks like this camp is going to be demolished soon. When I went there a few weeks ago, there was signboard at the entrance warning against trespassing. But I noticed several cars with L-plates going in and out of the camp; and so I thought to myself; “If these guys can ignore the warning sign so blatantly, why can’t I?” And so I walked in and snapped several photos. Soon I realized that this place has been temporarily rented out to a driving school and before long, a driving instructor came along and chased me out. But by then I had already accomplished my mission.Photo no. 3This is another famous army camp. If you have been in this area, you certainly would be able to give the correct answer. In fact, if you were to go there now, you can still see the shells of several Nissen huts and other dilapidated wooden buildings like those you would find in first generation SAF army camps. Thanks again to Peter for this photo.Photo no. 4This one is a bit difficult. But I have blogged about this place before, and if you have read my piece, you just might be able to give the correct answer.Photo no. 5This last one is probably the most difficult. I think even Peter would not know the answer. So I’d better give you some hints. I stumbled upon it quite by chance two years ago.1) It is located in the Western part of Singapore.2) It is not within an army camp or a huge government complex.Peter told me that there is yet one more place where you’d probably be able to see some Nissen huts; and that is in the former Seletar Air Base. “It is just before the airport building as you drive in, on your left (if not demolished yet) was what used to be a staff canteen”. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to go all the way to Seletar to check this out. If you live nearby and are able to confirm the status of these interesting buildings, please do update us. Better still take a couple of photos and send them to me so that I can add them to my collection.And if you know of any other place where you can still find Nissen huts in Singapore, do share the knowledge with us. Or you can also set a quiz to challenge us. Welcome to the Far East Below are some images that Mike Robbins sent me."Thought you might be interested in this booklet that we were given on our arrival as an introduction to Singapore - a little piece of history. Perhaps the most interesting page is the exchange rate for Singapore dollars in 1966 although some of the photos especially transport are of interest too. . How well your country has done since independence and how weak is stirling now! Please feel free to publish." Mike Robbins’ fond memories of Singapore Hello Lam,Just recently found your site. It is nice to know that you are trying to preserve memories of old Singapore.My wife and I were fortunate to spend three years on the island from 1966-69 living mainly in the Naval Base at Sembawang. We have been back twice since 1969, and the changes that have taken place make the place almost unrecognisable.Surprisingly our first flat in Cairnhill Road was still there as was our house in Sudan Road - photos of that attached. The only noticeable change from the outside was the house now had air-con.Our last visit coincided with the first F1 GP on the island - very impressive. We broke our return journey from Bali. We were very fortunate to still have contact with a pen friend of our daughter who was born in Singapore in 1968. She took us out on a trip down memory lane - back to Sembawang and to our old house. We also enjoyed a nostalgic curry in Changi village. It is a pity that so much of old Singapore has been lost - fond memories of old Bugis Street playing noughts and crosses with young children in front of the bars - for a few cents!Our one regret is that we lost touch with our amah in Cairnhill Court. Her name was Lee Boon Yong. She was a much valued member of our family. She had one son only called John who would now be about 50. She originally lived in a kampong near Bukit Timah, but was re-housed in the early flats in Toa Payoh. Yong was our first amah in Cairnhill Court off Cairnhill Road not in Sembawang. In the house in Sudan Road,we had a couple who lived in the servants quarters at the back of the house. The amah's name there was Yok and her husband we also knew as John. He worked in the base but was also a very good pastry cook.I have other old photos and documents from that time some of which I could scan I think if you would like to add to your collection.It was interesting to see that the old oil fuel depot at Sembawang still had some tanks standing which I understand feed the nearby power station.Have fond memories of working closely with a ship's chandlers company - Soon Aik in Outram Road - the Quah family. Went to a family wedding on the rooftop at 225 Outram Road. Also have fond memories of taking our young children into the botanical gadrens, buying a small cone of peanuts and watching the monkeys sneak up and snatch the whole paper cone from their hands. How times have changed!Keep up the good work to preserve for the next generationBest wishesMike Robbins Andrew Grigsby’s fond memories of Singapore Today, I would like to share with you some emails that I received from Andrew Grigsby. I am sure that after reading Andrew’s heartwarming description of his memories, you will feel a tinge of sadness at the loss of the Singapore of our childhood days – if you’re from my generation that is.Dear Lam Chun See, I arrived at your web site via looking for the school I went to in Majeede Barracks at Pandan Johore and also I went to St. Johns School in Singapore. I would like to be in contact with you as to be honest, we had many friends when we were there. We lived at milestone 5 1/2 at Pasir Panjang not all that far From Haw Paw Villa, better known to us as Tiger Balm Gardens. I do have a vivid memory of our wonderful time amongst such open and such friendly people no matter what nationality. I miss that atmosphere of the time we knew back then. I too was born in 1952 but in Germany, so you can tell my father was in the Army and he served in it for 34 years. My parents are still alive and live not far from me in this County of Wiltshire. I am only 25 miles from the South Coast North of Southampton City. You can see it on Google Earth and it has a Cathedral.My sister came back to Singapore about 8 years ago and said that the home we stayed in was still there under Kent Ridge but the reclaimed land was just about to start when we left in August 1969. I remember so well the Changi red busses that took us to school. My sister went to Alexandra Junior School. I am also a member of the St. Johns web site too.I was born to eat currys by the way and still do. I so liked the Nasi Goreng from school and the time that my father bought MEE HOON from a local shop. Yes, friend i still remember so well with the Papaya, Jack Fruit, Bread Fruit, Rambutan, Mangosteen, Star fruit .. etc. and a small pink bell-shaped fruit which we dipped into a dark rich sauce.(Andrew must be referring to this water apple or jambu. Took this photo at Bishan Park, by the way)My favourite snack was when the local man came pushing his wheel barrow down the Pasir Panjang Road and it had on it a mixing bowl that he used to cut up soft bread sticks and fruit but first of all he put in a peanut type of paste like dark Hoi Sin? and then mixed it all up and put it on a banana leaf and we had a tooth pick to eat it with. I remember it was called ROH JACK! We spoke a little Malay then but 'Roti Punus' and Satu, Duah, Tiga, Unpat, Lima … ok its one to five. I do remember being taught MAY WAH which our friends told us it was pretty flower in English.Our best friend was a young fellow named ANG U GEE and lived in a Kampong just short distance from the two buildings that made up our small place where we were living. There were 6 homes in each block. I remember so well the 'wayang' that came to play just over the road opposite where we lived.I remember the Monsoons which was such fun standing in the warm rain with flip flops on and just shorts. The houses we lived in were still standing when my sister went there on a holiday 6 years ago.Another memory was that we went with our friends on a long boat just off Shell Island maybe Blackang Matti! and we let the nets down and used long bamboo poles to hit the water to drive the fish and crabs into the net. Before we got out to recover the nets when the tide went down we had our food. My mother made sandwiches and our friends had a small contained fire with charcoal cooking a fish and rice soup. We swapped food with each other such was the closeness we enjoyed.Another memory was when we visit our friends’ homes to watch television. We took our flip flops off at the door of course. The younger children would sit by us and touch our legs because we had hairy legs at the age of 15 and 16, they thought it was funny.Another memory was when me and my other two brothers had to leave Singapore. The friends from the local kampong gave us a banquet as a lasting memory of our close friendship. There were hugs and tears all round when we left.I hope to see Singapore one more time but it will be when I am retired from work.I am trying to get as many photos of Majeede Barracks in Jahore and understand that the Malaysian Army may be there now. Never mind. I just like all things to do with Johore and Singapore.Hello Chun See. It was nice to hear from you and thanks for sending the pictures of the pink bell shaped fruit we used to eat. The bungalow (that’s the one Victor blogged about here) looks familiar and we must have seen it when we were there so could be right next to where we lived. Please thank your friend for taking the picture. As I said, my sister was in Singapore about 6 years ago and saw the same flats then but understand that may have gone now. I will send you a drawing of where we were and maybe it was between 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 mile stone.Sketch and Google Earth image I can see that to the right of the flats is a little 'green' area of grass where we played football with our local friends. It looked as if it’s still in use? Our neighbour friends’ house on the right is new and I can see a swimming pool there. The flats are right in the centre of the picture ...The two buildings with 6 flats in each (X) was set back from the Pasir Panjang Road and accessed by a short drive, and there were two of them. One was set sideways and the other set further back and facing the road. We were friends with the local people in the house next door. When we walked out of the short drive and turned left towards Haw Par Villa there was a wooden shop that sold our favourite Ice Balls; you know the ones. It was made from a block of ice that was created by grinding the ice block on a mangle with a blade on it. i can draw it for you. It was put in a piece of paper and coloured juice poured all over it before we ate it. Opposite was the green space where we watched the Wayang, and from where we lived it was a very short distance to the beach. We had such fun and always hung out with our friends after school. We loved it when we could get the red fireworks that was sold in long ribbons the same type that is use in the New Year ... Chinese of course. We also liked to buy the very small fire crackers too. I also loved to eat for a snack the peanut fritters.Does any one remember the way the conductors on the Changi busses told the driver to start and stop. He hit the roof with his clipper and the knocking on the roof made it look like it was dented all over. At least the journeys were only cents for a few miles. I will write again with more memories.We had such a fun time in Singapore and would experience it all over again. By all means please do share my memories with any one that remembers those times in the 60s. Regards to all friends in Singapore.My email to AndrewI am afraid I have some bad news for you. I went down to Pasir Panjang to check the area shown in your Google satellite photo. I believe that satellite image must be several months old because the area has now been built into a condominium complex. If you look at the attached photo it is probably the condo behind the yellow car. At first I thought it was the construction site to the right of the car I even asked the construction site supervisor if he knew what the area was like before they began demolition work; but he wasn't aware. But when I got home and re-examined your satellite photo, I am convinced that it is the condo behind and to the left of the yellow car.” Referring to the satellite image again, the spot marked S is the Salvation Army home which is still existing and the spot marked B is the machinegun pillbox mentioned in my previous post..PS. 1) My apologies to Victor for sending him on a wild goose chase. When I received the first email, I asked Victor if he could assist me to find Andrew’s flats since he was familiar with this part of Singapore.2) Andrew. No need to sketch that picture of the ice ball machine. I have blogged about it here. Crossing Water Obstacle (C.W.O.) - by Peter Chan Sounds like a military jargon from National Service (NS) days? Every able-bodied male who has completed NS would have undergone some form of training or at least be familiar with the C.W.O. terminology. However I am not referring to it but to a daily routine of a different kind, between City Hall and Raffles Place MRT stations.Early 1985 I worked in a regional office on the 12th floor of the Standard Chartered Bank Building on Battery Road. Whenever I get jet-lagged I would look outside my window. The view was simply refreshing. You could see the Westin Stamford and Westin Plaza under construction plus the wide expanse of water in the Marina Bay area. Photo 1: View of lunchtime dining by the Singapore River from Empress Place (c 1980). The buildings from left to right were Maybank, Bank of China, a row of shops and Chartered Bank.When I looked below the Standard Chartered Bank building, something else caught my eyes and with the help of a pair of binoculars I found something interesting. I refer to the MRT tunnel that was constructed under the Singapore River, a very massive civil engineering project. The tunnel was 93 meter long and 20 meters under the river-bed. It was an interesting introduction to underwater tunneling.Construction activity first began on the Empress Place bank side of the Singapore River where a cofferdam was in place - concrete between walls of rusty steel piles. But this time something different was taking place. There was a crane mounted on a barge lifting steel piles out of the water. Vibration was applied before the steel piles were pulled out of the water. Mini excavators removed earth from the coffer dam and dumped into an anchored barge. After the cofferdam was demolished, the waters of the Singapore River flowed through. Photo 2: Empress Place (c 1983). The former marine police building stood at the spot of the pile-driver. The Asian Civilization Building was the former Immigration Department offices.Now on the other side of the Singapore River, another building activity was taking place. Fresh steel piles (with painted white lines and numbers) were driven into the Singapore River to form another cofferdam. The markings indicated the length of a steel pile. The steel piles had to stand at least a meter above the river-tide to prevent water gushing into the excavated site. I could feel the Standard Chartered Bank building shook each time the steel piles were pounded; the only time when there was silence was when the steel piles had to be welded together by acetylene torches. The welding continued until the engineers were certain that the solid soil bottom was reached. Water trapped by the cofferdam was pumped out. An anchored barge with a crane and bucket was furiously scooping earth behind the cofferdam and dumping it into another nearby barge.Lunch-time diners at Movepick in the basement of Standard Chartered Bank had more fears of the ceiling coming down. Nearby snug at the basement of Straits Trading Building, the Stamford Arms Pub’s chandeliers swayed to the beat of the pile-drivers. For me I always wondered whether I had spiders dropped from the ceiling into my drinks.Photo 3: The final stage of tunneling begins on the other side of the Singapore River (c 1985).As the project progressed, workers were busily welding steel struts to keep the walls apart. The next step was for the concrete tunnel to be built after which earth was put back over the tunnel and the river reinstated. If you stood at the Paya Lebar Station and had been observing the construction of the Circle Line, you could visualize a similar construct of this sort under the Singapore River. Around this time, the popular “kopi-tiam by the Singapore River” – a narrow lane behind the Bank of China and Malayan bank buildings – was torn down because it restricted easy access to the work site. Over the next few years, there would be road diversions in the Raffles Place area, a higher level of dust particles, as well as many bulky cement mixers on the roads. These were inconveniences that had to be put up by office workers all for a good cause – to move large number of people in and out of central business district. Can I still see another mammoth civil engineering project again? Yes but this has to be done from a distance and at ground-level; the construction of the Marina Coastal Expressway, in front of the Marina Barrage and at East Lagoon Link. Photo 4: Marina Coastal Expressway project. The construction of the cofferdam at Marina East is in progress (c 2009). The piped piles are driven at least 60 meters below the seabed.Photo 5: Marina South view of office blocks in Prince Edward Road and Shenton Way areas. East Lagoon Link which was a PSA container-yard is now cleared of containers. The former basin will be drained of seawater and a viaduct will connect to a surface road (c 2009). There’s one question for you. Have you noticed that the Standard Chartered Bank building (now named Six Battery Road) is quite unusual unlike other office blocks in the Raffles Place area. It has a wide podium with a slim tower on top of it. What is the reason for this architectural design? What was it like inside that machinegun pillbox? When I took that photo of the machinegun pillbox at Pasir Panjang Road in my previous post, it did not occur to me to go near and take a shot of the inside or even try to see if it was still possible to go inside. Anyway, reader Peter Stubbs has kindly sent me two photos of the inside of this particular pillbox which he took in 1995 to share with readers of Good Morning Yesterday. Thank you for the photos Peter.“I apologise for the quality, but I did not have a decent camera in those days - 1995. Not only that, but the ones I had did not have wide angle lenses which is what I really needed inside. For some reason, which I cannot remember, I could not photograph inside the commanders copula in the centre of the pillbox. No. 1 is the right-hand side and No.2 the left-hand side. The white area on No.2 is the partition wall. I keep meaning to try to get inside and take some new photos when I visit Singapore, but never remember. Maybe next time.Just below the firing slit is a wide shelf on which weapons would have been placed. The weapons used inside would have been the Lee Enfield No. 3 or No.4 Rifle, which were standard British issue and the Bren Light Machine Gun. Both fired the .303 Round, and both were very accurate weapons indeed.I believe that this pillbox would have been manned by men of the Malay Regiment in February 1942. It was in their area of operations - see attached map." By the way, Peter hosts an interesting website about Military History. Do check it out here. How well do you know your Singapore? Whilst waiting for my next article, perhaps you guys would like to take a shot at this quiz. What is this thing and where is it found in Singapore?Wow .... you guys are good. Barely half an hour and the right anwers are given. Hope you can read the explanation below. I should have cropped away the surrounding. Views from Singapore’s tallest building In my previous post, I asked you for the identify and location of the ‘Nishat’ building in this photo by George Shaw taken around 1947. Well some of you correctly said that it was a cinema. In George Shaw’s photo album, he has these words neatly written next to the photo; INDIAN CINEMA (Hindustani only)As for its exact location, we can confirm that it was indeed at Waterloo Street from this picture taken by Arthur Poskit in 1947. It’s the one with the dark roof. In Arthur’s album, these words were scribbled below the photo; “View from the Cathay directly down Bras Basah Road. In fact, from this photo, we can see a few familiar buildings:a) The Saint Joseph’s Institution – now converted to Singapore Arts Museumb) The Cathedral of the Shepherd, andc) The Raffles Institution – sadly demolished years ago to give way to Raffles CityCan you identify other places from this photo?Below are a few more photos taken from the roof top of Cathay Building around 1947. Again, we should thank Arthur Poskitt, Russ Wickson and Peter Chan for generously sharing these photos with us.This photo by George Shaw is in the direction of the National Museum (Thank God they did not demolish it when they built that tunnel)This photo by Arthur Poskitt is in the direction of Selegie Road and Prinsep Street.This photo from Peter Chan was taken in 1945 and its shows Selegie Road viewed from the balcony of the Cathay Building. More views of Singapore’s tallest building In my previous post, I showed you several views of the Cathay Building in 1947 or thereabouts. Below at two more photos.Photo No. 1This was sent to me by Peter after reading my article. These are his comments (in blue).This was taken in June 1946 from an RAF aircraft. Cathay Building is viewed from Kirk Terrace. There is Amber Mansions and parts of Clemenceau Avenue in the background. Notice that the site where the Supreme House (now called Park Mall) along Penang Road is empty land.You can also see:a) The Sacred heart Church @ Tank Road,b) United Engineers (tall chimney) around Mohd Sultan Road,c) Orchard Presbyterian Church,d) Fort Canning.From what I read in my grandfather's notes, the British Army requisitioned all the warehouses/godowns around Pulau Saigon, Mohd Sultan Road, Roberston Quay for their logistic base after the recapture of Singapore from the Japanese, The tongkangs will sail up the Singapore River after collecting all the military cargo from Keppel Harbour.Later the British Army decided to build their own base instead of renting from the Chinese merchants. This new place was called Alexandra Camp which is now Dawson Estate and Prince Philip Avenue.Talking about the Amber House, I recall an experience there in the 50’s. My father brought me to visit a dentist at a unit facing the Orchard Presbyterian Church. I remember the building being very ‘solid’ and having green colour stained glass windows. The name of the dentist was Dr Woon (or maybe Oon). Anyway, I was so terrified that I absolutely refused to let the dentist remove a rotten tooth. Thank God, my teeth today are still in good condition. And my children have no fear at all of the dentist.Photo No. 2Here’s a quiz for you. This photo shows the Cathay Building in the distant background. It was from the George Shaw collection sent to me by Russ Wickson. Next to the photo were scribbled some words. I will reveal them later. First, can you identity the ‘nissen hut’ building and the street shown in the foreground? Tallest Building in Singapore Which was the tallest building in Singapore in 1947? Without even checking the history books, I daresay, it was the Cathay Building. Looking at the old photos taken by Arthur Poskitt and George Shaw in and around 1947, I saw several of this grand old dame.According to its official website, up to 1955, pilots flying into Kallang Airport often used the 79.5 metre-high Cathay Building as a landmark for their final approach. It was also Singapore’s first air-conditioned theatre.Below are three photos taken by Arthur Poskitt in 1947. Descriptions by Peter Chan.Photo no.1 - Viewed from Raffles Museum at Fort CanningPhoto no.2 - Viewed from Stamford Road near Orchard Road Presbyterian ChurchPhoto no.3 - Viewed from YMCA now SMU campus.Below are two photos taken by George Shaw. The year was around 1946 to 1948. Descriptions by George Shaw.“Cathay” – HQ of Nippon War Staff. HQ of British (SACSEA) … anyone know what is SACSEA?“Cathay” – from Bras Basah RoadBelow are two photos taken by Lam Chun See in April 2010. Viewed from Bras Brasah RoadViewed from Orchard Presbyterian Church Recently, during the Chinese New Year period, I joined my ex-colleagues from NPB for a ‘lo-hei’ dinner at the Cathay Restaurant. I was truly amazed at how much Cathay has been transformed. It is now an ultra-modern shopping complex with lots of young shoppers. The restaurant itself is much smaller than in 1986 when I attended my younger brother’s wedding dinner.As for the movies, I can only recall two, Chariots of Fire and Pete’s Dragon. And of course there was the memorable Kodak advertisement with Paul Anka singing Times of Your Life.Akan Datang (coming soon) … views from Singapore’s tallest building** History of Cathay Building at Singapore Infopedia See the World 85 years ago – part 2 (Peter Chan) My grandfather never stopped his hobby until the day he passed on. Just before that he summoned my cousin and I to his bedside; being the senior male descendants of the family clan, he told us of his parting wish. Being the elder of the two, my cousin made his choice of a colourful world atlas and I was left with his other collection.I was devastated because I was eyeing the world atlas book. What was the man thinking then? Since then I have kept this pristine collection in some dark corner for the last 40 years.Photo 1: Postcards of two well-known hotels in New York at that time. Only the Vanderbilt Hotel remains but as a posh apartment (c1925)When I now closely scrutinized the postcards several questions came to my mind, some I had answers but many we don’t. Photo 2: The reverse of a post card (c 1925). The Yokohama-Specie Bank has a place in Singapore’s history. It was the Japanese bank which arranged the S$50 million Chinese community contribution to Japan’s WW2 efforts. After Japan lost the war in 1945, Japanese assets were seized. Today HSBC occupies the same spot where this Japanese bank once stood. Yokohama Specie Bank is now Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.For example, how did my grandfather see the world 85 years ago? How did he find so many Caucasian pen-pals willing to correspond with a Chinese man from Singapore? I discovered he used a moniker “Chan Kim Kwong” and the corresponding address of his office (Yokohama Specie Bank) and the family home (12 Pasar Lane in Jalan Besar). What is even stranger if you examine the hand-writing of postcards received from Europe and the Americas? I am certain it was my grandfather’s hand-writing but how did he get franked postcards of so many countries? Later my grandfather turned to a typewriter instead of handwriting. He gave up collecting postcards and found a new direction; covers.Photo 3: Cover of a special occasion (c1936)My grandfather’s collection of postcards and covers has become a fascinating subject for me, though I beg to differ that I am a stamp collector. There is so much interesting information I can gather because he has left me with so many written commentaries. Come think of what a stupid thing I could have done if I had decided to offer it to the “Kalang Guni Man”. See the World 85 years ago (part 1) – Peter Chan Today travel to foreign countries is so easy and made even cheaper by the introduction of budget airlines. With the Internet we can even see foreign countries through pictures. Nearly 90 years ago, my grandfather also saw the world but he did it very differently, not like the way I envisaged. He did not join the merchant navy and jump-ship. I was very amazed at the way how he did it. He did something unique in the age of steamships, tongkangs and pig-tails.I am still putting the pieces together on how he managed and balanced leisure against a career given that he was the sole breadwinner and supporting a family of 12. From bits of references here and there, I gathered he loved to collect stamps, envelopes, postcards, coins, newspaper clippings and smoking pipes. But he was never a sportsman.As I unraveled more intimate details of my grandfather, I shall start with his collection of postcards of Singapore’s commercial center. This part of Singapore was where he began his career at the age of 17 in 1918. So presumably this part of Singapore must have interested him similar to what caught my interest as a child in the early 60s.Do you recognize anything from the postcards?Photo 1: Battery Road. Whiteway is now Maybank Building. The building on the left is now HSBC Building (circa 1933)Photo 2: Raffles Place. The 3 storey building in the center of the photo was the British bank, the Mercantile Bank between D’Almeida Street and D’Souza Street. Robinson’s was on the right. The car park is now Raffles MRT Station (circa 1933).Photo 3: Singapore River where Chinese business blended with colonial interests (circa 1925). Can you remember the procedure for borrowing books at the old National Library? When I last visited the National Library at Victoria Street, I saw some exhibits of the old library cards. I am trying to recall the system for borrowing and returning books. Hope older readers can confirm if I remember correctly.1) Each registered member is given a number of library cards like the one in the photo above.2) When you want to borrow a book, the librarian will take out the card from a pocket mounted on the back cover of the book and slot in your membership card and place it in a wooden box with the cards arranged in alphabetical order.3) She will stamp the due date on the Due Date slip pasted on the back cover of the book.4) When you return the book, she would look for your card and take out the book card, slot it back into the pocket in the back of the book and return your card to you.Recently, I received an email from an architectural student asking me if I could recall what used be on the grassy patch of land at the junction of Armenian Street and Stamford Road. See photo below; and here’s my reply. I wonder if older readers can confirm if I remember correctly.Below is a map of from my 1981 street directory for reference."If my memory serves me, it used to be a sort of make-shift, single storey open coffee shop; i.e. without walls. Stalls may be a better word. So as the bus rounded the bend from Armenian Street and turns left into Stamford Rd, immediately there is bus stop. This coffee shop is directly behind the bus stop. Immediately after the bus stop is the entrance (for cars) to the Nat Lib. Further down is the exit, and after that is the National Museum.Behind this coffee shop would be an open car park. I think part of it is still there. Many users of the library would take their meals here. Across the road at Waterloo Street were several very famous Indian sarabak stalls selling Indian Rojak and Mee Rebus. When we want to get to the library, we take a bus and alight at Bras Basah Rd and walk along Waterloo Street. We were bound to be accosted by the hawkers.What I remember most about the coffee shop at the Library was the ice kacang. They had these jars of multi-colour syrup and there were always some bees hovering around them. Even when you were not going to the library, the bus always stopped at this bus stop and if you were sitting in the aisle seat, you could see these syrup and bees.What are my thoughts when I pass this place? The green patch itself - not much except for the bees and syrup. My other thought is; "No life". But this area as a whole; especially the tunnel entrance make me fell a sense of resentment that the government refused to listen to the people and insisted on destroying something so dear to our memories of our childhood; in spite of strong objections from many people."I remember our PM saying at one of his National Rally speeches that the government wanted to redevelop this area into a ‘hip’ and happening place where young people can hangout etc. etc. But when I see this place now, it looks so deserted and lifeless. During our time, it was truly full of life. Even the MPH building was always crowded with students and young people.One more question for the oldies. According to my 1981 street directory, there was CPIB (Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau) building next to the library. I don’t have any recollections of this building. I always thought the CPIB building was at Cantonment Road?Related posts;1) Armenian Street2) Victor’s recent post about the National Library 3) James Seah’s Reminiscence of the National Library In Pizza We Trust – Peter Chan You probably wonder what I am talking about. It’s about the association between rats and cheese, and a tasty Italian food. Does it sound that I am an environmental health officer or this food reviewer (http://sparklette.net/)? Let me tell you what this is all about. Photo 1: The restaurant mascot was dressed in tuxedo and bowler hat costume. Often the mascot had to do walk-around and welcome guests (circa 1984).By 1984, I had fully settled down with a young family and living in the East Coast Road area, just about the same time when Parkway Parade was completed. Like any woman, my wife preferred to shop on Sundays – even when there was nothing necessary to buy – and here I was left with my 3+ old toddler and 3 hours to spare. MPH Bookstore, at the basement of Parkway Parade, was boring because I was not oriented towards reading to children or teaching them those lullabies. For me, “real action stuff” was what I liked best but what could I do with a toddler? Photo 2: Original location for Chuck E Cheese. Now it is occupied by Marks & Spencer.Chuck E Cheese (pronounced as Chucky) embodied everything about the American culture; a restaurant, animated entertainment and indoor arcade video games for children. It signaled the arrival of American fast-food chains and the importance of the children’s market. Indeed big Singapore retailers saw the market for children for 14 years and below as one with good growth potential. In the Marine Parade area, there was FUN WORLD, SMALL WORLD and TOYS R’ US. Though on a much smaller scale, SMALL WORLD and FUN WORLD were the early family entertainment pioneers before TIME ZONE. Photo 3: The Chuck E Cheese & friends. On the balcony were Chucky, Helen Henny and Pasqually (circa 1984). Dining tables faced the stage. On the walls were large framed portraits of animal characters and national flags. While guests dined on benches and waited for their orders, computer-controlled mechanical robots provided cabaret-style entertainment. At the end of showtime, the flags waved, the horns blew and the drums rolled. I noticed children were so thrilled that they continued clapping way after the show ended. On birthdays, the characters could sing “Happy Birthday” to kids and adults and Chuck E Cheese lead the other characters in a thunderous cheer.You could have a $6.90 combo meal, spaghetti with meal balls and garlic bread but I preferred their pizzas with special toppings.Chuck E Cheese was a part of SMALL WORLD, the new retailing concept of Emporium Holdings Ltd. It offered 3 floors of shopping, entertainment and food to over indulgent parents. Before Chuck E Cheese came along, I only knew “A & W Restaurant”, “Mother Care” and “Punch & Judy Show”. Photo 4: Small World catered to the “Little People’s Needs” on 3 floors. My son is seen playing with a basket ball.Father and son walked into Chuck E Cheese and were enthusiastically welcome by the restaurant mascot. Here Italian food was served while giant stuffed animals performed to the delight of children. There was even a mechanized hound dog which bumped to the songs of “The King”; a guitar-playing Elvis Presley. My son was so thrilled that till today he can still recall the names of the stuffed animals like Madame Oink the pig, Mr. Munch the cookie monster and Jasper the country and western dog. Even more remarkable he could remember the red and black front stage drapes; opening and closing during curtain-calls. I am sure the animated show must have created a very lasting impression on him that back home he constantly teased his little chubby brother as Mr. Pig - in obvious reference to Madame Oink, until sparks flew.Three hours for me at Chuck E Cheese didn’t seem long. There were so many things for us to do. My son enjoyed playing the colorful balls inside the netted play-pen and the joy rides. Using tokens, I played “Pin Ball” and table-football. A re-visit was always on my list of things to do on Sundays when the “Mrs” did her groceries at YAOHAN or went window-shopping. Whatever happened to ‘The Batik Inn’ by Russ Wickson - 20.03.10 Last night rummaging around in a box of old papers I came across a copy of The Ballad of East and West by Rudyard Kipling and the first four lines sent me scurrying for my old Singapore photograph album and wondering whatever happened to ‘The Batik Inn’ in Orchard Road. (next to C.K.Tang?)(Above advertisement copied from 1970 Papineau’s guide to Singapore)In the mid 1960’s The Batik Inn used to be a favourite of mine. I would often ‘live dangerously’ and catch a bus outside of RAF Changi main gate and for a few cents take a death defying ride into Singapore city and then walk along Orchard Road to The Batik Inn.I can no longer recall the actual entrance to The Batik Inn but passing down the side of the building one came into their ‘garden’ laid out with tables and fringed, to us Europeans, by exotic trees and shrubs. Here I would sit dreaming away the warm tropical evenings with a Tiger beer, absorbing that most heavenly of fragrances from the Frangipani and listening to quiet, seductive oriental background music as table top candles flickered and danced in little jars.I recall their superb Chinese cuisine and in particular their spicy Indonesian Satay which was absolutely mouth watering.... (but could never surpass my favourite ‘satay man’ by the roadside in Changi village, but that’s another story)In spite of being in the city limits, moths and bugs abounded, fluttering about the garden and occasionally one was treated to a glimpse of an Atlas Moth as it silently and majestically winged its way across from table top to table top.The connection with Rudyard Kipling is in this photograph....Leaving by the same way, alongside the building, one walked through this arch way and under those very thoughtful third and forth lines of ‘The Ballad of East and West’.But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth!(NB looking through the archway, is that a little Fiat 500 travelling along Orchard Road, right to left, and now revamped and recently introduced by Fiat to the European market)My many memories of Orchard Road do not end here.... with my girlfriend at the time, we often walked bare footed along Orchard Road during the day and frequented a little Italian coffee house (not the Magnolia Bar?) and I’m pretty sure it was near C.K.Tang, where would order ice cream with our coffee. Our favourite ice cream was known as ‘Cassata’, I seem to recall the coffee house may have been called ‘Sorrento’s’, but I can no longer be 100% sure. More Memories of Sembawang More memories of Sembawang, this time via email from a friend from Australia (I presume). ***************************************************G'day Lam,I just stumbled upon your blog about Singapore in the 60's and 70's and felt a wonderful sense of relief - Singaporeans still remember the 'Kampong Days'!!I was a member of the ANZUK Force serving with them for about two-and-a-half years - in retrospect, perhaps, the most educational and significant years of my life! I spent a bit of time at Changi and used to catch the bus along Tanah Merah Road - not sure if it was actually, Tanah Merah Besar …. also lived in the barracks at HMS Terror, a house in Sembawang and lastly at Woodlands.I just visited Singapore in 2008 and was dismayed to [and shocked and impressed by the vastness of the changes - culturally as well as economical - though Lee Kwan Yew was always going to make a big statement after getting booted out of Malaysia] find the village just out of Sembawang where I used to go and learn TKD was nowhere to be found - I think maybe the railway station was built on that site!! And the Sembawang Strip [probably you never went there, but just about every western serviceman would have had a beer there] looked so sad and lifeless.It came as a shock - because even though I have spent many months in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos .. and saw the changes in those places - they did not have the same level of emotional impact as I experienced in retracing my early soldier years in Singapore. I doubt now you even have the Indian piercing festivals etc..Anyway .. please excuse my rambling .. congratulations on your initiative - it is very worthwhile.RegardsTerryPS – I think the village that Terry mentioned must have been Chong Pang Village and the ‘Sembawang Strip’ must be referring to the row of bars that I blogged about in my previous post.This 1967 photo of the same row of shops by A. J. Allen is from Memories of Singapore. Doesn't seem to have changed much over the past 43 years.OK, here’s a quiz to test your knowledge of Singapore. Below are two photos of houses which I was quite surprised to see. Where is this place? It is quite difficult to see houses like these nowadays. I think Victor has blogged about such buildings in the Alexandra Road vicinity. Memories of Sembawang I have enjoyed reading several posts by my fellow nostalgia bloggers like Philip Chew, Thimbuktu, YG, Victor and Jerome Li sharing their memories of Sembawang. Although Sembawang is not ‘my territory’, I do have some memories of that place which I too would like to share with you. But, unlike my other stories, my memories of Sembawang don’t go back very far. In fact they are relatively recent, going back to the early nineties when my kids were still quite young.At that time, I often brought my family to places like the Changi Beach, Kallang River, MacRitchie Reservoir, West Coast Park, Seletar Reservoir and Sembawang Park on weekend evenings. My wife and I wanted our children to spend more time in the outdoors than in air-conditioned cinema halls and shopping centres. Recently, I read an article about research done in Australia which says that regular exposure to the outdoors is good for children’s eyesight. Maybe that’s the reason why all my three children do not need glasses – at least not until recently when my youngest started to use them – which is quite unusual by Singapore standards.At Sembawang Park, we would visit the jetty and the kids liked to play on the beach. As night fell, we often went for dinner at a zhi-char coffee shop located in a cluster of HDB flats near the Sembawang Community Centre. On the way, we would pass by a row of shops on the left some of which had bright neon lights which I assumed were bars. I was a bit surprised to see these bars because that stretch of road was quite dark and deserted. Furthermore, I thought these bars usually catered to the British military personnel who would have long left Singapore by 1990.I have not been to Sambawang area for a long time and have heard about the tremendous changes that had taken place there. And so when I recently had a chance to go to the Sembawang MRT station early one morning, I decided to go to Sembawang Park for my brisk walking exercise and check if these places were still around.As expected, I was totally overwhelmed by the transformation of what was once the Chong Pang Village and Canberra Road. In fact, as I drove along Sembawang Way, I missed the turn (it was still quite dark) and I ended up in Yishun instead of Sembawang Park. Anyway I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the block of shops that used to house the bars is still there. In fact I had my breakfast there. But I was saddened, though not surprised that the cluster of HDB flat near Sembawang CC had disappeared. As for Sembawang Park and the surrounding; it didn’t seem to have changed much. Still very peaceful and quite.Some things do not changeThe Beauliew House which had two sections; one serving Chinese and the other serving Western foodThis is the jetty and beach where we enjoyed ‘quality time’ as a family Central Business District Petrol Stations (Peter Chan) In 1971, the Ministry of National Development met officials from the major oil companies in Singapore to announce a major decision. All petrol stations within the Central Business District (CBD) were to be phased out over a period of 30 years, with some having to quit immediately. In 1970 there were a total of 150 petrol stations throughout Singapore; 30 still remained after 21 were re-sited away from the city area. SHELL the main oil company was the most affected by the government’s ruling to re-site the bulk of its petrol stations away from the city area.Photo 1: SHELL station at Beach Road, opposite the former Beach Road Camp which would later become the future South Beach Hotel (circa 1968). Site is now occupied by Raffles LaSalle.Ten years later, a public tender was called in 1982 for a petrol station at the Golden Shoe Multi-storey Car Park - bounded by Church Street and Market Street. The tender went to SPC. I am not sure for the change of heart but I believe this is the only petrol station inside the CBD after the last one at Springleaf Tower closed.Photo 2: SHELL station after the slip road from Tank Road into Oxley Rise. Later the site was replaced by the Oxley Flyover (circa 1968). In the background is Clemenceau Avenue towards Orchard Road.There were five key reasons for phasing out all petrol stations.1) There were too many petrol stations in the city area rendering uneconomic use of expensive and scare land resource.2) Petrol stations lie along busy thoroughfares and were seen as causing traffic hazards as vehicles move in and out disrupting a smooth traffic flow.3) Not many were environmentally friendly; waste engine oil went into public drains. The road surfaces were often coated with black oily patches. Many were even aesthetically an eye-sore.4) Petrol stations were fire hazard candidates because they were used to host the Seventh Month Festival. Something catastrophic could happen when giant size joss sticks and burnt paper offerings stood dangerously close to the fuel pumps.5) New housing estates were built and it would be better when motorists obtain petrol services nearer to their homes.Photo 3: CALTEX station was at the corner of Killiney Road and Somerset Road (circa 1975). Now is occupied by ORCHARD CENTRAL.Petrol stations could be classified in three different categories; stand pump, petrol service station and full service petrol station.A stand pump was nothing more than a dual gasoline pump offering petrol and diesel. The second type, petrol service station occupied a bigger space and comprised of several pumps and sold various grades of fuel – Ordinary Petrol, Regular Petrol plus diesel. The third type was a full-service petrol station offered lubrication services, sold motor accessories and petrol.Photo 4: ESSO station at the corner of Mount Elizabeth and Orchard Road (circa 1976). TONG BUILDING has replaced the station.Geographically petrol stations were located at the city fringe area and those inside the city area, apart from those in the new housing estates and rural areas. There was a George Lee Motors Station at the corner of Clemenceau Avenue (now Clemenceau North) and Peck Hay Road. George Lee Motors can be categorized as the third type. A SHELL station along Tanglin Road, next to St Martin’s Apartment was the second type. A stand pump example was the one at the former site of the Overseas Union House before it was built. Did you know at the corner of Orange Grove Road and Orchard Road there used to be a SHELL station; now it is the Orchard Hotel?Photo 5: SHELL station at the corner of Penang Lane and Orchard Road, now Doby Gaut MRT Station (circa 1973). Penang Lane is in the foreground. Universal Car Distributors held the distribution franchise for Ford cars in Singapore.To define the geographical boundaries of the city area and city fringe, I use the “Restricted Zone Scheme” definition. When I attended Raffles in 1967 my friends and I would spend out Saturday afternoons after ECA, walking and exploring the city streets. From memory, I knew the following locations of the petrol stations:1) Next to the former Orchard Road Police Station2) Corner of Penang Lane and Orchard Road3) Corner of Manila Street and Victoria Street4) At the now Oxley Flyover over Clemenceau Avenue5) Beach Road, between Raffles Hotel and Seah Street6) Corner of Mount Elizabeth and Orchard Road7) Corner of Killiney Road and Somerset Road8) Corner of River Valley Road and Clarke Quay9) Corner of Eu Tong Seng Street and Upper Cross Street10) Corner of Anson Road and Prince Edward Road11) Former Overseas Union House at Collyer Quay before it was builtPhoto 6: Stand Pump petrol station to the right of Clifford Pier in the public car park area (circa 1957). This station sold to motorists as well as water-boat operators. The public car park later became the Overseas Union House – housing the Neptune Theater, Bank National d’Paris and OUB.Is that all to the above list? Can you help me identify other locations inside the “Restricted Zone”?Did the government do the right thing in the 1970s? The government had a long term vision but in the early days, many did not agree. Yesterday’s petrol stations are now gone. Replacing them are modern shopping and office complexes and public parks. Most definitely there is less pollution and everything is clean.Photo Credits to the late Derek Lehrle, Donna Brown and William Rank. Thank you for all those wonderful memories. My first time …. using a smart phone (Nokia X6) ADVERTORIALI am 58 and have never used a smart phone before. Although I am proud of the fact that I was one of the first oldies (pronounced ‘oldeee’ not ‘old die’) in Singapore to start a blog, and have in fact been roped in by the folks at Infocomm123 to be their Silver Ambassador last year, the thought of myself doing all those ‘cool stuff’ on a tiny handphone, where I need to put on my reading glasses just to read the text, isn’t exactly my idea of entertainment. However, recently I had the opportunity to witness the amazing prowess of these little gizmos and it changed my mind.I was at a Chinese New Year family dinner. As I chatted with my son and nephew by the koi pond, we spotted a huge, rather unusual-looking catfish. “That’s a red tail catfish”, declared my son, the ‘David Attenborough’ of the Lam clan. Not convinced, my nephew whipped out his mobile phone and within a minute was able to access a website displaying photos and details of this beautiful creature. He went on to demonstrate some other nifty things that you can do with a smart phone, like looking up a map.“But it must be very hard to learn; especially for older folks like us”, I said. “No, it’s very easy one.” Sure, I thought to myself, that was exactly what I said to my retiree friend who said; “Chun See is very good. He can blog. So can teach us how to blog or not?”And thus I jumped on the opportunity to review the Nokia X6 when approached by Nuffnang and I am happy to report that it wasn’t that difficult to learn after all. However, I have to admit that for an oldie like me, it was a rather long learning process. I think if Nokia wants to market the X6 at seniors, they had better provide some hands-on training.Anyway, here are some of my impressions of the Nokia X6 (pardon the long introduction … I did tell you I was 57 going on 58 didn’t I?).Comes with MusicWhilst I enjoy music, you simply won’t see me on an MRT train or running around the parks with wires sticking out of my ears. The only time I listen to music is when I am in my car, or behind my keyboard at my work station. Hence, I never took to MP3 players or downloading music onto a mobile phone. And the only time I listen to music on my mobile phone is when I have to wait for my kids. I would tune in to my favourite radio station; Gold 90.5 FM.But Nokia’s Comes With Music is different. It allows you unlimited access to millions of tracks which you can download onto your PC. For those who prefer your music to be mobile, the X6’s 32GB on board memory allows you to store 11,000 tracks onto the device itself. And what’s more, you get to keep everything you have downloaded on your registered PC or Nokia handphone.Now I shall have many more songs to listen to as I work, in addition to the limited number that I had ripped from my CD collection. Best part is, there are lots of ‘oldies but goodies’ music to suit my taste. And the sound quality is really good. Even the ring tone sounds good.MapsI read in the March 3 edition of Digital Life that Nokia is giving away its navigation software Ovi Maps for use on its new phones. Once installed, the phone becomes a full-fledged PND (personal navigation device) which enables you to see where you are, find the places you need, put discoveries on the map, and it even comes complete with voice prompts. I am afraid I did not check out these advanced features, but I did explore the Singapore maps and I think it certainly beats the tattered street directory which I keep in my car’s glove compartment.The Touch ScreenThis is the first time I used a touch screen and I really liked it. The screen is so sensitive and responsive I could key in my messages, and make corrections (which is very often), much more quickly. With the scrolling function, it was also much easier to find a name in the address book.Also I find that the images on the screen very bright and clear, and big. I like to take photos and videos of the fishes in my fish tank to show to Matthew, my friend’s adorable five-year-old son. With the 3.2” widescreen, the poor kid needn’t strain his little eyes anymore.CameraFor me this is the most important function of all. I will reject any mobile phone that does not take reasonably sharp photos. This is because I take a lot of photos for my blog when I am moving about and I don’t like to carry an additional camera. I was surprised at the high quality of the images taken on the X6’s 5 mp camera even under low-light conditions. Likewise the video quality was better than expected.This shot of the Ulu Pandan Canal was taken with the Nokia X6I am afraid, I just did not have time to try out many of the other features that the X6 boasts; such as creating playlists and downloading games from the Ovi Store. Neither did I try updating my blog or Twitter (I don’t have an account) or Facebook (which I seldom access even from my pc). There are simply too many things to learn in such a short time. Even though I have been telling my friends that I embrace the new media because learning all the new stuff is supposed to be good for the brain and helps keep mental problems like dementia and Alzheimers at bay, I will have to do this another time.My biggest disappointment with this mobile phone was the messaging function. I don’t know, I just found it very difficult to get used to the functions and menus; and in fact I had to enlist my daughter’s help to send out my SMS’s the first time. But I guess the problem is with the user and not the product. But this was more than made up for by the really cool Contacts Bar which features thumbnail images for up to 20 close friends directly on the home screen.ConclusionGenerally, I was quite happy and impressed by the Nokia X6 and I think many seniors would take to it. But I repeat, if Nokia wants to target the seniors market, they must provide some hands-on training. Nuffnang's featured blogger for March Guess who is Nuffnang's featured blogger for the month of March?.............. Me!Read my article here. Have you seen this tiger? I guess it is appropriate that the first quiz I post in the Year of the Tiger should be related to this magnificent animal. Thanks to Russ Wickson I am able to do that. I received this photo from him in the email yesterday. Unfortunately, he himself cannot recall when or where this photo was taken. He wrote;“Where it came from I can no longer remember, but it has been there since 1967 when I was posted home. I actually sent it to the Asia Pacific Brewery (Tiger Brewery) some years ago but have never had a response, but no big deal, who am I in the larger wheels of motion?I wonder if the vehicle still exists, unlikely, but said in the nicest possible way, who knows in Singapore? If you have a few minutes please publish it on your site, see what response one can get.”So does anyone know where and when this photo was taken? This technically, is not a quiz because I myself do not know the answer. Thank you for the photos (Part 2) - Arthur Poskitt In my previous post, I mentioned that I received an email from a gentleman by the name Michael Frost who generously offered to share his photos with me and Peter. I must sincerely apologize to him for getting his name mixed up. Michael Frost was the name in the ‘Sender” of the email. But his actual name is Arthur Poskitt. I reproduce below excerpts of his emails to me first and then to Peter as well.####################################Singapore Jan 1948 – Jun 1949Hallo I would like to introduce myself.Arthur Leonard Poskitt (80) I served in Singapore as a Signalman and ran a drawing office at a village called Yio Chu Kang for about eighteen months with the Royal Corps of Signals.My main duties were supervising line parties to repair underground communication cables and service test huts as the location of all underground cable routes were destroyed at the onset of the Japanese occupation.The handwritten notes read: “Strangely miserable picture a few weeks after arrival at Yio Chu Kang!”While I was in Singapore I took the opportunity of taking several hundred pictures of the area through the eyes of a national serviceman. I covered the whole Island from the Causeway and the southern islands then known as Blakang Mati now known as Santosa, Paulu Brani and other islands in the area.Pictures include army life under canvas and city street scenes which no longer exist!I found your blog/website and thought you might be interested in the above. The handwritten notes read: “Birds eye view of the island city from the height of the Cathay Building”**********************************************Regarding army service, I departed from Liverpool on the White Star liner 'Georgic' (then converted into a troop ship) in December 1947 arriving at Nee Soon transit camp in Singapore in January 1948 and thence to join the Singapore District Signal Regiment at Yio Chu Kang and put in charge of the drawing office. My duties took me across the Causeway to Johore Bahru and further north until curtailed by the terrorist insurgency of 1948. This did not prevent me from taking leave in both Penang and Kuala Lumpur traveling by steam train. My close-knit group of army friends seem to spend a lot of time at the cinema. Does the Pavilion cinema and restaurant on Orchard Road still exist? Also the Cathay, once the highest building in Singapore! The Shackle Club will have long gone. We also spent some Saturday nights watching wrestling at the Great World arena.Hereby lies the problem. I have no prints except an album with captions and very substandard contact prints produced on return to England in July 1949 and thus unable to provide a sample. Everything is digital these days!You tell me you are interested in all things military in the late forties and this is all here, together with street scenes (ie: ancient tramcars on the Serangoon Road), country kampongs and rubber plantations in which we lived under canvas during the interminable monsoon. I also have pictures of the war cemetery at Kranji and the ancient graveyard at Fort Canning. Not only do I have negatives but also kept a very extensive diary of army life. Even the original camera still exists! Though now approaching my eightieth year I still travel extensively when my work as an advertising artist permits. Journalists with whom I have worked and count as friends say that I have enough material for a book and would hate to think that on my demise this unique and valuable archive might be lost forever.Regards.Arthur Poskitt. Finale to Upper East Coast Road: A Forgotten History (Peter Chan) This is a follow-up to “WW2 at Upper East Coast Road” which was posted on Chun See’s blog on December 09, 2009. Three questions were asked.1) Where was the location of the Bedok Hill Massacre site?2) What has become of Tanah Merah Powder Magazine, and the3) Bedok W/T Station?Here are the answers. Bedok Hill Massacre sitePhoto 4a was taken from the direction of a hill (blue arrow in modern-day photo) where there used to be a Chinese school. The Chinese school was later flattened to become Bedok South Road and Kew Residencia. In that same photo, a road could be visible between the sea and the low bluff. That is Upper East Coast Road; the stretch between Parbury Avenue and Bedok South Ave 3 today.For my “modern-day shot”, Block 163 was used because there was no suitable elevation to replicate the same 1941 photo.Somewhere behind the fence was the location of the 1942 “Killing Field” (blue arrow). At that time a small Chinese settlement stood at the edge of the fenced-up forest and Temasek Primary School. It was reported that sympathizers from this settlement gave shelter and provided emergency medical aid to the survivors.In 1981, the government announced plans to build the Changi General Hospital on the open space bounded by Blocks 155 and 163 on one side, Bedok South Road and Upper East Coast Road. It included the fenced-up forest. We learnt that the decision was reversed in favour of the Simei site. Today the open space is now shared by week-end footballers and the HDB residents except for the fenced-up forest.But why is the forest the only area still fenced-up? Was it because there was an ugly “past”?Tanah Merah Powder MagazineWhilst the nearby hills of what is now Bedok South precinct were leveled down, the Tanah Merah Powder Magazine was left intact until the mid-1970s when the SAF Bomb Disposal Unit was detailed to clear the area. In the early 1960s, I saw the building which had a brick wall facing Upper East Coast Road. For some reasons I was told by my cousin not to walk on that side of Upper East Coast Road. In the early 1970s on bus trips to Bedok Camp, I saw shrubs and trees growing wildly, and it was unusually dim. I can only think that the Baily bridge was blocking off the sunlight.The once powder magazine lies inside the fenced-up forest. The building foundation of the military barrack is the only piece left from the past, although there are traces of either a broken asphalt road or dirt track leading into the powder magazine area. The “State Land” signboard marks the exact spot of the entrance into the powder magazine.From the grapevine, there are “talks” that one of the stations on the Eastern Regional Line - the future MRT line from Marina Bay to Changi Airport - will be here. In late 2009, the Land Transport Authority appointed Soil & Foundation to carry out soil investigation along Upper East Coast Road.Bedok W/T siteBedok W/T Station (Photo 3a) is now the clock tower of Kew Green, a condominium off Kew Drive. The gradient of the hill (of 20 feet contour interval) is now replaced by four banks of vertical retaining walls to prevent soil erosion.Today this place is full of tranquility and close to man-made nature. At one corner of Bedok South Estate, are the private landed estates and condominiums. Accessibility is so much better than in the past; to major expressways, the airport, outdoor amenities on the East Coast Park, food centers, schools and wet markets. Did you know you can consult a General Practitioner for less than S$15 and there are four to choose from within 2 minutes walking distance?