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Colorful old Singapore: 5 surprising facts about the Lion City
New walking tours shed light on Singapore's colorful past when gang fights and widespread fires were commonplace
Built in the 1909, Singapore's Central Fire Station remains one of the city's most iconic structures.
Digging up these facts requires some assistance from enthusiastic volunteer and civil servant, Jill Wong, who divulges these and other scandalous historical tidbits in her walking tour called Order Out Of Chaos, a fascinating 90-minute look at how British law enforcement tried to reign in the “Chicago of the East.”
The Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) is launching 22 new walking covering subjects such as Rediscovering Old Serangoon and tracing the history of The Hokkiens on Telok Ayer Street.
To find out about the street that was demolished to make way for Funan The IT Mall or why the Chinese Protectorate no longer exists, these tours will let you experience a little bit of Singapore's colorful history, without sacrificing too much of your weekend.
1. In the 1920s Singapore wasn’t known as “Singa-bore” but “Sin-galore” -- a moniker used by the press to describe the high rates of sinful activity such as gang crime and violence.
2. One of the first streets in Singapore was High Street which was constructed in 1821. This followed the British tradition of identifying the main roads in their towns by the same name. Two other early streets that also popped up around this time were Hill Street and North Bridge Road.
3. Despite widespread problem with fires and densely packed housing, it took 50 years from the time the British founded Singapore in 1819 for the first fire brigade to be established. It was manned by anyone who happened to be available, including sepoys and convicts. It was another 20 years before the fire brigade actually became a professional outfit.
4. The now colorfully decorated MICA Building was formerly the Hill Street Police Station. Built in 1934 it could house 1,000 residents. This communal-style housing arrangement for policemen, their families and servants was one of the most highly-coveted occupational benefits of the time.
5. During World War II, the 1909-built Central Fire Station was camouflaged to protect the historical building from air raids.
Tours operate on weekends until December 31. For details and bookings go to www.pmb.sg; to book email nhb_nationalmonuments@nhb.gov.sg. S$10 adult, S$20 (2 adults, 2 kids), S$5 (students and seniors).
