Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew promised a new home for every fire victim within 9 months. Find out how the Bukit Ho Swee fire became what the HDB called a ‘God-sent opportunity’ to rebuild the kampong into a housing estate and changed the lives of Singaporeans forever.

00:00 Introduction

03:45 Fire Site

05:32 Relief Centres

14:36 Temporary Housing

15:01 5 Ogres

19:10 God-Sent Opportunity

20:54 New Emergency Flats

26:50 Housing Chain Reaction

30:00 Squatters to Citizens

34:07 Further Research

36:00 Conclusion

My book, Squatters to Citizens:

https://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/squatters-into-citizens

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Dr Loh Kah Seng traces a history of seven calamitous fires in urban kampongs before the 1961 Bukit Ho Swee inferno. These paved the way for emergency housing the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) built for fire victims in the 1950s. Such semi-permanent housing – many being 1-room flats with shared kitchens and toilets – has mostly been forgotten. But it was to play a key role after the disaster at Bukit Ho Swee.

00:00 Introduction

00:34 Recap

02:40 Seven Forgotten Fires

06:13 The Fire Risk

14:06 Bukit Ho Swee 1934

15:04 Kampong Bugis 1951

17:27 Geylang Fires 1953

19:09 Emergency Housing as Slums

20:33 Tiong Bahru 1955

22:02 Kampong Koo Chye 1958

26:04 Tiong Bahru 1959

31:38 Further Research

34:39 Outro

My book, Squatters to Citizens:

https://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/squatters-into-citizens

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Winston Wong remembers other interesting parts of Farrer Park and nearby Serangoon and Race Course Roads – curry restaurants, Tekka Market, Kandang Kerbau Hospital, and the various schools he attended. He talks about the demolition of the Farrer Park sports grounds in the 1990s and his wish to lead another tour of the area’s unique mix of sports, food, religion, and business heritage.

00:00 Places of Worship

05:59 Muthu’s Curry & Race Course Road

10:28 Tekka Market

14:34 Princess Elizabeth Flats

16:57 Kandang Kerbau Hospital

19:10 Towner, Owen & Dorsett Schools

21:49 Gan Eng Seng School

27:00 Demolition of Farrer Park

29:13 Heritage Tour of Farrer Park

By My Old School on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Bymyoldschool

To support Winston’s book on old Pulau Blakang Mati & Sentosa, contact:

bymyoldschool@gmail.com

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore