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

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Wilson Chua is one of the pioneers of independent Singapore’s technical education system and small-medium enterprises (SMEs). He talks about growing up in a shophouse at Lavender Street and studying at Dunearn Secondary Technical School. His PE teacher was the famed national sprinter C. Kunalan and he enjoyed scouting and sports more than his studies.

00:00 Introduction

03:05 The Story Behind UT-Ways 有地位

05:21 My Shophouse at 239-A Lavender Street

10:20 Move to Pasir Panjang Estate & Back

19:17 Living in a Shophouse

25:01 Dunearn Technical

32:21 Interest in Scouts & Sports

38:28 C. Kunalan

46:36 Discos & Long Hair

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. Loh Kah Seng begins a new series on the 1961 fire at Bukit Ho Swee – the biggest in Singapore history and the place where he traces his roots. He relates the terror and chaos on that fateful day on 25 May 1961 as the inferno crossed two main roads and rendered 16,000 people homeless in a matter of hours. The fire was the topic of his PhD dissertation. In subsequent episodes, he will talk about what the fire meant to the people and how it changed Singapore forever.

00:00 Introduction

00:51 My Story in Bukit Ho Swee

02:15 The Fire as a Milestone for Singapore

06:30 A Typical Kampong

09:08 174-A Kampong Tiong Bahru

11:18 Battling the Fire & Fire-fighters

14:14 Arc of Destruction

18:03 In the Inferno’s Path

20:13 4 Dead

22:26 The Fire Site

24:27 Further Research

25:54 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. V. Maheantharan remembers three types of early housing he lived in – a cramped house at Cantonment Road, a ‘palatial’ 2-room HDB flat at Taman Ho Swee and one of the flats at Blair Plain newly built by the PSA. He talks about his father’s work and influence among the Indian port workers of Tanjong Pagar and how the community revolved around the Sri Mariamman Temple and other temples. He went to Raffles Institution where he had to fight his way up from the bottom of the class.

00:00 Introduction

02:06 First Home at Cantonment Road

05:18 ‘Palatial’ Taman Ho Swee

11:12 PSA Flats at Blair Plain

22:49 Blair Plain Photos

30:49 Lee Kuan Yew Asked for My Father’s Support

40:38 Indian Community in Tanjong Pagar

45:53 Importance of Sri Mariamman Temple

51:15 Early Trauma at Raffles Institution

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. By looking at life in the urban kampongs after WWII, Loh Kah Seng unpacks the myth that they were black areas. While there were poor housing, insanitation and secret societies, the kampongs were legitimate communities. There were many efforts towards self-help and gotong royong: celebrations of Chinese festivals, tontines and voluntary fire-fighting squads. Though jobs were few, kampong dwellers generally worked hard and sent their children to school, so they might find a way to a better future.

00:00 Introduction

01:36 Urban Kampongs as Black Areas

02:21 A Children’s World

08:08 Housing & Living Conditions

11:23 Battle for Space

16:22 Living with Pigs and the Dead

19:00 Samseng & Pai Kia

20:46 Wa m chai

22:17 The Kampong Economy

25:32 Kampongs as Communities

28:30 Education & Progressive Kampongs

29:49 Further Research

31:10 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 talk about my research on the little histories of the Lion City.

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

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. Gerard Ee reflects on the difference between community development and social service and how both can co-exist. He talks about how the problem today has shifted from the youth to low-income families and elderly. I asked him about the valuable research his team did on vulnerable families during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for practice research.

00:00 Community Development vs. Social Service

11:33 Community Projects at Beyond

15:34 Voluntarism in Singapore Today

18:28 Low-Income Families in Bukit Ho Swee Today

23:45 The Pandemic Research

31:13 Practice Research

35:33 Advice for the New Social Worker

I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about 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