Held in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of Sport Singapore (1973 to 2023) and the Singapore Heritage Festival, Beginning of a Golden Age of Sport in Singapore opened at the Singapore Sports Museum on 18 May 2023. The exhibition, which runs until 31 July 2023, celebrates the achievements of a pioneering group of sportspersons who heralded a sporting golden era for Singapore in the post-war era.
Among the achievements of the golden era was Singapore’s very first Olympic medal, a silver at the Rome Games in 1960, that was picked up by Tan Howe Liang in weightlifting.
Among the guests at the opening were 1950s era sprinters Mary Klass and Kesavan Soon, both of whom represented Singapore at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and whose legacies are among those that the exhibition commemorates. Mary Klass, then one of two fastest women in Asia, also represented Singapore at the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, where she finished neck and neck with Japanese runner Atsuko Nambu in the 100m sprint, only to be awarded the silver medal. Kesavan Soon, a schoolboy studying in Victoria School when he ran at the Melbourne Olympics, also represented Singapore at the 1958 Asian Games in Japan.
Mary Klass and Kesavan Soon at the opening of the exhibition.
The post-war era brought Malaya it first successes in badminton. In 1949, the Malayan team — which included a Singapore-based player, Wong Peng Soon, beat United States and Denmark to lift the inaugural Thomas Cup, thereby winning the right to host the next cup competition. Malaya hosted the 1952 cup competition at the Gay World (then Happy World) Stadium in Singapore, which it won once again. Malaya also won the 1955 Thomas Cup, held at the Singapore Badminton Hall — which was built to host 1952 competition but was completed a little too late.
Badminton memorabilia on display, including a wooden framed Dunlop badminton racquet from the 1950s found in the storeroom, a wooden racquet press (to prevent warping) and shuttlecocks used by Wong Peng Soon.
The exhibition, an excellent way to learn more about Singapore’s sporting heritage, is being held as a prelude to a book being published by Sport Singapore, The Rocky Road to Kallang Park. There will be a talk and book launch (already fully subscribed) that will be held at the National Museum of Singapore on 27 May 2023 as part of Singapore Heritage Festival 2023.
A Malayan Thomas Cup team blazer that belonged to Wong Peng Soon.
Dr Nick Aplin of Sport Singapore, leading a tour of the exhibition. Dr Aplin is the author of “The Rocky Road to Kallang Park”, which will be launched on 27 May 2023. The exhibition is a prelude to the book launch.
A pair of tickets to be given away for The Complete Hosaywood Football Shorts, 2005-2020
(screening on Sunday 21 May 2023 at 5 to 7 pm at Oldham Theatre, National Archives of Singapore)
Simply provide the correct answer to the question below as a comment on this blog post during the qualifying period from Thursday 11 May 2023, 5 pm, to Sunday 14 May 2023, 5 pm (Singapore Time).
The giveaway is open only to Singapore residents and first ten correct entries qualify for the final draw. The winner of the pair of tickets will be picked out of a hat.
Question for Giveaway: Name any one of the goal scorers for Singapore during the 2007 AFF Cup Final over two legs.
Photo: Hosaywood
Singapore’s first National Stadium, which opened in 1973 and was demolished in 2010, was a place that touched the lives of a generation or two of Singaporeans. The stadium’s terraces brought people from all walks of life together. It was where we as Singaporeans stood as one, whether in celebration of national pride on National Day, or to cheer our sporting heroes as the strived to do us proud.
It was also on the terraces that the once feared Kallang Roar was born. The thunderous cheer, accentuated by the stamping of more than 50,000 pairs of feet, intimidated the opposition as much as it provided great encouragement to Singapore’s football team in the days when Singapore was part of the Malaysia Cup set up. It was this encouragement that also spurred the Singapore team to unlikely success in the regional Asean Football Federation (AFF) competition, especially in the last football match played in the National Stadium that saw a sell-out crowd on 31 January 2007, the AFF Cup Final (first leg).
Get to a chance to soak in the atmosphere and to relive that last match during the Singapore Heritage Festival through a rarely screened documentary produced by Jacen Tan and his collective Hosaywood, Kwa Giu – Tribute to the National Stadium. The documentary is part of a series of short films produced by Jacen that is being screened as part of the programme Cinema Reclaimed: DRIVING, KICKING & PUNCHING! curated with support and collaboration from the Asian Film Archive. The films include Tak Giu, a video which was released in 2005 – just before YouTube launched. The video, which went viral, hilariously depicted the life of local football fans sneaking around to play in public spaces, evading authorities, placing bets and arguing over S-League.
Photo: Hosaywood
Tak Giu and Kwa Giu, are just two of several documentaries produced by Jacen that captures the passion for football and the struggle to find space for the game in Singapore and for the first time, these football films will be shown together.
Directed by Jacen Tan In Mandarin, Malay, English & Singlish Colour, 75 mins
Venue: Oldham Theatre, National Archives of Singapore Sun, 21 May | 5pm – 7pm
Films included: Tak Giu (2005), Lions All The Way (2013), Homeground (2015), Ultramen Johor (2014), Table Football Fanatics of Singapore (2020), Kwa Giu – Tribute to the National Stadium (2011).
Anyone stepping into Capitol Theatre will get an immediate sense of a grace and elegance that is a reflection of the age that the theatre was built in and that and the building’s evolution over the years has been captured on film, through a documentary “The Capitol of Singapore” that makes its Singapore debut this Friday, 6 May 2022, at The Capitol! Two screenings of the film have been scheduled in conjunction with Singapore HeritageFest 2022, the other screening being on 7 May. Directed by French filmmaker Raphaël Millet, Friday’s screening of the film — also known as “Le Capitol de Singapour”, the film, will mark the first time that it will be seen outside of France. More information on the screenings and a link to the booking page can be found at this link.
Capitol Theatre
Built from 1929 to 1930, the theatre was designed by Keys and Dowdeswell at a time when the formerly government employed pair had ventured into private architectural practice. The cinema, the most progressive of the day in Singapore and Malaya, reflected the aspirations of the architect, as much that it did those of its wealthy owner, Mr Mirza Mohamed Ali (M A) Namazie — a Madras (Chennai) born Muslim of Persian origin who had substantial holdings in property and also in the rubber trade.
No expense seems to have been spared in the building of the Capitol. Not only was it large by the standards of the day, but the Capitol was also the first cinema hall in Singapore and Malaya to feature forced ventilation. Maximising the comfort of its patrons, the ventilation system reduced the necessity for large ventilation openings, thus keeping noise at a minimum. This would have been especially desirable, given that the cinema was built during the progression from the silent age of cinema to the new era of the talkies.
Before its refurbishment,
That Capitol Theatre is still with us over 90 years after it screened its first movie, is itself a remarkable story. The cinema faced a string of challenges from very outset; its opening night plagued by the poor performance of its audio system due to Singapore’s high levels of humidity. Caught up in the excitement of watching Bebe Daniels and John Boles star in the musical production “Rio Rita” in a cinema of Capitol’s stature, not many apparently noticed.
At the end of its refurbishment in 2015.
The death of Mr M A Namazie in July 1931, and the effects of the Great Depression, prompted a change of ownership at the end of 1932. The Japanese Occupation of Singapore would see the cinema utilised as the Kyoei Gekizyo, opening in November 1942. Besides screening movies, the Kyoei also played host to recitals, concerts and other performances, as well as rallies and meetings, some of which were organised by the Overseas Chinese Association. Anti-Japanese saboteurs set off an explosion in early 1945, which caused sufficient damage to see that it would never used by the Japanese again. Capitol Theatre was given a new lease of life in January 1946 when it reopened, having been refurbished by the Shaw Brothers at a cost of half-a-million dollars. The cinema screened its last movie in December 1998 before being revived as a theatre in May 2015.
The Capitol’s elegant interior.
Synopsis
At the heart of Singapore’s Civic and Cultural District stands Capitol Theatre, a historical landmark that has borne witness to Singapore’s transformation over the years.
The documentary film, The Capitol of Singapore, traces the evolution of this historical building, from its founding in 1930 as a state-of-the-art theatre and shopping arcade; its requisition by the Japanese during the Second World War; its years as a top cinema where Hollywood blockbusters and local movie premieres were shown; its eventual decline into disuse and disrepair; and finally, its resurrection, after undergoing preservation and conservation works, to its present day incarnation as part of the integrated development Capitol Singapore, which is owned and managed by Perennial Holdings Private Limited. Capitol Singapore houses The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore, Eden Residences Capitol as well as a retail mall and the iconic theatre.
The film delves into the heritage of Capitol Theatre through a look at the theatre’s original architecture and personal stories recounting what it has meant for many Singaporeans. Like a phoenix reborn, Capitol Theatre has stood the test of time, reinventing itself at every turn to stay relevant for each generation to come. In telling the story of Capitol Theatre, the film also explores, in parallel, the history of Singapore cinema, highlighting the golden years of film production when Singapore was at the centre of Southeast Asia’s film industry, producing films in Malay and the various Chinese dialects and drawing talent from across Asia.
During this period, Singapore was also a known locale for international film productions, attracting filmmakers from both Hong Kong and Hollywood. The Capitol Theatre made Singapore a top Asian destination for many film stars, with celebrity visits from the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Ava Gardner and Douglas Fairbanks who graced their film premieres in Singapore.
Through the story of Capitol Theatre, the film journeys into Singapore’s past and in doing so, reflects upon its present and future.
There will be three Discovering Singapore’s Best Kept Secrets guided visits to look forward to this March. Being held as part of Singapore Heritage Festival 2019, the visits will focus on sites used by former hospitals: View Road – former Rimau Offices / View Road Hospital (16 March), Kadayanallur Street – former St. Andrew’s Mission Hospital (23 March) and Halton Road – old Changi Hospital (30 Mar). Places are limited and registration would be necessary.
In addition to the visits, I will also be taking a walk “Down the Middle” in search of the markers that the various communities that have flavoured Middle Road over the years have left behind. The walk will be held at 4 pm on 16 Mar 2019. More information on this can be found at: https://www.heritagefestival.sg/programmes/down-the-middle.
At 5 Kadayanallur Street : a 1929 vintage Smith, Major and Stevens lift, .
Information on the Singapore Heritage Festival can be found at the festival’s site. Information related to the Discovering Singapore’s Best Kept Secrets sites being visited can be found at these links:
Discovering Singapore’s Best Kept Secrets is a collaboration with the Singapore Land Authority that allows members of the public to visit to sites and properties managed by the authority that are normally closed to the public.
News on the Discovering Singapore’s Best Kept Secrets series of guided visits:
Happening this weekend (20-21 April) along Armenian Street – the annual Armenian Street Party, which this year, aims to transport you back to the good old kampung days complete with a jamban (makeshift toilet). The jamban, one that its creator Hafiz Osman recalls from Kampong Bugis, is one of several site-specific installations that visitors to the party can interact with at the Substation and the Peranakan Museum over the two days. Lots of talks, interactive installations, food, music and performances! More information at http://peranakanmuseum.org.sg/programmes/festivals/armenian-street-party-2018.
Jamban 1956 by Hafiz Osman.
A perfectly framed photo taking spot for Amek Gambar – for an upcoming exhibition on photography at the Peranakan Museum.
Peranakan Museum GM John Teo with the cast of Si Nyonya Manis – a display of Peranakan fashion and music presented by True Blue.
A real time projection in the dark room of We Stop to Watch the World Go By at the Peranakan Museum.
Members of the Armenian Street Party “Cast”.
The dizzying reflections of OH! Corak Corak at the Peranakan Museum – highly instagrammable trip through a little nyonya’s imagined instagram account!
The Singapore Heritage Festival will see a repeat of three State Property guided visits from last year’s “Discovering Singapore’s Best Kept Secrets” series. Organised with the support of the Singapore Land Authority, the visits provides participants a rare opportunity to discover the little known about gems of sites and buildings hidden behind locked gates and no trespassing signs. The three sites that visits are being organised to are:
Information on the visits for the Singapore Heritage Festival are available on the links above. Spaces are limited and registration is necessary via Peatix on 28 March 2018 (a link to the registration site can also be found below – already live as of 11 am 28 March 2018).
A rare (and final) opportunity to visit the Caldecott Broadcast Centre (CBC) presents itself during this year’s edition of the Singapore Heritage Festival. The centre, home to radio and television for as long as we can remember and out-of-bounds to most for the longest time and which was recently closed for good, will have its gate opened during the weekends of 28 April to 1 May and 5 to 7 May for SHF Takes Over.
Set for an old street used in the making of the Chinese TV drama The Lead – the last production CBC was used for, which will make its debut on 22 May.
While it may not be all of Caldecott that will present itself for exploration, there will be a chance to explore soem of the oldest spaces, and ones in which in more recent times, local productions were made. The event will also see a host of activities such as performances and exhibitions, such as TV50, which offers a glimpse into the history of television broadcasting in Singapore since it was launched in 1963. There even is a mock-up of a community centre television viewing area, a living room and a kopi-tiam that many of my era and before will find nostalgic.
There is also a chance to also recall some memorable local television productions and their characters in Studio 6, lip-sync your heart out, listen to stories of our islands, watch a load of re-runs and join special guided tours – led by the stars themselves. For the latter, Mediacorp artistes and industry staff will lead Walking Caldecott and tell stories associated with various locations around the CBC. There is also The Lead Special Guided Tour, in which the likes of Rebecca Lim, Shaun Chen and Xiang Yun, will take participants “behind-the-scenes” with stories related to the filming of the local drama, The Lead, which is making its debut on 22 May 2017.
Relive memories of local television programmes with Studio 6.
Registration for the guided tours will be conducted on-site outside the TV50 Exhibition, 30 minutes before the start of the tour. The hour-long Walking Caldecott tours run on 28 April, 5 May and 6 May at 6.30pm, on 29 and 30 April at 4.30 and 6.30 pm and on 1 and 7 May at 10.30 am, while half-hour-long The Lead Special Guided Tour will be held on 6 May at 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm. Spaces are limited and will be given on a first-come-first-served basis.
I loved the old GPO. It was a post office like none other in Singapore. Its main hall, which you entered after a climb up a short flight of stairs, was grand and airy. Stretching almost the entire length of the building, the hall was also where the long postal counter was found. That ran along the hall’s length and held the distinction of being the longest in the world. Like all old buildings, the GPO – now the Fullerton Hotel has its collection of stories, including ones that tell of romantic liaisons.
In search of romance – a civil servant, played by Isabelle Chiam, gets everyone at the Minsitry of Finance involved.
An opportunity to discover the romances of the past, and also the building’s colourful history – in a fun and amusing way – presents itself with “A Fullerton Love Story Tour”. Led by a resident tour guide, participants are taken on a search for romance – not of their own – but between a love struck postman at the GPO, played by Edward Choy, and his love interest – a civil servant with the Ministry of Finance housed in the same building – played by Isabelle Chiam. Participants also become part of the story as they move through various historic spots that include the Singapore Club, Fullerton Square, the Presidential Suite and the location of the Fullerton Building’s former lighthouse.
The love struck postman, played by Edward Choy.
View from the lighthouse towards what used to be the harbour.
Tours, which will be held from 8pm to 9.30 pm on 29 April, 6 May and 13 May 2017, are available for booking at http://afullertonlovestorytour.peatix.com. Priced at $78 nett for adults and $58 nett for children between 6 to 11, the tours will be followed by desserts at The Courtyard crafted by Executive Pastry Chef, Enrico Pezzelato.
The resident tour guide.
Besides the tour, which is being held in conjunction with the Singapore Heritage Festival 2017, the Fullerton Hotel is also bring back the TENG Ensemble for a showcase of brand new Singapore-inspired works. The showcase, “Where the River Always Flows II”, will include songs by P. Ramlee and Zubir Said and two East-West pieces specially commissioned by the Fullerton Heritage. Tickets for the concert, which will be held at the East Garden on 29 April 2017 at 7 pm, are available at $3 each at http://wheretheriveralwaysflows2.peatix.com. More information on the concert and the tour can be found at the Fullerton Heritage’s website.
Enchanted Garden – one of five desserts guests on the tour will get to choose from.
The launch on Saturday of Singapore HeritageFest 2014, bring us to focus on one of the key reasons for Singapore’s being, the sea. This year’s festival much of which revolves around a maritime based theme, “Our Islands, Our Home” has us looking at our maritime past as well as our present as a maritime nation.
HeritageFest 2014 opens a window to Singapore’s island heritage.
It is to raise the profile of this heritage, one that goes back to times well before the arrival of Raffles, that is in fact what the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and the National Heritage Board (NHB) hopes to achieve with the establishment of the S$500,000 Maritime Heritage Fund, which the two agencies will administer – for which a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the two agencies at Saturday’s launch.
One of the highlights of this year’s HeritageFest is a lighthouse trail that includes a stop on Pulau Satumu, Singapore’s southernmost island, on top of which Raffles’ Lighthouse is perched.
Once a common scene in the waters off the Southern Islands. Boats such as the kolek on the right, are very much part of our maritime heritage (a similar kolek is on display at the Balik Pulau Exhibition at the National Museum).
The focus of the fund, which complements the NHB’s S$5 million Heritage Grant Scheme launched last year, will be on developing community-initiated projects related to Singapore’s maritime heritage that will promote a greater understanding and appreciation of Singapore’s maritime connections, as was touched on by Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Community, Culture and Youth, in his speech at the festival’s launch.
Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Mr Ong Yew Huat, Chairman of NHB launching Singapore HeritageFest 2014.
Mr Wong also spoke of the transformation that will soon take place at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), where the launch event was held. Besides a revamp of the museum with expanded galleries that will include a space allocated for the Tang Cargo and see new shops and dining outlets, the museum will be given a new entrance that will open it up to the river and give it a direct connection into the historic heart of Singapore.
Another lighthouse – the very pretty Sultan Shoal Lighthouse at the western extremities of Singapore’s waters seen during the lighthouse trail as part of Singapore HeritageFest 2014.
The revamp is part of the ongoing effort to develop a civic and cultural belt around Singapore’s colonial civic district (see: The Old Vic’s ticking again) that involves also the newly refurbished Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, and the conversion of the Old Supreme Court and City Hall into National Gallery – due for completion in 2015.
The newly refurbished Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall.
A cultural performance at the launch of Singapore HeritageFest2014.
The launch also coincided with the first evening of a two-night series of programmes taking place around the ACM and the river, River Nights. The event, brought much life and colour to the river, and celebrated its changing identity over the years – in the same way the well received series of activities for Singapore HeritageFest 2014 celebrates the islands.
A dragon dance performance at the start of River Nights at the ACM’s front lawn.
More information on the Maritime Heritage Fund, Singapore HeritageFest 2014, River Nights and on Balik Pulau: Stories from Singapore’s Islands (an exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore held in conjunction with HeritageFest 2014) can be found in the following links:
Balik Pulau: Stories from Singapore’s Islands, as the name of the exhibition currently on at the National Museum of Singapore does suggest, takes us back to the islands of Singapore. Many of more than 70 island had once been inhabited – with communities that numbered from the hundreds to the thousands who were moved to the main island as part of redevelopment efforts. These communities were not just a well forgotten part of Singapore’s history, but also of the culture and history of a wider society that existed well before the coming of the British that was spread across the Riau Archipelago.
Lazarus and St. John’s Islands (Pulau Sekijang Pelepah and Pulau Sekijang Bendara), two islands, now joined by a causeway that were once inhabited.
An old postcard showing Kusu Island before reclamation.
The exhibition, curated by Marcus Ng and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, revisits life as it was and now hard to imagine on several of the inhabited islands through a mix of artefacts of island life, archival images, and most interestingly, the experience of island life told through video interviews with some of the islands’ former inhabitants. One interview that I did find particularly interesting was that of a former resident of Pulau Seking (or Sakeng) – the last of the southern islands to be inhabited with its residents having been resettled as recently as 1994, the very emotional Mr Teo Yan Teck. The interview see Mr Teo, who have lived on the island for close to four decades, talk about how he came to settle on the island, the emotions he felt when told he had to leave and also of the burning of boats by the islanders before they were to leave the island and a way of life they were used to, for good.
A highlight of Balik Pulau is the video interviews with some of the islands’ former residents.
A kolek sauh from Pulau Seraya at the exhibition – boats were an integral part of island life and featured in races the islands played host to.
Mr Teo, when asked about how he felt about leaving the island.
The fascinating exhibition, which runs until 10 August 2014, will also play an important part as a hub one of the focal points for the upcoming Singapore Heritage Festival (SHS). Now in its 11th edition, the SHS, the theme of which this year will be Our Islands, Our Home, will run from 18 to 27 July 2014 and sees over 60 programmes available for the participation of the public, put up with the help of 40 community groups, individuals and partners with the aim of drawing Singaporeans to connect with their shared history and heritage.
The festival this year offers an opportunity to explore some of the southern islands through excursions.
A sandy beach at Pulau Seringat – an enlarged island which incorporates the former reef island of Pulau Renggit.
The sisters.
St. John’s Island.
Pulau Tekukor or Dove Island – hear stories of its past when it was known as Pulau Penyabong and its association with the origins of the former name of Sentosa, Pulau Blakang Mati.
An enlarged Kusu Island today.
The highlight of this year’s SHS has to be without a doubt the opportunity it provides to reconnect with the islands, not just through the exhibition and through a series of talks that are being lined up, but also through an immersive experience that guided excursions to the islands will certainly provide. The excursions will include visits to St. John’s, Lazarus and Seringat Islands; a rare opportunity to visit one of Singapore’s lighthouses (Raffles Lighthouse) and have a look from the boat at another (Sultan Shoal); and a night of Nanyin at Kusu Island. Space for the excursions will be limited and sign-ups will be possible from 1 July 2014 at www.heritagefest.sg. More information on the SHS is also available at www.heritagefest.sg and information on the exhibition at http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/.
The Tua Pek Kong temple on Kusu Island, the site of an annual pilgrimage.
The temple also sees Nanyin performances by the Siong Leng Musical Association during the ninth lunar month and will by special arrangement host a night of nanyin that sees young musicians performing an traditional music form.
Another look at the Tua Pek Kong Temple.
Besides the temple, the Keramats, graves of Malay saints that are venerated, are also visited by devotees.
Together with 9 other bloggers and thanks to Tigerair Philippines and the Philippine Department of Tourism, I found myself on a dream trip to Boracay in July 2013. Read about the fantastic experience I had at Boracay Island Escapade or on my blog.
Courtesy of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), I had the opportunity to have a 4 day adventure in Hong Kong with 9 other bloggers. To read our collective Hong Kong Travel Blog entries, please click on the icon below:
The Long and Winding Road 