Childhood Days in Old Singapore

Summer Lotus May 21 · 6 min read

A very ordinary and carefree childhood in the 60s and a sweet life……

The good old days of the sixties in Singapore were rekindled when I was looking through my old albums to select, organize, and discard some old photos. My family has a common trait- we all love to take photos. Though we were not rich, we still managed to go to the studios to have a family portrait now and then. I am glad that we had photos to remind us of our past.

I come from a family of seven siblings and my oldest brother is about twenty years older, so I must be an accidental child. I remembered sleeping between my parents, back in the sixties due to the lack of space. That probably accounted for me being the youngest child. My other four siblings slept in two double-deckers in the next room and two more slept on the living room floor close to the kitchen. The flat at Owen road has been demolished by now.

Singapore which was then a backwater, had no natural resources other than the people. She was about to go through many social and political changes under our able founding father Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.

He was our role model, the epitome of intelligence and wisdom, and a symbol of what you can achieve with hard work and foresight. Ours was a meritocratic society. There were no free lunches, so we became hardworking if we wanted the good life.

I would recall my childhood days, and they seemed to appear in black and white, unlike the colorful scenarios of modern Singapore. Oh yes, the photos were mostly in black and white then, and most of them were developed and fixed in a make-shift box by my brother in a darkened room.

My dad was a teacher in a Mandarin-speaking school, and my mother, a housewife. Every day was routine as there were no hard and fast rules but certain rules were unspoken. I remembered my childhood as largely serene and sometimes mundane.

We were to study hard to the highest level that is affordable to our parents, look for a job, look for a mate to get married, have children, and then have our own nuclear family.

I have never heard of the word ‘tuition’. Free time after school was spent jumping around in the big drains, visiting the library but not necessarily reading. Sometimes I would loiter in the shops with my best mate. We would look at the “Barbie dolls” displayed in the shop. I had sworn that one day, I would own them. I do not remember doing any homework assiduously as my twin children later did. They were born in the 80s when the emphasis on good grades was further heightened.

Our hobbies were all homemade. Paper dolls, outdoor games like rounders and hopscotch were popular. The game of five stones involved beans sewn into small pouches. To play this game, one must throw one stone in the air and swipe the rest off the ground, then in time to catch the first stone. Subsequently, you throw up two stones, grab the remaining three on the ground, and so on.

My brothers preferred to play with insects, catch spiders, butterflies, and so on. Their most innovative homemade toy was the tricycle made from planks of wood.

Weekends were routine. My dad would bring us, the last three of all the siblings (the rests have their dates) to the usual haunts- Esplanade which was a long walk overlooking Singapore River, Haw Par Villa formerly known as Tiger Balm Garden which had figures and displays showing the Chinese folklore, legends and mythology and the Singapore Botanic Gardens which is currently listed on the UNESCO world heritage.

Frequently, my parents would bring us to the theatre on weekends. My favorite part was riding astride my father’s shoulders all the way home after the movies. Occasionally, my parents would go for their separate mahjong games while we would find some friends to play with. It was a sweet life.

In the sixties, I remembered the Attap houses near my flat. They had sloping roofs thatched with nips palm fronds, while the walls were constructed from hardwood planks. The toilet was still the bucket system. Unfortunately, I did not explore much as I was told that there were many ‘bad guys’ living there. It was not true. It was simply a maze-like cluster of wooden houses and my mother did not want me to become lost in it.

In any case, where I lived was a flood-prone area. I remembered the ground floor residents were quite distraught each time the heavy rains poured and the floods rose. In knee-deep water, we all watched helplessly as waterlogged items floated out of their doors of the ground-floor flats.

Despite the challenging living conditions, Singaporeans generally had happy and carefree lives as we were simple and hardworking. In the 60s, the government had good urban planning that transformed Singapore. Over the years and especially now, they have established nice housing estates for the majority of Singaporeans.

After school, it was playtime. Parents’ roles were very distinct — my father worked while my mother kept the house and tended to the kids. Weekends were spent at the cinema, or at the public garden, or strolling near the beach.

The most exciting event of the year was the Lunar New Year. It was a time of the great feast. In my house, the food was simple, but come to New Year, my mother would make sure that we would get to taste roast chicken, seafood, pork, a large homemade steamed egg cake, etc.

The house was filled with the aroma of her cooking. It was not preposterous to say that we would eat roast chicken only once a year. After all, KFC only landed in Singapore in 1977, and MCdonalds in 1979.

Every Lunar New Year was ushered in by the sound of deafening firecrackers at the stroke of midnight. On the following day, the grass and the road outside our flats were a carpet of red. The air had a smell of gunpowder, and that was the distinct smell of our festive, joyous season. We would dress in new clothes and shoes and look forward to the red packets from seniors and relatives.

It was an exciting time. Firecrackers sounded everywhere, and sometimes the sparks would ignite before us. It gave us a sense of fear and also shock when some mischievous children or even adults threw crackers in our direction. Due to several injuries and fire incidents, they were eventually banned in 1972.

In the 70s, many parts of Singapore had undergone redevelopment to build newer and taller Housing Board flats. Eventually, we settled in a new estate called Toa Payoh, which was once a big swamp, and was later converted into the first self-sufficient satellite town with the availability of modern amenities and facilities. Today, its sports centre and beautiful garden still exist.

The road to modernization picked up speed as more old flats and estates were redeveloped to provide large public housing for the masses in Singapore. Singapore was focused on establishing a manufacturing industry and excellent education.

The first color TV debuted in 1974 ( B/W TVs appeared in 1963)and thrilled many families. I will never forget the excitement my parents and siblings exhibited as we surrounded the TV and peered into the magic box.

Fast forward to modern Singapore. She has become a remarkable country of enviable progress and good repute. Singaporeans enjoy a high standard of living along with the high costs, but opportunities are always there for those who would strive hard in their studies and careers.

Despite these sweeping changes in a matter of over sixty years, my carefree and sweet childhood days are forever mine to keep and I am grateful to be a Singaporean.

If you like this article, please let me know so that I can work on my second article which featured life in the 80s when I became a young adult.