From 1825, Singapore began receiving Indian convicts from British India to serve out their sentences, and assist with the labour shortage and development requirements in the colony. Singapore, being the fastest growing of the Straits Settlements, which also comprised ...

The convict jail at Bras Basah was established in response to the increasing number of convicts who were transported to Singapore from other places such as India and Hong Kong when Singapore was a penal colony in the early 19th century.

The Straits Times strike arose from a dispute over the terms of reinstatement of a dismissed worker. The strike was considered illegal as no prior notice was given as required by law. The Straits Times management subsequently dismissed the workers who took part ...

Samsui women, also known as hong tou jin (红头巾; Mandarin for “red headscarf”) after their trademark red headgear, were female immigrants mainly from the Sanshui (“Samsui” in Cantonese; meaning “three waters”) district of Canton (Guangdong today) province in southern ...

Shoelast makers made shoelasts or shoe trees, on which shoes were built. A completed pair of shoes were placed on the shoelasts, and the shoes’ uppers were dressed to form a finished product. Shoelasts were made of wooden bases or moulds and carved into different ...

Chinese coolies, who were engaged mostly in unskilled, hard labour, formed the early backbone of Singapore’s labour force. They were mainly impoverished Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore in the latter half of the 19th century to seek fortune, but instead ...

The explosion and fire on board Greek oil tanker S. T. Spyros on 12 October 1978 was described as Singapore’s “worst post-war disaster in terms of lives lost”. Seventy-six people died and 69 others were injured in the accident.

The Sikh community is one of the smallest ethnic groups in Singapore and is usually considered part of the larger North Indian community. According to the 2010 census, there are about 12,952 Sikhs in Singapore. The Sikhs first came to Singapore in 1819 as sepoys, ...

Cavenagh Bridge is located across the Singapore River in the Central Region. It is named after William Orfeur Cavenagh, the last governor of the Straits Settlements (1859–67) under British India control. The bridge, completed in 1869, is the oldest bridge across ...

Parsi Road connects Anson Road and Shenton Way. The road, a part of the Central Business District, is associated with the early Parsi community, which began forming in Singapore from as early as the mid-19th century. The first Parsi was a convict brought to Singapore ...

Mamoru Shinozaki (b. 19 February 1908, Fukuoka, Japan–d. 1991, location unknown) came to Singapore in 1938 as a Japanese government official. He was convicted and jailed for espionage in 1940, and released after Singapore surrendered to the Japanese during World ...

On 30 April 1955, about 1,300 port workers employed by the Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association (SHBSA) went on strike for better wages and working conditions. The strikers included tally clerks, stenographers, storekeepers and accountants. The strike ended ...

Strikes and other forms of labour unrest were common in 1950s Singapore. The year 1955 saw 57 cases of labour unrest involving bus company workers, including the Hock Lee bus workers’ strike and riot. That same year, bus workers of the Singapore Traction Company ...

Clogs were the preferred form of footwear in Singapore before World War II. Clog shops were commonly found in Temple Street in Chinatown, Sultan Street and Fraser Street.

Huang Na, aged 8, went missing on 10 October 2004. Her disappearance resulted in a nationwide search. Her body was eventually discovered in a box dumped at Telok Blangah Hill Park. Took Leng How, a colleague of Huang Na's mother, was charged with her murder. He ...

John Martin, born John Martin Scripps, was the first Westerner hanged in Singapore for murder on 19 April 1996. He was convicted for the murder of South African tourist, Gerard George Lowe, in March 1995. The police were alerted when various parts of Lowe’s dismembered ...

Chinese seal carvers are traditional craftsmen who make Chinese seals by carving characters and designs onto the base of blocks of stone, wood, ivory, jade and other solid material. Seal carving was a lucrative trade in the past as seals were used in Chinese business ...

The jaga are traditional watchmen or guards who used to stand vigil outside banks, godowns and shops to prevent theft and damage to property. The position was initially filled by Sikhs in early Singapore and eventually came to be associated with the Sikh community. ...

Carwashers were commonly seen in carparks throughout Singapore during the 1970s to ’80s. They were usually of Indian ethnicity and provided manual carwashing services for a monthly fee.

Joss carving is the fashioning of joss paste or joss sticks into figurines and idols from Chinese mythology, opera and history. These joss sticks can be 1.2 to 1.5 m high, and elaborately carved with dragon and phoenix motifs, or embossed with colourful divinities. ...