As its name suggests, Little India is the heart of Singapore’s Indian community. Bordered by Selegie Road and Lavender Street, Little India’s main stretch of commercial activity can be found along Serangoon Road, which was labelled “Road leading across the Island” ...
Mount Sophia was one of Singapore’s earliest middle-class residential neighborhoods in the 1800s. Early residents included William Flint, who was appointed by Stamford Raffles as Singapore's first master attendant, as well as August Behn, V. Lorenz Meyer and F. ...
The Parsis (or Parsees) are descendants of Zoroastrian Persians who settled in India in the 10th century. They first arrived in Singapore in the 19th century. As of 2017, an estimated 350 Parsis live in Singapore. Parsi Road and Parsi Cemetery are named after ...
Bilingualism has been the cornerstone of Singapore’s language policy since the People’s Action Party (PAP) was elected to power in 1959. The policy entails an emphasis on using English and the mother tongue languages, particularly that of the three main ethnic ...
The Javanese are one of the larger Indonesian ethnic groups that migrated to Singapore in various waves starting from the early 19th century. People of Javanese ancestry in Singapore are now regarded as part of the larger Malay/Muslim community.
The Eurasian community is a small but influential ethnic group that has been present in Singapore since the early 19th century. Eurasians are persons with mixed European and Asian lineage. Most Eurasians in Singapore can trace the European part of their ancestry ...
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, ...
The Armenians are a small ethnic community who established themselves in Singapore, with no more than 100 Armenians ever living here at any given time. Vestiges of the importance of this community can be seen in the presence of place-names such as Armenian Street ...
Gan Eng Seng alias Yen Hsi K’un (b. 1844, Malacca, Malaysia–d. 9 September 1899, Singapore) was a Chinese ethnic leader, labour contractor, and a landed proprietor of early Singapore who contributed considerably to charities as well as hospitals and schools. He ...
Racial Harmony Day is an annual event held on 21 July to commemorate the communal riots of 1964 and teach students the importance of maintaining racial and religious harmony in Singapore’s multicultural and multi-ethnic society. It was launched in 1997 as part ...
Joo Chiat is an area located in the eastern part of Singapore that is known for its multi-cultural heritage. It derived its name from a number of roads in the area named after plantation owner and philanthropist, Chew Joo Chiat. In the early 20th century, significant ...
Chinatown is an estate located largely in the Outram area in the Central Region of Singapore. In his 1822 master Town Plan, Sir Stamford Raffles allocated the whole area west of the Singapore River for a Chinese settlement known as the Chinese Campong (kampong ...
The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Singapore is located at 1 Orchard Road. Founded on the same Christian principles as its parent in Britain, the YMCA was officially established in Singapore on 30 June 1903. In its early years, the organisation was ...
James Walter Davy Ambrose (b. 1909, Penang, Malaya–d. 28 October 1992, Singapore), an ethnic Indian, was a high court judge in the Singapore legal system. Between 1936 and 1958, he held various portfolios in the legal and judicial services of Malaya, including ...
The Kampong Kapor Methodist Church is located at 1 Kampong Kapor Road in Little India. Established in 1894, it was the first Peranakan (Straits Chinese) church and the fourth Methodist church in Singapore. In its early years, the church catered only to the Peranakan ...
Five-foot-way traders were craftsmen who conducted their businesses along shophouse walkways that were five feet wide. These traders were immigrants of various ethnicities who came to early Singapore and could be found in areas such as Chinatown.
From 1959 up till the early 1960s, Singapore's then Ministry of Culture (now known as the Ministry of Communications and Information) organised a series of free, open-air cultural concerts with a strong multi-racial theme. Known as Aneka Ragam Ra'ayat, or “People's ...
Centenary Day was celebrated on 6 February 1919 to commemorate 100 years since Singapore’s founding by Stamford Raffles. On 6 February 1819, Raffles signed the treaty that allowed the British East India Company to set up a trading post in Singapore. The Centenary ...
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.
The Metropolitan Young Men’s Christian Association (MYMCA) is located at 60 Stevens Road. Founded on the same Christian principles as its parent, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Britain, the MYMCA was established in 1946 by Chen Su Lan (Dr) to cater ...