Singapore - The Lion City, 1957 

Beautiful description

Yah, I was a local peranakan kid in the end 50s/early 60s spending a few days each school break with my cousin in Pasir Panjang/Clementi Road junction area. Memories...

Eric Yeo wow you guys are old how old Are you guys?

@@Eid_Mubarak We're in our 60s now.

Eric Yeo okay well I’m 22

no I also feel sg was better back then especially if you had enough money

sih1688 This is before most of that.

Agree...

What you nuts?? You want to be under colonial rule..

Until u Kenna spitted on by some crude ass in public n beaten up by hooligans for no good reason. No aircon shopping malls during hot summer n then before u know it, u r crying mama I wan go back to future.

Lim I Khiw Hi...I have a question about Singapore. Maybe you can clarify. I heard that the Kallang River (or maybe some other river in Sinagpore) was very polluted and smelly in the 1960s. Pigs were soaking in the water to cool them selves in the hot summer. Then came Lew Kuan Yew, who get rid of all the pigs and closed down all the small butcher shops that sold fly infested meat. He came up with plans to clean all the rivers. How far is this true? How bad were the rivers in Singapore in those days?

Yes the rivers were filthy and the stench was horrendous. All waste human and animal had ended up there for years prior. When the plans for Boat Quay came about, one thing was clear they had to clean it. They spent years doing that.

hello Bostonite1985, send me an email to ronho@cpak.com.sg and I will give you facts and stories on river clean up.

I can remember as a child in the late 1950s passing over that white bridge you see at 5:04 and it was not only really smelly but the water was green! There were many hundreds of families living on the water on sampans with no sanitation systems. I hated going over that bridge.

Did YoU JuST AsSUMe it's GeNDER??????

People malays over in singapore

Very sad. The original Adelphi Hotel also closed. =(

I think people were less complicated then.

*class*

Only a Westerner would wear such impractical clothing to go out in the equatorial heat and humidity.

@@HillTrekkerSarge Mad dogs and Englishmen lol :)

ash unknown happy? Don’t think so.. my parent / grandparent used to say how life was hard back than and how we have it good now.

@@desdes6830 That was a different kind of challenge but there were plenty of opportunities for the educated and there sure was lots of leisure time Now, we are enslaved to this world system. It'll be a blessing if we have enough sleep.

Hahaha...its all done by the British.. u do nothing...the malaysian had ringgit..but Singapore???dollar???haha..what the hell bro..still cant find your own currency until now huh!!!??

Yeah British built it ground up for Singapore and Hong kong. LKY stole the crown by just doing the icing. If not bcos of the British both islands will be like Taiwan

Singapore already one of if not the finest city in Asia at tht time...

@@statsfreak7275 Hong Kong? Kuala Lumpur? Even Tokyo? No?

@@nickryan6787 Kuala Lumpur was a backwater town compared to those cities. Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore were already thriving in the 50s and 60s. The rest of Asia meanwhile were still struggling economically and politically unstable. It was only post 1980s that we saw most Asian countries industrialised and grew rapidly.

It was literally a fishing village when the british came in 1819, they did a head count, there were 150 people near the Singapore river, there might be orang lauts in other parts of the shores but it really was largely uninhabited

@@vamtire mothership.sg/2016/12/here-are-pictures-to-prove-that-spore-was-not-a-fishing-village-before-lky-and-1965/ check the link if you are interested to know more.

@@zacky61 think you may have missed the other person's point. He's not arguing that before LKY it was a fishing village. He's saying before the British came 150+ years prior to LKY

From time to time, I reflect on how the government has used its money on the people. Our neighbourhood facilities are good and often free. The government polyclinics are inexpensive and far better than the private general practitioners. But Singaporeans are sometimes oblivious of their good fortune.

People then were less complicated. They could be trusted with the hawkers. They ate first and paid later. This was especially so for the satay man. He just had to count the number of sticks his customers ate. No longer now, people have to pay first when they get their order.

@@maureenkam9212Sis Maureen you are 1000% right very sad see what SG has become no spice become so bland 😢😢😭😭

Lol, Singapore has the busy port because of Malaysia build the johor causeway not elevated. If we build it elevated, Malaysia and Singapore will be rich together. But well, Singapore wants to be the richest, how rude.

@@wardafarha3874 During British colonial times before its independence, Singapore was already a business central. At that time no port even. Till today its still a central or hub for business whatelse with the port. So that may has made what Singapore is today.

@@wardafarha3874 You are rude yourself for saying rude about Singapore. You forget that wealth is given by the Creator. Guess the Creator has given wealth more to Singapore maybe because they have worked hard as a nation and kept thriving.

Singaporean fake to the world, Tertipu Dunia, Angan, Sia-Sia, Tak Kekal

money profit Same

No, it was a British colony called Singapore.

@@veronham61 please do more reading

Right, Singapore's amazing Chinese people made it what it now has become, thanks to Lee Kuan Yew. I must say however,that much modernism has spoiled the FOOD, no longer amazing hawkers dishes,except Maxwell Market, and sadly, No more Satay Babi in front of the much altered Cathay Cinema as it was when I first went to Spore in1956. Singapore is some what sterile nowadays but people are better educated, the country is cleaner and the river is swimmable. Sadly how ever, much of its previous glamour has been lost in a sort of homogenous, westernised manner,especially I found that the food especially has lost MUCH of its flavor due to Fat/Oil Free and all manner of stupid Eureopean fads and the quest for 'Healthy food' which lacks flavor. My last visit two years ago I was able to eat REAL Malaysian/Chinese food in Geylang Serai and Joo Chiat Road areas but most other restaurants were Fat free,cooking on Gas rather than charcoal etc. My last visit two years go as I am too old to travel but II have known Singapore and her people since 1956 and it is STILL my favorite country. Terry Offord

@@terryofford4977 - totally agree. Progress is a double edged sword. The old charm of Singapore is lost forever.

I think you guys need to be realistic on what you read. Singapore in 1957 had a mere USD500 per capita income. Population just over 1million. 30% of GDP depended on British bases at Changi, Seletar, Tengah, Sembawang. Much of the coastal areas of Ponggul, Pasir Ris, Loyang, Changi, Mata Ikan, Bedok, Siglap, Katong and Pasir Panjang were occupied by local fishermen. Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Chua Chu Kang, Lim Chu Kang, Yishun, Bukit Panjang were farmland and some rubber estates. Jurong was a huge swamp and so was many parts of Woodlands and Sembawang. Tanjong Rhu was a huge boat building industrial site to support the offshore fishing industry. To call Singapore a fishing village may be not 100% accurate but we were not a busy thriving city. Our ports were busy as we were an entreport point, but nothing else. No manufacturing. When LKY took over in June 1959, we were broke. I hope you guys realize the amount of progress which was made since then. No one is lying. I was born in 1947 and lived through it all.

+Ron Ho Well said Ron Ho. This film only shows a part of Singapore. Today, you can also go to a third world country and shoot a nice movie and one would think it is a first world country also. You need to know the whole picture to comprehend. Well, Singapore was good in terms of its GDP per capita in asian standards but Asia was in bad economic condition in those days anyways. Singapore was behind many of the western nations but now, Singapore is better than most of them in economic sense.

There is none so blind as one that refuses to see. A pity it is growing by the day not because they saw the real thing but because they knew it is the only way to survive.

same

10 years later so what??

Why can't great old videos appear in your recommendations?

You got oroblem with what i say meh

Im sorry i meant problem

Tanah Melayu yang tergadai kerana british.

Developed? Do you know in the 60s some poor people could only afford white rice topped with black sauce?

@@veronham61 some poor people still do exist in most of the developed countries,even in wealthy Scandinavian countries like Sweden or Norway.

@@satansfans yes u r right.Singapore has never boasted that there are no poor people in our country.

+1

iLLa Crow corona quarantine

When China was quarantined, the world was so clean and peaceful.

2018

Here

Cool

Wow 8 year old comment

Ancient

G ww

wow

Singapore,the most fascinating country in the world, I did severl years in RAF service, later NZ Naval Service after which I visited Singapore every two or three years. Heaven to me, Lee Kuan Yew put the place 'on the map' prior ro which it was something of a shambles, with very rich and incredibly poor during the 60's it was slowly changed under the PAP, Look at the country now, perhaps one of the richest in the world ,great educational centre, and my regular visits ovee the past sixtty years has only seen even more improvements.Terry Offord

I do have seen the filthy side of old Singapore. Poverty,slums and no electricity or piped water in rural areas. We used kerosene lanterns till a private company supplied electric power from a nearby flim theater! It provided low power and dim bulbs,especially when night show was on! Singapore then had open toilets where the sewage was physically collected and disposed off by very poor, I'll clad Chinese coolies. I recall one such worker, who smelled horribly and could barely read or write or even speak Malay. I do recollect the rich fauna and flora, most of it native. The jungle was always waiting nearby with quick growing Lallang elephant grass, frogs, birds,snakes, iguanas,monkeys and wild pigs. I read somewhere, tigers once used to live in Singapore till they were exterminated. The island got its name"Singa-pore" or Lion City from the tiger, which must have crossed the narrow straits from Johore! The small vegetable farms with poultry, pigs, ponds with Carp fish and hard working farmers,mostly women working in their fields,even at night in the moonlight. That is now all history. I used to fear the Chinese New Year celebrations when incessant fireworks were set off, creating mountains of rubbish and thick suffocating smoke. As children we hunted around looking for smouldering stubs or unexploded crackers to play with.

Please Come Again Sir💐

Mr. Green? Did you teach woodwork? If so, I was one of your students

Jawa Deepak English changes constantly, with words being added to dictionaries every year, and people using different dialects and accents wherever you go. Not sure what you think people are speaking, if it's not English.

Yes, I agreed. Nowadays Singaporean don't use proper grammar.

Singaporean don't speak English... They speak Singlish...

@@iwinlee Singlish hanggok kau, English always e not proper line.

Old skool narrator had to speak in certain way cuz the old recorders were cui. Now people can speak naturly

@if singapore she said she was born in 1960. At that time Singapore was under British. So...

Priceless video. Thank you. 🙏👌👍

Oh most of them are still there, just have new buildings around them.

derekcsy90*2020 how young u now 🙂

During those younger times, we have nationhood. Now with more than 40% foreigners permanently anchored here, Singapore citizens had turned their nationhood to LanParhood.

correct

Say No To Pap......

100%

Yes, a rat race. I visited Singapore many times in the 2000's. I witnessed two fights between locals on the MRT and when I accidentally dialled a wrong phone number (and apologised) the guy called me back in a terrible rage threatening to call the police. Lots of stressed, paranoid people and lots of resentment against expats, or 'foreign talent' as the expat community is referred to. All of Singapore has been completely rebuilt and a lot of the places that were once interesting have now gone. Places like Raffles are just overpriced tourist traps these days. If you want to visit an authentic colonial hotel go the E&O Hotel in Penang. I understand that the cost of living is extremely high and that people have to work all the time to survive, but I haven't been to Singapore for a long time and have absolutely no desire to return.

@Seb Kes if Spore still mostly private land ....you will be homeless sleeping on the street. Like HK it's super sky high price for HDB flats ! A one room flats will cost millions of dollar by now! Can't u think,,!!??

Because they are all smiling for the camera

Go to Singapore. The spirit of this video still lives.

I am still here! Was posted to Singapore in 1957 and stayed 3 years. Great then. Spoiled now.

@@davidnelson702 Singapore is a soulless commercial place.

Rajender Rajender yeah

What comforts? 24/7 traffic jams Noisy People acting as robots Expensive housing And the Singaporean seem not appreciated by there own government. Elderly people without government support Etc Etc