TEKONG Camp Days 80's...more memories.

A close up view of me supervising the setting up of another structure for Obstacles on 1st Day

of a Training Camp at Tekong. Watching from behind is Alan Chng ( NTU PE lecturer today ). The campers were organised into groups with names like Shark, Piranha, Barracuda, Manta etc..

This memorable snapshot showed the groups we were teaching canoeing to.

The life jackets of those times were bulky and much heavier than today's versions.

Photo: L to R

Poh Kheng, Lim Ming ( Camp Commandant), Lee Foon, Ismail, unk Dicko ( Chief Instructor )

The nights in camp were never ever wasted, whether at base camp or at our field campsites

used during the overnight land and sea expeditions.

At the field campsite, the respective land and sea groups were expected to arrive by nightfall..

set up camp for their own watch, prepare dinner, wash up, prepare for the next day's changeover activity from land to sea and vice-versa.
This particular photo show that although C Kunalan ( once the fastest man in S'pore for the 100 metre ) can outsprint anyone, he was having some difficulty building up our cooking fire. And so I was right behind him fanning the smoke away from him.

The Camp staff ( instructors ) set a good example by always cooking their own meals.

Kunalan had also served as Camp Commandant before.

When I look back fondly at my camping days spent with so many different groups

of people, and in so many different campsites...I cherish most the moments of simplicity, warmth, camaraderie and friendship as in this photo above. We had no table nor chairs. Don't need them anyway! Just spread a good old poncho on the ground and everything's set.

At times, I just use 2 twigs which I had picked to be my chopsticks.

Often, a few of us camp staff just slept in the open ( no tent set up) under the starry sky...with a small campfire close by to provide sufficient warmth in the cold of the night.

TEKONG Days...IE,NIE Training Camp activities, 80's

More photos of those Training Camp days in the early to mid 80's at Tekong.
Base camp was at Tekong Primary School at Tg Ladang. The school was situated ideally for camps such as ours. Our camp equipment and other stuff came with us on the RPLs and were
off loaded at the Ladang jetty.
From there it was sheer human power to carry all the tons of stuff to this campsite. On the last day of camp the same thing took place in reverse.
So no lorry or truck to help transport our things. Just good old fashion organisation of all available manpower plus hardwork and sheer perseverance... saw us through.

Me and fellow camp instructors doing pre-camp work at our base camp.
For any outdoor camp activity or trek, I always have my trusty BOWIE knife with me.
I made special mention of this treasured knife in my Gunung TAHAN Blogs ( Do check it out on this blogsite ).
The knife can be seen tucked at my right hip.


On the 1st day of camp, we complete the setting up of all our pioneering structures with the help of the teacher trainees. Here, I was supervising the proper set up of " Swinging Trainer ". We set up many of these structures as "challenges" to test the dexterity, flexibility, agility, strength, skill and courage of the campers. They were often simply referred to as " Obstacles Course".

Morning PT was a very important component of daily camp training. It was carried out immediately after all were up and about and always before Breakfast. The PT will conclude with a run taking a route away from the campsite and back.

Location: Deep in the bushland of Tekong, Unk Dicko used his Bowie knife to split a green coconut...closely watched by fellow camp instructors.

In the middle of seemingly nowhere while on orienteering, a camp group

takes a short breather while confirming their position with map and compass.

Many people have asked me about the different aspects of Tekong camp life.

How long did such training camps last?

Were there mosquitoes and how did you deal with them?

How were the meals prepared for such a large camp population?

How were the campers accomodated?

Toilet and bathing facilities?

Sea activity...dangers?

Land activity....dangers?

Safety and Security within the Camp compound? Were there any incidents of breaches? Crime?

Accidents and emergencies? Evacuations?

Any supernatural or similar experiences encountered? ( Tekong is supposedly a lively haunt for such spirits, unseen beings and other apparitions ).

Regarding the above questions,

would any of my readers, visitors and friends be interested to hear or learn first hand from me?

If you are keen to know something more about any of the above or have questions of your own, just shoot away...tell me.

Otherwise, If I were to describe everything about the Camps from A to Z, it would be like writing

a thick guidebook on how to organise and run an outdoor training camp successfully.

That is not my purpose here.

TEKONG Days...80's IE Camp and RPLs.

[ All Photos: Unk Dicko's Archives ]

The series of photos and blogposts that I am doing here will focus on the IE (Institute of Education) and NIE ( National Institute of Education) Training Camp for teachers held annually in the early 80's onwards.

The camp was always held at Pulau Tekong using either the Tg Ladang Campsite of P Tekong Primary School or at the Permatang Campsite.

The campers, all trainee teachers were chosen from many who applied to attend.

The Camp Staff comprised Lecturers from the PE Department of the institute and invited teachers from various schools and JCs who were old, experienced hands at camping and outdoor pursuits.

Organising such camps was a major challenge for the Camp Committee who were selected well in advance of the camp period. A Camp Commandant, a PE lecturer would be appointed and he or she supported by a strong group of talented Camp Instructors led by the Chief Instructor and other key heads.

The members of the Camp Committee met quite often to work out all the detailed planning to the smallest items...all done long before camp proper.

The big items like the RPLs, supplied so kindly by MINDEF to transport all our equipment and ourselves to Tekong and back, saved us a lot of headache.

The top photo showed the various group flags proudly displayed by the campers. Camp was over and we were singing our way home.

Can you spot a camper holding on to my Ukulele?

In the front of the group were the canoes stacked up neatly.

The centre picture : Look closely and you can see the passenger capacity of the RPL indicated.

The incessant droning of the RPL's engine produced these postures.

In this photo: Different camp year from the top photo, but same RPL used.

With me were fellow Camp staff Dr Seng, Ms Lim Ming ( both from NIE ) my very close friend Patrick Zehnder ( who coached Chee Swee Lee to S'pore's 1st Gold Medal in the Women T & F 400 m at the Teheran Asian Games, 1974 )...in red windbreaker Alan Chng ( today Dr A Chng in NTU ). In black jacket - Tsui Lan ( today VP of MGS Sec ). Next to me was Lee Foon whom I met again this year at the ACS funfair after such a long time!