S'pore's 1st Airshow 1911 !., Clifford Pier opening 1933.

Here are two very old photos of early Singapore. They are from the Straits Times edition of 16 December 1988..kept in my home archives.

The first photo captured the very first air show in Singapore back in March 1911. The plane in the picture was a Bristol Box-Kite biplane piloted by Mr Joseph Christiaens. You can see the profile of the pilot against the sky. He took off from the Race Course ( Farrer Park today ).

Anyone remembers the building in the background.? The roof and that bell-shaped tower looks rather familiar to me. I am quite familiar with the Farrer Park of the 60's onwards. It is no longer there today, of course.

The seniors and oldies of my generation would surely be familiar with Clifford Pier. That was the main pier from which you board the boats from. There were other boarding places for the smaller crafts and tongkangs like Telok Ayer Basin. But Clifford Pier would be like today's WTC.

This rare photo showed the day it was declared open on June 3 1933...in a ceremony filled with pomp and pageantry. The pier was named after Sir Hugh Clifford, Governor of Singapore from 1927 - 1929.

It was built to replace Johnston Pier, also located there.

My first ever visit there was as a small kid in the 50's. I remember my father brought me there and I was totally mesmerised by all that I heard and saw. Such a pity that my poor father never owned a camera in his life..otherwise I would love to recapture the days of my childhood through pictures. I cannot now recall clearly why we were there. But I can remember the places he had brought me to...as I treasure those precious memories in the absence of photos.

Early photo of Stamford Raffles statue in 1919

Photosource: Wikipedia

This old newspaper clip is from my original full page of the Straits Times of 16 December 1988.

This old photo covered the day that the statue of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was relocated to Empress Place in an official ceremony that was was also part of the Centenary Celebrations ...on 6 February 1919 ( one hundred years after Singapore's founding ).

The statue of Raffles was first unveiled on 27 June 1887 at the Padang, front of City Hall.

This was to coincide with Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations throughout the British Empire. Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837 when she was only 18 years old.

Until the day she died on 22 January 1901, she has reigned for nearly 64 years long!

She was the longest reigning monarch in British history and also the longest of any female monarch in all history.

ps: The statue cost a whopping $20,446 back then...a huge sum of money in those days!

Below is an article from Infopedia

Statue of Sir Stamford Raffles
By Tan, Bonny written on 2003-01-29National Library Board Singapore
Comments on article: InfopediaTalk

Sir Stamford Raffles' Statue, sculpted by Thomas Woolner, is a popular icon of Singapore. The statue depicts Raffles, standing tall, arms folded, with an aura of quiet assurance. It was installed on Jubilee Day on 27 June 1887 at the Padang and relocated to the Empress Place during the Centenary Celebrations on 6 February 1919. Sir Stamford Raffles' Statue, sculpted by Thomas Woolner, is a popular icon of Singapore. The statue depicts Raffles, standing tall, arms folded, with an aura of quiet assurance. It was installed on Jubilee Day on 27 June 1887 at the Padang and relocated to the Empress Place during the Centenary Celebrations on 6 February 1919, Jubilee Day.

The statue was the work of the famed sculptor-cum-poet Thomas Woolner. The blackened 8 ft figure in bronze was nicknamed orang besi or "iron man". The statue was unveiled by Sir Frederick Weld, then Governor of the Straits Settlements, on Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee Day on 27 June 1887. A little known detail was added by Woolner at the base of the statue. Here he had traced a map depicting the area around the Straits of Malacca and Raffles having his foot over British Malaya.

The statue originally stood at the Padang, facing the sea, between St Andrew's Road and Connaught Drive. However, it was often struck by flying footballs or used as a seat for a vantage view of a field game at the Padang, so the authorities felt a more respectable location was required.

Centena

ry Celebrations

Thus, for Singapore's Centenary Celebrations, the statue was moved to the front of the Victoria Memorial Hall on 6 February 1919. A semi-circular colonnade of the Italian Doric order framed the statue and in front of it was laid a marble-lined pool with fountain jets. Two rows of flower vases around the pool added colour to the classical setting. The statue was placed such that it looked toward the assumed place of Raffles' original landing at the mouth of the Singapore River. It was also carefully positioned axially with the centre of the clock tower of the Victoria Hall. During this move, the base of the statue was found to be supported by a rod which went through one leg of the statue. The corrosion which occurred around it was duly repaired before the move. A tablet was placed at its plinth, recognising the special importance of Raffles in Singapore for the Centenary Celebrations.

Raffles' Arms and the Knight's motto were engraved on a bronze shield placed at the base of the granite pedestal. A cast of the statue's head was also made for a bust to be located at the Raffles Museum and Library. This bust is not the same as the plastercast replica of Chantrey's bust of Raffles, which was also located at the Raffles Museum and Library.

World War II and mid-September 1943, the statue was removed to the Syonan Museum (Raffles Museum). Some later suggested the Japanese had intentions to melt it for the war effort. Although report showed that the colonnade and flower vases remained intact during the Japanese Occupation, they were not to be found after liberation. However, the statue remained unmolested and was reinstalled at the Empress Place in 1946.

DevelopmentsIn June 1953, during Queen Elizabeth's coronation celebrations, the fountains were started again for just this one time. However, the colonnades and the flower vases have never been replaced.

Albert Winsemius, an economic advisor to Singapore in the 1960s, was credited for seeing that the statue stayed as a symbol of developed Singapore. According to Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the statue would stand as a "symbol of public acceptance of the legacy of the British and could have a positive effect" in Singapore's future development.

Variants

A plaster cast of the original was used to recast a polymarble copy which now stands at the side of Empress Place, marking what is believed to be Raffles' landing site. It was erected on the 150th anniversary of Singapore's founding. There is also another statue of Raffles at the Westminister Abbey, posed seated in a thoughtful stance.

Old news clippings.. post 9-11 babies

This photo appeared on the cover of the Feb 25 edition of PEOPLE Magazine, in 2002.

This S Times news clip is dated Feb 16 2002.

There are 31 women each carrying her own baby born after the 9-11 terrorist attacks in the USA.

They were all pregnant at the time of that terrible tragedy and all their husbands died on that dark and fateful day.

These cute and innocent babies will grow up without knowing the love of their daddies and without being able to talk to their daddies. Most poignant and touching!

The terrorists responsible for the WTC attacks think they have won or are winning.

But I say look closely at the faces of these mothers who were all victims too.

Sadness maybe, Disappointment maybe...but not a shred of FEAR can I detect.

As MM LKY had previously assessed, in the long run "they [ the terrorists] simply cannot win."

Period.

Old news clippings...HITLER's relatives in USA.

In several interviews that I gave sometime ago at my home, I was asked this question..." Unk Dicko, we understand you collect and keep lots of old news clippings spanning many decades in your storeroom and cabinets. Can you tell us more about your "old newspapers"? What kind of topics or subjects do you go for?"

So, rather than just answer the question with so many words, I pulled out some of my thick files, mostly yellowed by age, and flipped through the contents within and spoke about them.

My paper and magazine clippings cover practically all the major news and stories both local and foreign...on almost all subjects. I was then asked if I had any particular favourites when picking out stories to archive.

Certainly, I told them...history, geography, sports, human behaviour, language, crime and injustice, music, travel, big stories...are some of them.

Take this news clipping about Hitler which appeared in the Straits Times of 9 Feb 2002. I would classify it under History.

It caught my attention back then as I was not aware that Hitler had real blood relatives still around, let alone in the USA until I came across this report.

Were any of you aware?

The late William Patrick Hitler was the nephew of infamous Hitler. He emigrated to USA, married and had 3 sons who lived with their mother in Long Island, New York.

( Click on the report to read ).

In coming posts, I have more interesting clips to share...some from the 60's, some startling and all are original.

The 1977 Malaysia Cup Victory!

This was the front page of the Sunday Times edition of May 29 1977...32 years ago.
Photo showed an estactic Samad Alapitchay lifting the Malaysia Cup which we won. He was surrounded by his team mates. Super -sub Nasir Jalil was next to him. Goalkeeper was Edmund Wee.
If any one reading this needs more info on the line-up
or anything about the match, just let me know and I can fill you in.




This news clip was from page 19 of the New Nation daily of May 30 1977.
The photos showed how Nasir Jalil scored the equalising goal to make it 2-2 at full time.
In extra time, our local darling and crowd favourite Quah Kim Song headed in a diving goal to give us the Cup and victory at last!
3-2 was the final scoreline.

Bottom photo showed a very happy Trevor Hartley, adviser to the FAS hugging our much-beloved coach Unk
Choo Seng Quee.

Old News clippings...the New Nation, 1977

This was the front page headline news of the 2nd major English newspaper in Singapore over 30 odd years ago.

The date: Monday May 30 1977.

The headline: "The sweet taste of success..."

Does anyone recall this famous occasion? Where was this picture taken? What was the success that drew such a huge crowd of adoring fans among which was yours truly..

unk Dicko?

Perhaps the younger ones will draw a blank. However, the old-timers should recall why there was such a huge fanfare in all our papers and in the streets of Singapore that unforgettable weekend.

Anyone like to make a guess?

The answer will be in more pictures soon.

Nursery Rhymes...the Shocking Truth!

Remember this nursery rhyme which goes like this?:-

" Ding dong bell, pussy in the well

Who put her in, little Tommy Thin

Who pulled her out, little Tommy Stout

What a naughty boy was that

Who tried to drown a pussy cat."

Well, according to this report..nursery rhymes such as we have known

since young and learnt during our schooldays under the British colonial times...had very interesting but somewhat gory beginnings!

Read the article to find out more....!

Punchlines...a favourite of many!

Another of the cartoons which I enjoyed even till today is Punchlines. It always has only one picture in a box much like "Sun Tan"with the wit and humour in the last punchline! The one I have posted here is one of my favourites. For younger readers of this blog who may not be familiar with who Yasser was...just go and google with his full name, Yasser Arafat.
There is much out there on the internet about this famous leader of the arabs in the PLO.

Sun Tan ...in The Asia Magazine.

How many of you still recall the "Asia Magazine" that always came with the Sunday Times free of charge?
Well, I not only do but enjoyed reading it so much that I kept clippings of articles and stories and especially the witty and humourous by Colette.
The Sun Tan series was one of my long time favourites.

After reading the magazine, I took out my pair of scissors and cut out that cartoon portion for my archives.

Each cartoon represented one Sunday weekend.
They always made me chuckle in glee!

Interesting old Newspaper Clippings

In many interviews that I had given which have appeared in the press, in articles and on radio... I mentioned that I had been keeping "tons"of old newspaper clippings from the 1960's onwards. Most of these clippings and pages of news articles, photos, cartoons etc..are still kept in thick file folders in my cabinet and in the storeroom.
While I was working, I never could find the time to pour over them let alone scrutinise what I had collected and accumulated over nearly half a century!
Most of the stuff, though yellowed by age, are still in mint condition.
Unk Dicko has clippings on almost every topic and subject of the day.
They include politics, wars, natural disasters, governments, countries, history, geography, science, philosophy, art, music, sports, education, industry, travel, tourism, crime, discoveries, obituaries,entertainment, people, personalities etc...etc...etc... .
Most of my clippings came from the Straits Times, Sunday Times, the Asia Magazine and other newspapers... some of which are no longer existing.

Here are 3 samples of my clippings...picked at random from the thousands in my archives.

1.Straits Times - Sat March 4 1989
This was a brief news story of a friend of mine Mr Leong Chee Kong who was blind. He was an avid "fan" of parliament sittings. He used to visit me in the 70's and we would chat about politics, the economy, religion and jokes. We would converse in English and Cantonese as well. Though Chee Kong was blind, he never ever depended on charity for his survival and upkeep. He was one of the happiest and most independent people I have known. Over the years, we have lost touch with one another. I have no idea what has become of him or his whereabouts today. Between he and I, we both had another very close friend Jeffery Lee Yew Choon. Unfortunately and most sadly, Jeffery died an untimely death in the Silk Air crash in Palembang, Indonesia in 1997.

2. Sunday Times - October 5 1986
A news report on the linking up of our historic bridges through underpasses and walkways.
Most of us would have heard of some of the names of these bridges. But honestly have you heard of " Ord bridge " and " Read bridge" ? Know where they are located?

3. Straits Times - Friday October 26 1962
The year 1962..Unk Dicko was still a schoolboy at Victoria School, next to Jalan Besar Football stadium. I looked at my 1962 diary and my writings were startling and frightening. Many of us, including poor me, thought that the 3rd World War would break out that year! Why?
China and India was at war.
The Russians had placed missiles aimed at the USA at Cuba.
President John F Kennedy had given Khrushchev...the Soviet leader an ultimatum.
Remove the missiles within 24 hours or we will launch an all out attack.
It was really scary. We thought the world was coming to an abrupt end.