A Man’s World (12 inch tablet)
Item K1.1
Title: One Hundred Years’ History of the Chinese in Singapore by Song Ong Siang
Synopsis: Learn about the life, pursuits and fortunes of Singapore’s Chinese community from 1819 to
1919 in Song’s One Hundred Years’ History of the Chinese in Singapore.
Item K1.2
Title: “Restoring the Lost” Video
Synopsis: Discover how painting conservator Damian Lizun painstakingly restored the portrait of
Song Ong Siang to its former glory over five months at the Heritage Conservation Centre.
Item K2.1 (23 inch monitor)
Title: “Crossroads of the East”
Duration: 11 mins
Synopsis: This rare footage reveals aspects of life in colonial Singapore. Filmed by travel
cinematographer Andre de la Varre (1904–1987) in 1938, these works – many of which were
between 11 to 22 minutes long – were played in movie theatres before the main features.
A Woman’s World: Identity (12 inch tablet)
Item No. K3. 2
Title Description: “How a mother with bound feet steps out”
Credit: Ms Tan Sock Kern, b. 1918, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: A daughter recalls how inconvenient it was for the family to go out with her mother, who
had bound feet, in the late 1920s.
Item No: K3.3
Title Description: “How the cheongsam and the baju Shanghai were the new black”
Credit: Mdm Seow Guat Beng, b. 1910, National Archives of Singapore
Note for Burning Bush: to string these different extracts in sequence as I have listed.
Synopsis: Discover how women expressed their modern identity by wearing the cheongsam for
evening functions in Singapore in the 1920s and 1930s, through the oral history account of Mdm
Seow, the daughter of prominent banker Seow Poh Leng and wife of Supreme Court registrar Mr Lim
Koon Teck.
Item No: K3.6
Title Description: “Wearing my hair like Colleen Moore”
Credit: Mdm Seow Guat Beng, b. 1910, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: In the 1920s, fashion-conscious women in Singapore were adopting western styles
popularised by flapper girls. This included short bob haircuts and tubular clothing that concealed
their curves. This video shows one father’s reaction on discovering his daughter had traded her long
hair for an androgynous bob.
Item No: K3. 7
Title Description: Fashion: Men vs Women
Credit: Malaya Tribune
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Note for Burning Bush: clip given
Synopsis: Learn more about the differing views between men and women on issues related to
fashion in Singapore in the 1920s and 1930s.
Item No: K3.8
Title Description: “That’s why I am in-between”
Credit: Mdm Seow Guat Beng, b. 1910, National Archives of Singapore
Note for Burning bush – possible to insert sub text for audio clips that are longer? Eg. for this one?
Synopsis: By the 1920s, it was no longer unheard of for women to make their own decisions on
matters relating to marriage. Discover more about the courtship between Mr Lim Koon Teck and
Mdm Seow Guat Beng in this clip.
Item No. K3.9
Title Description: “I don’t know who I’m marrying”
Credit: Ms Lee Mui Ling, b. 1922, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: A daughter recounts how her mother had to stop going to school and prepare to marry
someone she had never met in the 1910s.
Item No. K3.10
Title Description: “Marriage: Men vs Women”
Credit: Malaya Tribune Newspaper
Synopsis: Discover the differing views between men and women on issues related to marriage in the
1920s and 1930s.
Item No. K3.11
Title Description: “All the single ladies”
Credit: Ms Lee Mui Ling, b. 1922, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: Ms Lee Mui Ling, the great grand-daughter of Chinese businessman Whampoa Hoo Ah Kay,
recalls the social lives of her aunts who were not married.
A Woman’s World: Role (12 inch tablet)
Item No. K4.1
Title Description: “Where are all the women?”
Credit: Mrs May Wong, NMS
Synopsis: May Wong (1899–1989) arrived in Singapore in 1930. She was the American-educated wife
of a rich Chinese banker, Mr S. K. Wong, as well as a society hostess and a social worker. She was
also the longest serving president of the Chinese Women’s Association (formerly known as the
Chinese Ladies Association). Discover how May Wong was once mistaken for a circus performer
when she went shopping alone at John Little & Co.
Item No. K4. 2
Title Description: “Shop at John Little”
Note: digital pages of catalogue 1936
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Synopsis: Discover the wide range of imported products that were available to the affluent in
Singapore and how much they cost in this 1936 John Little & Co catalogue.
Item No. K4.3
Title Description: “Nothing shy about swimming”
Credit: Ms Lee Mui Ling, b. 1922, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: Swimming was a popular pastime for children and adults in Singapore by the 1930s, as
recounted by Lee.
Item No: K4.4
Title Description: “Going to the ball”
Credit: Mdm Seow Guat Beng, b. 1910, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: Mrs Lim Koon Teck recounts her experience attending an evening party with her husband
at the Government House in the 1930s.
Item No: K4.5
Title Description: “The Art of Living”
Credit: Mrs May Wong, NMS
Synopsis: May Wong (1899–1989) arrived in Singapore in 1930. She was the American-educated wife
of a rich Chinese banker, Mr S. K. Wong, as well as a society hostess and a social worker. She was
also the longest serving president of the Chinese Women’s Association (formerly known as the
Chinese Ladies Association). In this clip, she explains her reasons for wanting to help the
underprivileged.
Item No: K4.6
Title Description: “Po Leung Kok”
Credit: Mrs May Wong, NMS
Synopsis: May Wong (1899–1989) arrived in Singapore in 1930. She was the American-educated wife
of a rich Chinese banker, Mr S. K. Wong, as well as a society hostess and a social worker. She was
also the longest serving president of the Chinese Women’s Association (formerly known as the
Chinese Ladies Association). In this clip, she describes how she contributed to the welfare of women
in Singapore at Po Leung Kuk (Office to Protect Virtue) and the Young Women’s Christian Association
(YWCA).
Item No: K. 4.7
Title Description: “Equal Opportunities: Men vs Women”
Credit: Malaya Tribune Newspaper
Synopsis: Discover the differing views between men and women on issues related to sexual equality
in the 1920s and 1930s.
Item No: K. 4.8
Title Description: “The Modern Girl: Men vs Women”
Credit: Malaya Tribune Newspaper
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Synopsis: Discover the differing views between men and women on issues related to modernity in
the 1920s and 1930s.
Item No. K4.9
Title Description: “I had two compartments, one at home and one in school”
Credit: Ms Tan Sock kern, b. 1918, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: Schoolgirl Tan Sock Kern describes the dual roles women in Singapore took on in society by
the 1920s.
A Woman’s World: Education & Equality (12 inch tablet)
Item No. K5.1
Title Description: “Is she married?”
Credit: Sophia Blackmore, NMS
Synopsis: Sophia Blackmore was an Australian missionary who actively promoted female education
in Singapore during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This story is inspired by her meetings with
Peranakan Chinese families.
Item No. K5.2
Title Description: “Missionary or Spy”
Credit: Sophia Blackmore, NMS
Synopsis: This story recounts how Australian missionary Sophia Blackmore was initially suspected of
being a government spy sent to investigate household gambling, and the resistance she encountered
when persuading Straits Chinese families to send their daughters to school.
Item No. K5.3
Title Description: “A 10-year-old girl receives her report card”
Credit: NMS
Note: clip given to Burning Bush
Synopsis: Education opened up a new world of experiences for women in Singapore. In this clip, a
10-year-old schoolgirl receives her report card in the 1920s.
Item No. K5.4
Title Description: “A Day at School”
Credit: Ms Tan Sock Kern, b. 1918, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: Tan Sock Kern was sent to Singapore Chinese Girls’ School by her father to learn English in
1925. Discover what a typical school day was like for her in Singapore in the late 1920s.
Item No. K5.5
Title Description: “My School Days”
Credit: Ms Lee Miu Ling, b. 1922, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: Lee Miu Ling studied at Fairfield Methodist Girls School from 1929 to 1938. She recounts
society’s changing attitude towards women’s education at the time, as well as her experiences at
school.
Under the Stairs: Working Class (12 inch tablet)
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Item No. K6.1
Title Description: “Domestic help: Where are all the women?”
Credit: Leung An Hoe and Wong Ah Yoke, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: Many women from Guangdong were employed in Singapore as domestic servants or
amahs. In this story, Leung Ah Hoe shares her experiences working as an amah.
Item No. K6.2
Title Description: “Sisterhood: I’ve got your back”
Credit: Wong Ah Yoke, National Archives of Singapore
Note: clip given to Burning Bush both Cantonese and English Version
Synopsis: Most amahs took a lifelong vow of celibacy, devoting themselves to the families they
served. These vows were taken during the “sor hei” ceremony, during which their hair was combed
into a bun, symbolising their newfound status as an amah. In this story, Wong Ah Yoke speaks about
the bond of sisterhood that amahs shared.
Item No. K6.3
Title Description: “Domestic help: Making light of work”
Credit: Ms Lee Miu Ling, b. 1922, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: In addition to amahs, it was not unusual for big wealthy households to have slave girls or
mui tsai to wait on the women of the house. Lee Miu Ling, the great grand-daughter of Chinese
merchant Whampoa Hoo Ah Kay, describes the mui tsai and amahs who worked for her family.
Item No. K6.4
Title Description: “The Great Social Divide”
Credit: Ms Lee Miu Ling, b. 1922, National Archives of Singapore
Synopsis: Discover how the men, women and children of affluent households continued to be
governed by social boundaries despite the growing education for women in Singapore by the turn of
the 20th century.
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