Singapore On Film: What Life Was Like During The 1900s In The Former British Colony | Timeline
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ม.ค. 2024
- Singapore on Film explores the earliest footage of Singapore, dating back to 1900. The films include 'Coolie Boys' and 'Ananas', filmed more than 100 years ago by the Pathe Brothers. Much of this remarkable archive has never been seen before, and has been specially restored and digitised by the British Film Institute.
This fascinating archive shows that Singapore was a multi-cultural melting-pot, but life was grindingly hard for the majority. We see coolie dockers, rickshaw pullers, Sikh policemen and child labourers. Rare films of a grand Peranakan funeral and Hindu fire-walking show scenes both familiar and unfamiliar. Newly-discovered home movies shine an intimate light into the lives of the elite.
Through interviews with historians, writers and filmmakers, we reveal stories both epic and intimate. The programmes are narrated by renowned British actress Jenny Agutter, with the archive brought vividly to life through cutting-edge graphics and an evocative, specially-composed score.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Matt Lewis and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code 'TIMELINE' 👉 access.historyhit.com/
You can find more from us on:
/ timelinewh
/ timelineworldhistory
/ timelinewh
This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries, please contact owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com
My classmate Chong Beng used to be late for school practically every day. Our teacher was upset each time seeing Chong Beng standing at the doorway to our classroom while she was teaching. "Chong Beng why are you habitually late for school?" He remained silent with sadness on his face. When our teacher was about to punish him she observed and asked "why are both of your hands blistering?" Chong Beng was a caring and thoughtful boy 'throwing pineapples' to earn some money for his mother before coming to school. Sad to say, he dropped off in school and no more of Chong Beng standing at the doorway. Those pricky thorny pineapples are 'no apple of my eyes!'....
How touching.
I became downright excited at 43:00! I'm an alumnus from Raffles Girls' School, and was in Waddle house! The 5 houses of the school were named after 5 previous headmistress, and I recalled reading excerpts on each of these headmistress and noted how little information there was on Mrs Waddle compared to the others...all it said was how she was the headmistress in the period just before the Japanese occupation and she died when the boat she was evacuating the country on was sunk by the Japanese.
Being able to see her in film feels reassuring that there's so much more to her life than the sparse information I read in that excerpt of her back then!!
The story of the SS Vyner Brook is truly horrific - the Japanese knew it was full of mostly women and children - also many Australian Army nurses - those that made it off the wreck onto nearby Banka Island were rounded up and raped and murdered by the Japanese Army - only one nurse (Sister Vivian Bullwinkle) and a couple of soldiers (badly wounded) survived to tell the tale! Sister Bullwinkle told her story to the War Crimes Tribunal (but the fact that she and other nurses were raped was hushed up) - only when the AWM forensically examined her donated tunic did they find the evidence of her horrific ordeal!
imagine being proud of attending an elitist girls school run by mistresses.
What a fascinating look into the history of Singapore preserved in these wonderful films! As a Singaporean, these films are a treasure trove and record of our ancestors! I especially love the home movies and the emotional response it conveys. Brilliant!
I learned once again, to my quiet joy, how much more alike we all are than different. Singapore was beautiful then and still is.
🙏
I actually watch from start to finish. there is a feeling of sadness when i think probably 99% of those appear in the film was no longer with us. what captivate me the most was the part when 4 workers and a boy eat on a street. even back in the early 70s when i was a young boy, i could vividly remind of ppl still eating this way in the old bridge road or tanjong pagar area. when tourist go to these area nows, they could not have imagine what is life back in the prior 70s.
Life moves on and we all die.
@@easystreet1888 There's more to life than life.
I also remember the old men in Chong Pang gathering to chat and eat. It was a wonderful feeling to be part of the life on the street. I miss that life when living in a cold country like NZ where so much of our life is conducted inside. We miss that sort of connection of people here, back then and now.
Thanks to a group of persons who made this docu. It is educational and will surely be watched even in many years to come.
life is short,,,especially when looking at these old films ,,,it makes you think about life,,your own life,,, ,,,,we are just passing through, .....
Yes we are well said🎉🎉
😮🙏 Wow! Singapore in the early 1900s still have Tigers & Elephants in their small forests! Thank You So Much for sharing these precious photos & videos of olden Singapore ... 🕯🌷🌿🌍💖🕊🇸🇬
They were zoo animals in the film, but you may be right.
My father was in the British Army but I went to St. Michael's school and St. Joseph's institution.
A Singapore long long gone.
I used to live and swim in Amber road beach now part of the Formula 1 circuit.
Wonderful documentary. I enjoyed this film so much
Thank you Timeline
I truly enjoyed this video so much! I also really loved the video you did of London during the turn of the last century, just like this one with original film. Getting to peek behind the curtain of the past is a gift. Seeing people living their lives in their world, a world out of the past is so incredibly grand! Thank you.
The good old days!
If people want to really know what this was like. Workers. Rickshaws. Ox carts. Etc. just come to Madagascar now. This is what it is like. People look Malaysian. Malagasy and Malaysian are the same. Come visit.
Absolutely fascinating.. Thank you timeline for giving me a glimpse of our past.
wow... thanks for this post on youtube! what a treat! :D
A time capsule preserved to perfection....From India I bow down to this evolution...
as a singaporean born in 2001, watching this feels surreal...
i was born in 2011 and 😔😔😔 i was like ain't no way this is real
I grew up knowing that my grandfather was a British career soldier and painted many pictures when he in Singapore during the Malay Emergency. To see footage of the period in the mid to late 1950s is wonderful.
Wow.
St. PAUL???
The coolies were slaves.
You can read the book "Hawaii ". Colonization.
It was a thrilled watching 👀 and incredible documentary about Singapore (🇸🇬) during the early 19th century... based on preserved film 🎥 by the British Films Institute. Thank you for sharing
Sending love and peace from Singapore. ❤
Come visit Madagascar now. It is like Singapore then. I know. I am here.
Beautiful! Watching these makes one understand how much we, as human beings, share with one another.
Beautiful documentary. Thank you!
This is so amazing!!! Thank you so much!!! ❤
This is really beautifully done. Thank you!
Nice. Thanks for this!
My paternal grandmother emigrated from Britain to Australia just prior to WWI. I remember her describing the 'coolies' carrying sacks of coal onto the ship she was embarked on. Probably Aden, but same would have happened at Singapore.
Singapore is so interesting, went from jungle to one of the most extravagant places in the world in such a short time
The jungle narrative is unproven. Singapore was a bustling port way back, otherwise why would the British want it
@@Johnne009no, the British founded it. There was nothing before. That fairytale of ancient Singapore is a PAP lie to give discredit the British
Actually Singapore prior to the East India Co. moving in and using the deep port for Legal trade in the day light and what became the Sembawang ports by night by night for illegal trade keeping out of sight of British flagged warships. Prior to this locals traded between the islands but it wasn't commerce it was sustaining their way of life day-to-day. The actual criminal elements were not eliminated until Singapore became it's own Country and enacted strict drug laws... The E. India Co /Brits were both good and bad elements there... But ultimately their influence gave the new Singapore its opportunity to be one of the Five Dragons of the Far East while keeping traces of who they were... You can just see it if you meet the people.... I have been there at least five times...
EBW M.Ed. USN Ret
Servant of GOD
@@ebw_servant_of_GOD Sembawang port? the main port in SIngapore before the arrival of the British has always been at the Singapore River. The Bugis were already a significant trade group from Sulawesi during this time. Today, there are still places that hold their name, for example the commercial area Bugis and Kampong Bugis where they used to settle
@@danialroslan1531 actually in 1800s it would have been small ports on the back side of the island great for blackmarket ops/trade. It turned into military ports in the 20th century.... It is a serious navigation detail for modern US Navy ships. When there it is a long walk to Orchard Rd... and main part of the business center. Only anchored out in main Singapore Bay when on a large ship.
Outstanding content thank you.
Singapore today, appears to be one of the leading (if not the leader) of
the how to do cities right club.
I love Singapore!! Cheers from Qld Australai
So good, thank you
Nice clip...viewing from Singapore.
…. It’s so amazing to see the humble beginnings of a great nation.
It feels like a missed opportunity that next to nothing was said about the Tamil and Malay communities in Singapore in this documentary. Both communities have made immense and invaluable contributions to the culture and history of Singapore.
i think you missed an entire part on the orang Laut community. i believe the intention of the program was to showcase the films which captured certain people and it just so happens that there was little footage on specific communities.
Totally agree - it glorifies the British hegemony which still exists today but fails to portray the poverty and dreadful living and working conditions the indigenous and immigrant populations had to suffer
@@user-slerMaybe because the ones who captured and preserved these films were British? Not every thing has to become an intersectional identity narrative attacking actual historical narratives. If you have enough intelligence and a well rounded education, you can draw your own conclusions from a snippet of history. If you don’t have these abilities, nor the intelligence then maybe you should take today’s simplified intersectional narratives taught at the average liberal arts college these days. Otherwise, enjoy the video for what it is.
@@jeb419 unnecessarily harsh...but agree with your point.
If you understand history and the power imbalance amongst various groups of cultures, and this is academic studies at Master and pHd level, you will understand history is constructed selectively, by dominant groups and cultures. Do read other comments on this very thread, you will hear my thoughts echoed in various tones, but they have the same shade. @@dereksun761
Wonderful documentary.
Singapore is island of part of Sriwijaya kingdom 😮
What I like about this programme is, the historians and other commentators are very matter of fact, just commenting on what happened in the history of Singapore and not hating on the British and asking for reparations.
What would Singapore be today without the British?
What kind of question is that@@C.J.M..
@johnnunn8688
on the whole, for Singapore, the British contributed much more positively to it than its other colonies like India.
Singapore has minimal natural resources for the British to exploit. Most of the natural resources exploited are located on the Malayan Peninsula to the north of Singapore.
Singapore is mostly used as the main trading port in this region and also importantly, the base of the British Admiralty in the Far East. The Sembawang area in the northern part of Singapore is where the Admiralty is located.
Even now in 2024, the British still has naval and intelligence personnel working in Singapore. 🙂
On the whole, Singapore is probably the only British colony that gained much more from the British than it was negatively exploited. 🙂
Apart from Dr Farish Noor, who appears to be angry that Britain ever entered Singapore. I do love the woman that was commenting.
@@hyr1972 Did we really gain more than was negatively exploited? Malaya as a whole benefitted from British infrastructure, development and education. The one shining light was the administration weren't dogs in the manger when it came to letting Christian missionaries in to establish churches and provide education like the Dutch were with Sumatra. The Brits were really good at harnessing the strengths of the various ethnic groups and that allowed for upward mobility over time. Without the self-help of the industrious ethnic rich, building their individual communities, we wouldn't have had that social structure to build on as well. However, Singapore was very poor, when the British Navy pulled out despite Singapore's separation from Malaysia: we had no natural resources for trade and were dependent on the naval base for demand on goods and services. It was a precarious time. If not for Lee Kuan Yew and his cronies, we would not be where we are today.
Very interesting and an important restoration of historic footage but I can't help but feel foreboding knowing that within a few decades the Japanese would be there destroying the lives of those little children who would probably have been in their 40s and 50s by the time WWII happened.
I feel like the show skimmed over what the Japanese did to Singapore.
Let's not forget to cherish the precious moments we create for future generations. we leave for our generation.
What an interesting place! I learned a lot from this documentary. Thanks for making it!
Wonderful documentary!
3:12. This painting reminds me of Epiphany Day in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Boys of the Greek Orthodox faith dive for a small cross thrown into Spring Bayou by a priest and the boy who retrieves the cross is supposed to receive special blessings till the next year.
Interesting I will look
Happy epiphany!
💯 one of the best documentaries I've ever watched. The subject matter was fascinating.
What it's present here is not everything of Singapore.Can't the curator speak Dialect,Chinese or Malay.The films it take are all in the city not at kampong
Too many commercials! Interesting documentary. Thank you for sharing this historical footage.
This film is captivating. It transports the viewer into Singapore's past one hundred years ago.
Fascinating I watched to it he very end
History in living formats early film. ❤
The irony is that Singapore called an employee of the East Indian Company its "founder" when all he did was signing an agreement with a sultan to set Singapore up as a trading post and he only stayed on the island for a whopping eight month.
Historically, so wonderful. Personally, so touching. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like this video. The voice of the narrator is so soothing and sounds very familiar. Reminds me of Jenny Agutter.
Logans Run ;)
I think it's a British actress called Keely Hawes.
1:21:41 I believe this was the same taxi girl that Ronald Searle painted his his book (To the Kwai and Back, 1939 - 1945) when he was the PoW at Changi. I firmly believe this was her bcoz it also depicts the mother!
Very interesting
Such wonderful memories of old Singapore. We lived on Upper Wilkie Rd and would slide down the steep side of Mt Emily to the canal where there were always travelling Chinese operas and huge snakes, that had been caught in drains, in cages. Street food and ice kachang were a must. How sad it was to see it all gone with no character left, just canyons of steel, concrete and glass blancmange.
I respect your memories of Singapore. But I must say as a middle aged Singaporean (living in Australia), Singapore is far from a sterile landscape from my perspective. I look forward to my annual trips back home as there is so much to do (and eat!)
Temasek was a malay dominated country. Than british came and they brings chinese immigrant. Slowly they nurtured the Chinese immigrants to dominate temasek and kick the malay out of their homeland. Out of political power. With the help of british the chinese immigrant had become the ruler of temasek. Whilst the malay only has their name on certain road and hill. What ever is happening to the red indian has happened to the malay singaporeans. History never lies
History doesnt lie but people choose to interpret events according to their mindset.
Must be a salty malaysian, this commenter. 😂😂😂
We give free education for malays and they are thriving. Only a minority are stuck in generational trauma. Yet still they are getting help due to government family policies. Unlike the poor in malaysia, wait to die only.
Iskandar Shah got 5000 Spanish silver coin and Temenggong got 3000 to sell Temasek to Sir Stamford Raffles. They are very happy to have so much money for a small island. Sir Stamford Raffles came up with another 3000 Spanish silver coins to build a school for the locals which is, you know, that RI today. The transactions are all clearly documented in East India Company accounts. It is not right to sell away something and still claims that it is yours, are you trying down the road of "historical errors and crazy decisions"? Save your breadth.
Wow, yes that is so true. The mindset and what we are indoctrinated to believe. @@mkngpauline
The chinese were already here long before Raffles came. Singapore was already a trading port. Chinese lived alongside Malays well then, and they also contended with pirates. This was documented by the Chinese. They described the 40 perahus of the pirates that surrounded the merchant ships. The place where the Malay ruler lived was peaceful, people were more honest than at the port.
Nvr expect to see this here in this channel. Am from singapore😅
Just come visit Madagascar to know what Singapore was like.
I knew it! The rhetoric that Singapore was just a sleepy fishing village kept being shoved down our throats during school and in museums.
25:14. I know its the cameraman creating a reaction among the kids. However, they are so happy over such a simple thing. You don't really that same spark of joy in kids these days. They are so stressed out. It only gets worse as they age. It's a shame. We gained so much over the years but seems like we have some how lost what matters the most.
Thanks
wonderful to see this film very interesting
And also don't forget that Singapura founder is Sang Nila Utama
'Tumasik' is the name for this tiny Malay island...
Wow... I feel like crying to watch how our Singapore has developed.
Thanks to our hardworking ancestors.
These new foreigners are just here to reap the benefits and the government is allowing it while wayanging on local problems.
Singapore progressed with a heavy price being too 'materialistic' 'all for myself and nobody else' attitude.
@@RonLarhz Indians and Chinese have been in Singapore for some time !! They are not new foreigners !!!
Wow as usual.. being a small city island.. with a little tiny achievement.. typical sinkies can feel overwhelmed and touched.. if Paris, London, Guangzhou, shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Berlin, NYC etc etc were countries.. I think the whole world would be flooded with tears..
In Singapore about 80% attended Chinese school funded by The Clan System. Many did not make it to the 'Chinese Middle Three' Hence, today most of the Singaporean children are from the Chinese well educated family speaking Mandarin.
this is a channel news asia production. Did you give them credit?
I lived in pre-independence Sg. The Japanese occupation seems a forgotten era, not that I was there then. I remember Sikh bank guards.
Not forgotten but we moved on. Unlike china and korea.
Beautiful documentary
What a touching documentary. The contrast between the Singaporean academic and family viewers and Dr Gooding, the British film historian, is quite stark. They're very exited viewing all the films because they have an attachment to the place. Maybe they think of their ancestors' lives. The Brit is a stick in the mud.
It was like striking a gold mine, looking at these footages of old Singapore and the people of that time. Someone with the technology of that time made an effort to make these films and how precious they are! The only frustrating part for me is one of the commentator only has a lot of negative things to say each time it is his turn which really annoying, enough already, please stop!
I thought the same thing. Doctor Noor, young and angry.
37:50
"addicted to opium and no one cared"
"tough life"
LOLLL
An Ah Pek i knew once told me he was satisfied to struggle in Singapore rather in his home country China 'Tng Suah'
nice
100 years from now, another documentary will be made on Singapore using videos from TikTok and TH-cam.
"If Singapore is a nanny state, then I'm proud to have fostered one." - Lee Kuan Yew. Singapore was pulled and pushed around so much and with so many possible paths to take someone had to step up and take control with a clear plan to press forward and forge a national identity that was not Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese or British but it's very own, Singaporean. Lee Kuan Yew had to convince the British to initiate an independence process, he had to wrestle with wealthy Chinese business men and communist factions, he not only steered Singapore through these "treacherous waters" while maintaining ties. He also made Singapore the most successful and most wealthy in S.E. Asia and all the while delivered the benefits of better and better standards of living to his people.
The British state has ever existed on blood and sweat of other nations.
Nice v nice
My great grandparents were married in 1892 in St Joseph’s Church, Victoria Street, Singapore, Thomas Samuel Cornelius to Mary Jane Desker.
Suatu bukti dalam bentuk rakaman perjalanan sejarah tanah peribumi temasek singapura yg di jajah dan di racik oleh bangsa penjajah kemudian di berikan kepada bangsa asing demi menjaga kepentingan politikal dan peribadi bangsa penjajah kerana keengganan bangsa peribumi bekerjasama dgn penjajah sehingga menidakan hak bangsa peribumi di tanah temasek sehingga sekarang singapura di kenali dunia sebagai sebuah kepulauan yg di terajui bangsa asing dari luar yg di angkat oleh bangsa penjajah.
Tahniah satu dokumentari yg sangat menarik utk di telaah oleh anak cucu bangsa peribumi👏.
I went to Singapore last week and good to see a docu for them.
‘Twas the calm before the storm.
To see the children acting just like children today, knowing they've all lived their entire lives and gone on to the next world, most of them probably before I was even born, it makes me wonder what they did and saw in their lives. What were the tragedies and triumphs that lay ahead of them? Were they soldiers? Did they have a family? grandchildren? great grandchildren? What wise words would they have told them in their old age? What would they say about our world today? It really is like seeing ghosts.
Awesome videos, but dang watching those divers dive for coins was so demeaning...! However, it *is* part of history I guess! It's good to remember how things were and that they weren't always like they are today!
When I lived in Hong Kong my eating with my left hand was often remarked upon: I was told that very few Chinese persons were southpaws. However, around minute 22:00 I spotted two what appeared to be Chinese persons wielding their chopsticks with their left hands.
Tem como colocar legenda em português?
Press the “CC” box on top right corner. It’ll show “subtitles turned on”. Then press the next icon on the most right. Choose “captions”, then press “auto select” for your preferred language. Enjoy!!
Colonial home movies. Still very educational. Good for history.
Did not see much about the Malays, Indians or Sri Lankans. Wonder why? Just all about Chinese immigrants, as if others did not exist back then. I smell something fishy here.
as if the indigenous people were chinese like now
This land already sold to the British , agreement must be honoured
Some of the pineapples for canning were probably grown on Singapore Island, but there were sailing prahu which brought pineapples from other parts of Malaya. They could carry several tons of fruit.
🎉Great SG😇
Can I request that all the black and white videos we watch here be painted with colors? I would really love to imagine myself going back in time in colors. Thanks a lot and I enjoy watching this video
Too many youtube ads! Constant interruptions….every couple of minutes is too much
It's like opening a time capsule
Just wonder if my grandfather who was once a coolie I was told in Singapore was in the film before moving to Penang to start his family. Truly 白手成家。
HANG TUAH account, Afonso encounters the Lassamane after docking in Singapore, telling him of Malacca’s fall. Upon hearing this news, the Lassamane opted to stay in Singapore, advising ships on course to Malacca to do the same. In the same letter, he is alleged to have wanted to return to Malacca ‘to serve the King of Portugal’, but didn’t follow through with this.
So are those coin divers similar or related to the Philippine Badjao?
Singapore has more per capita gdp than its coloniser.
The reason the Royal navy did these big tours to reassure the colanys there will be free trade that will be protected
There is a building around the corner of Middle Road with 'The Star of David*' just a few stone throw from Sophia Road. No wonder, Singapore's first Chief Minister is *David Marshall.
At 21:44 did y’all notice the blond hair at the side
Sad for the elephant
great no phones, as they work together like well oiled and maintained machine
It’s like slaves, torture and looting only without dignity by British colonialists
Does Pe Ramlee one of them who made history?
THEY ARE JUST DESCRIBING THE VIDEOS THEY WATCH
Turn it off then
...and they did it well. Very insightful perspectives.
Forever Nusantara, Forever Tanah Melayu.
Wow i believe the British have more film besides this. Today Singapore is richer then Britain. How the world have change.