Jul–Sep 2023

For more than 60 years, a 13-metre-long whale skeleton was the centrepiece of the old Raffles Museum. Find out where this whale skeleton came from, how the museum acquired it, and why they gave it away six decades later.

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Director's Note

The One That Got Away: How the Raffles Museum Acquired a Whale Skeleton, Made It Famous, Then Let It Go Six Decades Later
The skeleton of a blue whale took pride of place at the former Raffles Museum for more than 60 years before it was gifted to the National Museum of Malaysia in 1974. Nathaniel Soon. (PDF)

Golden Mile Complex: Five Decades of an Architectural Icon
The collective sale and conservation of Golden Mile Complex will eventually restore a visionary building to its former glory, but the process will also mean the loss of a unique community that has developed there. Justin Zhuang. (PDF)

Money No Enough, Passion Needed Too: Restoring Classic Singaporean Films
Money No Enough, Forever Fever and The Teenage Textbook Movie kickstarted a new era in Singaporean cinema, making them prime candidates for restoration. Chew Tee Pao. (PDF)

Remembering Punggol’s Kampong Wak Sumang and the Man Who Made It Happen
Kampong Wak Sumang, one of Singapore’s earliest fishing villages, was purportedly founded by a warrior-diplomat whose musical abilities landed him in trouble. Hannah Yeo. (PDF)

Local Music Reaches a Crescendo: The Singapore Record Industry in the 1960s
In this extract from the book From Keroncong to Xinyao, the author looks at why the record industry in Singapore took off in the 1960s. Ross Laird. (PDF)

A Comic Book Version of Operation Jaywick
The story of Operation Jaywick, a daring attack on Japanese ships at Keppel Harbour in September 1943, is retold in a 1965 comic aimed at boys. Gautam Hazarika. (PDF)

32 Binjai Park: The Modernist Home of an Architect
The house that Lee Kip Lin built has stood the test of time, reflecting its simple yet modern and clean design. Lim Tin Seng and Lee Peng Hui.(PDF)

Bridging Past and Present in Pasir Ris
Once dotted with plantations and mangrove swamps, Pasir Ris is today a bustling residential town with modern facilities and amenities. Asrina Tanuri. (PDF)

New Books on Singapore History
New books available in the National Library’s collection. (PDF)