Place History

SG in the past

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Check out our playlists for collections of short videos, and learning packages for articles, that will give you a slice of history and heritage.

  • Place History

    Playlist

    A collection of short videos or selected podcasts, exploring topics around Singapore's place history.

    Playlist: Place History

    Singapore has undergone massive developments in the decades past. Take a look at how select places and spaces were like prior to redevelopment.

    Raffles Place's New Image

    Raffles Place in 1965 featured modern attractions such as an underground carpark, a rooftop garden, and a clock donated by a Japanese watchmaker. Experience Singapore’s commercial centre in the first year of Independence. For more archival materials from the National Archives of Singapore, please visit [Archives Online](www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline).

    Source: Berita Singapura. Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore


    Celebration Of New Housing

    The Housing and Development Board (HDB) drew up its first five-year plan when it was established in 1960. By 1965, HDB exceeded the target on new housing units, rehousing the population at a rate that was considered remarkable worldwide. For more archival materials from the National Archives of Singapore, please visit [Archives Online](https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline)

    Source: Berita Singapura. Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore


    Ceremony of Laying the Foundation Stone of the Clyde Terrace Market

    Discover the history behind one of Singapore’s earliest markets, the Clyde Terrace Market, with Associate Librarian Zoe Yeo. The market later became known as “tie pasar” in Chinese, “thih pa sat” in Hokkien, or “pasar besi” in Malay, which all translate into “iron market”, as it was mainly made up of iron. Catch other episodes at NLB Youtube channel.

    Source: National Library, Singapore.

  • Curiocity

    Playlist: Curiocity

    Singapore has undergone massive developments in the decades past.(Take a look at how your neighbourhood has evolved through the Curiocity website ).

    Curiocity leverages story maps, or place-based digital storytelling, to provide users an interactive and immersive way to uncover and rediscover the history of Singapore through a curated selection of heritage materials from the collections of the National Library (NL) and the National Archives of Singapore (NAS).

    curiocity

  • The Many Names of Singapore 

    Learning Package

    The Many Names of Singapore

    We probably are familiar with the variant names of Singapore such as Temasek and Singapura today. Back in the 17th - early 19th century, Singapore was identified as a promontory, a strait, a ridge, an island, as well as a settlement, based on naming conventions on cartographical references that have been documented.1 For Singaporeans, this is a nation we associate with, and a place we call home. This learning package offers some trivia to the variant names of Singapore from early records.


    Did you know...

    Long before the British arrived and made Singapore a colonial port city, Singapore was already a port as part of the early maritime trade route. In early maritime charts and maps (17th to early 19th century), we learn that Singapore was known by many names.

    Some names that Singapore was known by include:

    • Temasek or Temasik 淡马锡
    • Pulo ou Isle Panjang or Paulau Panjang [Long Island]
    • Ujong Tanah [Land's End]
    • Sincapour
    • Governor's Island

    Videos

    Malaca, l'Inde Méridionale et le Cathay | From the Stacks S1

    Source:Malaca, l'Inde Méridionale et le Cathay (2019). National Library Singapore).


    References

    1. Kwa, C. G. et. al (2019). Seven hundred years: a history of Singapore. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions and National Library Board. eBook available via NLB Mobile. Call no. 959.57 KWA
    2. National Library Board (2015). Visualising space: maps of Singapore and the region. Available on BookSG