Episode Details

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Historian Stephen Dobbs observed that it was the little boats called lighters (twakows in Hokkien) which made the Singapore River’s trade possible. The remarkable men who worked onboard the lighters were able to move heavy cargo while expertly balanced on the boats. Stephen relates the labour and political issues which led to a major strike in 1961, changing the bonds between the owners and workers in the lighterage industry.

*The strike was in 1961 and not 1963 as mentioned in the podcast.

Part 1 | https://youtu.be/UBEsiwawVl4

Part 2 | https://youtu.be/FYFXGWMU1AE

Part 3 | https://youtu.be/NfTtBicx2us

00:00 The Lighters

05:29 The Owners

12:42 The Lightermen

18:05 Sea Legs, Skill & Speed

26:47 A Dying Trade

30:30 Danger at Work

31:34 The 1961 Strike

35:22 Politics of the Strike

The Singapore River: A Social History, 1819-2002

https://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/the-singapore-river

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories:

• Old places or kampongs.

• Communities – their way of life & culture.

• Childhood & schools.

• Work or business.

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