Episode Details

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jamari Ahmari talks about two halves of his roots. His parents were Boyanese. His father lived in a pondok (a community shelter for Boyanese migrants) at Upper Dickson Road before marrying his mother, who came to Singapore from Muar. He worked as a chauffeur for Soon Peng Yam and lived in the servants’ quarters at 19 Gilstead Road.

Jamari attended Monks Hill Primary School and Dunearn Secondary Technical School, where he was taught by Singapore’s champion sprinter, C. Kunalan. Classes at DSTS deepened his early interest in making things so and he decided to learn a trade. He enrolled in the apprenticeship programme at the newly-established Sembawang Shipyard as the British forces vacated their bases and Singapore’s industrialisation took off.

Part 1 | https://youtu.be/WUuy2BrXGps

Part 2 | https://youtu.be/YO6X7r-EgGs

00:00 Introduction

00:54 My Father from Bawean

05:57 Boyanese Jobs

10:24 The Pondok at Upper Dickson Road

12:58 Soon Peng Yam at 19 Gilstead Road

20:49 Monks Hill Primary School

25:39 Dunearn Secondary Technical School

32:14 Learning a Trade

40:10 Apprentice at Sembawang Shipyard

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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