Unlocking Singapore’s Secrets, One State Property at a Time

The Pasir Panjang 'A' Power Station has a distinctive red-brick architecture.

On a humid Saturday morning in July 2017, a small crowd has gathered where few Singaporeans would normally go: outside Pasir Panjang ‘A’ Power Station.

Built in the 1950s, the red-bricked building is the first of eight sites for a series of guided tours, called “Discovering Singapore’s Best Kept Secrets”, a collaboration by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and heritage blogger Jerome Lim (The Long and Winding Road).

Leading the two-hour tour is Mr Lim, armed with old photos of the power station and stories of how it contributed to early Singapore’s electricity needs. The power station is Singapore’s second after St James Power Station.

The guided tours are a way to “educate and share memories of our past”, says SLA Corporate Communications Manager Ms Cheryl Lim. She heads the organising team and was among several SLA officers present at the tour.

With the public’s growing interest in local history and heritage, the SLA saw an opportunity to raise awareness of the roles that State properties played in Singapore’s history and development.

The SLA has worked with Mr Lim to document State properties, and for exhibitions and workshops at the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. So collaborating again was “only natural”, she says.

#SLASecretSpaces

The eight sites include the Old Kallang Airport, former Central Police Station and the Adam Park Estate. All were chosen for their unique architectural features and roles in Singapore’s history and development, says Ms Lim.

As a community engagement initiative, the guided tours are also a way “to document and preserve our history”, she adds. To collate the photos on social media, the SLA uses the hashtag #SLASecretSpaces. (The SLA also started their Instagram account soon after in August 2017.)

Top left and right: The SLA’s State properties are occasionally open for public uses. Pictured here is an art event and a movie screening at the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. Bottom left: A view of the East Block at the Old Kallang Airport. Bottom right: Retired Staff Sergeant Philip Xavier showed up at Old Beach Road Police Station to share his stories.

Fastest fingers first

Each guided tour is open to only about 30 participants. It is a rare and exclusive opportunity, and the regular participants know it too: slots are often fully snapped up within minutes of the registration links going live. Ms Lim says: “We were pleasantly surprised to receive an overwhelming response for all the tours.”

Among the participants are photography buffs, as well as architecture and heritage enthusiasts. Many are fans of Mr Lim’s heritage blog. Responding to popular demand, a rerun was conducted for several sites during the Singapore Heritage Festival in April. Since then, a second series has started and will continue till the end of 2018.

Roping in the community

As part of his own interest, and to provide a good guided tour experience, Mr Lim may take several weeks to research each State property.

He often spends Saturdays at the National Library, looking through relevant archival material – maps, photographs, interviews, newspaper articles, research papers, books, even films and newsreels – and piecing the information together.

He also had help from the heritage community to provide a richer experience. For example, Mr Mok Ly Yng, a cartographer, was “kind enough to share his expert opinion from maps he studied” on places such as Old Changi Hospital, Adam Park Estate and the former View Road Hospital, says Mr Lim.

The SLA helped by inviting experts who uncovered a chapel mural at Adam Park to share their findings, says Mr Lim. Through the Singapore Police Force, the SLA also enlisted the assistance of a retired police officer who worked at Beach Road Police Station to speak to tour participants.

The people behind the spaces

Mr Lim also found people with personal stories and photographs to share.

For the tour to Old Changi Hospital, he invited Mrs Shona Trench, whom he had met at other heritage events, to speak of her family’s experiences at the hospital. She was born there and her father had also recuperated there from a bout of pneumonia. (She even brought her birth certificate along.)

Left: For all guided tours, Mr Jerome Lim prepares old photos of the State properties to use as visual aids. Top right: A black-and-white bungalow at Adam Park Estate. Bottom right: Many attend the guided tours toting their cameras, while others come with sketchbooks to record the unique architectural features they see.

With the help of friends from the Sembawang Naval Base community, Mr Lim, a naval architect by day, identified two former residents of View Road Hospital. They had lived there when it was used as the Naval Base Police Force’s Asian Barracks.

Bloggers and other community members can be particularly helpful in reaching out to their respective audiences, Mr Lim says. “Public agencies should try to draw on that, especially if there is need to engage with specific audiences.”

Building relationships

For Ms Lim and the SLA team, the overwhelmingly positive response was unexpected, but encouraging. Many participants took beautiful photos and wrote informative blog entries about the properties, she says.

They also shared ideas, giving feedback that Pasir Panjang ‘A’ Power Station would be a great venue for art exhibitions. The SLA team have had requests to use the space for photoshoots and events such as movie screenings and weddings.

The Old Changi Hospital is popular for its views of the sea. Participants said it would be a great spot for a hotel or resort, says Ms Lim. The SLA has taken their feedback and will explore their suggestions.

Taking the effort to build relationships with the heritage community and interest groups, “to hear them out and be in touch with the ground”, has been worth it.

Ms Lim says: “Once you have new ideas, no matter how small, just push ahead to fulfil it. You can be pleasantly surprised by the outcome and the value it might bring.”

Look out for details about upcoming guided tours on Mr Lim’s blog.

For more updates and to see photographs taken by tour participants, follow #SLASecretSpaces on Facebook and Instagram (@SingaporeLandAuthority).

Text by Siti Maziah Masramli.

Photos by Singapore Land Authority.