Stephen Dobbs – The Singapore River & the Lightermen Part 3 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Stephen Dobbs and I trace the redevelopment of the river for tourism and entertainment in the early 1990s. We reflect on the efforts to conserve the rich heritage of the river. Although the façade of the old shophouses was retained, the lightermen, and the pre-existing socio-economic life generally, were removed from the river, creating a very different commercial area. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/UBEsiwawVl4 Part 2 | https://youtu.be/FYFXGWMU1AE Part 3 | https://youtu.be/NfTtBicx2us 00:00 A New Vision for the River 04:29 Three New Quays 08:17 Heritage & Tourism 10:12 Relocation of the Lighters 18:22 Fates of the Lightermen 21:41 Impact on the People 26:33 A Living River The Singapore River: A Social History, 1819-2002 https://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/the-singapore-river I’m Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. As a historian, I try to stay true to the oral history method on a video format and social media platform. I let the interviewee speak, as the ‘voice of the past’ as Paul Thompson put it. No clickbait, no BS, no posturing. The aim is to canvas a wide range of voices on various aspects of Singapore history and heritage – physical, social, cultural, economic. Do like the video, share your memories below and subscribe to the channel for future episodes. Write to lohkahseng@chroniclesresearch.com if you have any of these stories to share: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. Support Chronicles of Old Singapore on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore Follow the channel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551786759344 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lks992002 Chronicles Research & Education is my research consultancy on the history of Singapore: https://www.chroniclesresearch.com/ Caveat: this is above all a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable and what is recalled here should not be taken as fact. However, as Alessandro Portelli noted, the subjectivity of oral history is also its great strength, and what is inaccurately remembered may point to how deeply meaningful the past is to people. #singaporehistory #memory #heritage #nostalgia #oralhistory #socialhistory #history #singapore