Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Singapore's Wartime Attractions
Singapore's Wartime Attractions
Singapores
Wartime
Heritage
Attractions
Joan C. Henderson
40
contemporary attractions.
There is a danger of emphasising
the consequences of the events
described for the colonial power
and neglecting the experiences of
the local population; this partly
reflects the nature of the
documentary evidence with
comparatively little information
available describing what life was
like during these years for the
ordinary people of Singapore.
There are no surviving official
written Japanese papers and only
a few personal memoirs, recently
supplemented by contributions to
an oral history project conducted
by the National Heritage Board.
The situation is further
complicated by the relationships
that the Japanese built up with
the ethnic groups in Singapore principally the Chinese, the
Malays and the Indians who were
each treated differently. Japan
also has its own literature on the
Malaya campaign which is
42
B.
C.
Ethnic Scenes
Arab Street
China Town
Little India
Landmarks and Memorials
CHIJMES
City Hall
Civilian War Memorial
Kranji War Memorial
Merlion Park
Parliament House and the Elephant Statue
Raffles Hotel
Statue of Sir Stamford Raffles
Supreme Court
Museums
Changi Prison Chapel and Museum
Chinaman Scholar's Gallery
National Museum
Republic of Singapore Air Force Museum
Royal Selangor Pewter Museum
Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Maritime Showcase
Singapore Mint Coin Gallery
Singapore Navy Museum
Singapore Philatelic Museum
Wartime heritage in
Singapore : The National
Museum
Singapore has a total of ten major
museums, four of which give
some space to the period 19421945. The National Museum,
operated by the National
Heritage Board, has a mission to
explore and present the heritage
and nationhood of the people of
Singapore.
Its permanent
collection contains a gallery of
twenty dioramas illustrating
highlights of Singapores history
from its founding to independence. Two of these relate to
wartime events - the Victory
Parade of the Japanese and the
Japanese Screening the Chinese
Population 18-22 February 1942
while a third entitled Official
Opening of Naval Base Dock 14
February 1938 is also relevant.
There is no other material on
permanent display.
The dioramas, by their very
nature, are static and the visitor
occupies a passive role as a
viewer of the scenes and reader of
information. The history is a
selective one with a degree of
oversimplification imposed by the
limitations of the form. It could
be concluded that there is an
absence of challenge in this
approach, although the dioramas
aim is to introduce the visitor to a
series of key events in Singapores
history and place the war years
within this broader picture.
The Air Force and Naval
Museums
The Republic of Singapore Air
Force Museum and Naval
Museum both give some attention
to the war, but their principal
focus is on the relatively short
histories of the respective
services. The air museum has a
collection of aviation-related
exhibits and records and artifacts
of historical value. Over half its
area is devoted to outdoor
displays and major highlights are
the aircraft missiles and support
equipment outdoors and the
indoor
dioramas
with
44
Images of Singapore
Sentosa Island lies just south of
Singapore Island to which it is
connected by a short causeway.
The island is operated by the
Sentosa
Development
Corporation, a public body, but
many of the various attractions
are run commercially. It has
been developed as a leisure
centre and contains a range of
facilities, two of which make use
of the war. Images of Singapore
is a three-part museum including
Pioneers of Singapore, The
Surrender
Chambers
and
Festivals of Singapore. The
Surrender Chambers uses
tableaux, animatronics and audio
visuals to depict the battle for
Malaya and Singapore in
chronological sequence. There is
also authentic film shot by
cameramen of both sides and a
simulated soundtrack, Japanese
occupation artifacts and telephone recordings of the memories
46
appropriate development of
which would be of value to
residents and visitors alike allowing a better understanding
of the past, an appreciation of its
effects on the present and helping
to secure a more peaceful future.
Future research
As already stated, there is a need
to explore further the effectiveness of heritage attractions in
communicating history and their
ability to generate states of
mindlessness and mindfulness.
Such studies should involve an
assessment of visitor responses
and experiences at particular
sites, leading to clarification of
key determinants and a set of
measures with wider application.
Within the context of Singapores
wartime heritage, topics for
research include the attitudes of
residents towards the war years
and whether, as well as how,
these should be commemorated.
Ack nowledging that heritage
belongs to the hosts rather than
guests
and
consid ering
mechanisms for shaping its
presentation accordingly might
help to meet the criticism often
directed at tourism development
of
its
debasement
and
commercialisation of culture.
Official policy needs also be
explored, examining the decision
making process behind heritage
management and the role of
formal agencies in promoting
greater awareness amongst
Singaporeans of their roots and
history. Such an approach raises
the interesting, and neglected,
issue of how a relatively new
nation still seeking to forge a
common cultural identity deals
with its past.
Extending the geographical scope
of the subject allows an analysis
of how the events and aftermath
of war have been treated in other
parts of the region. For example,
the Thai-Burma railway line
built by Second World War
prisoners to which reference has
already been made is a popular
tourist site and Vietnam is
48
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