Tanjong Katong Girls’ School (Sec 1 History Project – Individual Contribution)

Chua Jia Wen

Name:____________________________( 05 )
Class:____________Group:___________
1e3 goal diggers

SOURCE 1 / 2 / 3

1) Name of Website/Book/Museum: Website URL:

NLB eresources eresources.nlb.gov.sg

2) Provenance/Title of Source:

Chinese Coolies

3) Type of Source:
Eg. Newspaper article, Online article, Oral interview, Photograph. For oral interviews -
include name of interviewer and interviewee.
Online article

Select the relevant information you have found from the

textbook/website/museum and paste it here (100-150 words only). You may
also insert images. Do NOT modify the source or add in your own words.
Chinese coolies, who were engaged mostly in unskilled, hard labour, formed the early backbone of Singapore’s
labour force. They were mainly impoverished Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore in the latter half of the
19th century to seek fortune, but instead served as indentured labourers.1 Coolies were employed in almost every
sector of work including construction, agriculture, shipping, mining and rickshaw pulling.2

Job scope
Coolies were employed in mines, ports, plantations, construction sites and as rickshaw pullers.5 They did back-
breaking tasks under the sun and for long hours, such as loading and unloading cargo as well as tin-ore mining.

Coolies frequently faced abuse and ill treatment at the hands of the coolie brokers. In response to this, the Chinese
Protectorate was established in 1877 to handle the immigration and o cial procedures for coolies. William
Pickering became the rst Protector of the Chinese.12

Based on the source you have found, what does it say about how the
migrants contributed to the development of Singapore into a port city?
Based on the source found, it tells us that during early Singapore, Coolies were the one who helped us built the
country we lived in now and helped Singapore develop into a port city, with all that hard work, from being under
the sun and being employed in mines, et cetra
 Tanjong Katong Girls’ School (Sec 1 History Project – Individual Contribution)

SOURCE 1 / 2 / 3

1) Name of Website/Book/Museum: Website URL:

NLB eresources Eresources.nlb.gov.sg

2) Provenance/Title of Source:

Samsui Woman

3) Type of Source:
Eg. Newspaper article, Online article, Oral interview, Photograph. For oral interviews -
include name of interviewer and interviewee.
Online article

Select the relevant information you have found from the

textbook/website/museum and paste it here (100-150 words only). You may
also insert images. Do NOT modify the source or add in your own words.

Samsui women, also known as hong tou jin (红头⼱; Mandarin for “red headscarf”) after their trademark red
headgear,1 were female immigrants mainly from the Sanshui district of Canton (Guangdong today) province in
southern China. Other areas where they came from include Shunde and Dongguan, also in Canton province, as
well as places outside of Canton like Fujian and Chao’an, although samsui women from these regions were
much fewer. Samsui women started arriving in Singapore in large numbers in the mid-1930s and many found
work as general labourers in the construction industry.2 A large number of these women lived together in
shared accommodations. There are few samsui women left in Singapore today, as most have either passed
away or returned to China.3 They are often depicted in popular culture as thrifty and resilient individuals who
helped to build up the country’s infrastructure.4

Based on the source you have found, what does it say about how the
migrants contributed to the development of Singapore into a port city?

They were the ones who came to Singapore and helped us built Singapore into a port city. They were every
resilient people who were not only thrifty, but extremely resilient and continued working no matter how hard it
was. They were the ones who helped built the country’s infrastructure.
 Tanjong Katong Girls’ School (Sec 1 History Project – Individual Contribution)

SOURCE 1 / 2 / 3

1) Name of Website/Book/Museum: Website URL:

NLB eresources

2) Provenance/Title of Source:

Letter writers

3) Type of Source:
Eg. Newspaper article, Online article, Oral interview, Photograph. For oral interviews -
include name of interviewer and interviewee.
Online article

Select the relevant information you have found from the

textbook/website/museum and paste it here (100-150 words only). You may
also insert images. Do NOT modify the source or add in your own words.

Letter writers made a living out of writing letters. Their services were sought after by those who were semi-
literate as well as illiterate.1 The letters that they wrote were in calligraphic Chinese script and were used by
the Chinese migrants living in Singapore to communicate with their family members in China.2 Letter
writers were usually Chinese men who set up stalls along the busy lanes of Chinatown or the ve-foot-ways
of old shophouses.

The emergence of professional Chinese letter writers was attributed to the overwhelming rate of illiteracy,
especially among Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore in search of greener pastures. Although
these immigrants settled in Singapore and some with even families in tow, ties with their homeland China
were still strong. Groups of literate Chinese immigrants began to help pen the thoughts and feelings of their
compatriots such as the older folks, coolies, samsui women and the amah.

Based on the source you have found, what does it say about how the
migrants contributed to the development of Singapore into a port city?
The migrants helped the coolies, samsui women and amah and since they came to Singapore to
earn money for their family, and thus the letter writers were important people who allowed them to
communicate with their families. They helped many illiterate people and helped contributed to the
Tanjong Katong Girls’ School (Sec 1 History Project – Individual Contribution)