Here is a snapshot of fathers in Singapore from the 1910s to present day. What has affected them through the decades? What was life as a father like in the past? Take these snippets and share your memories with your children, or ask your own dad or granddad about the days of old.

1910 – 1959: For the earliest part of the last century, fathers were a minority in the population. Between 1910 and 1930, the population boom fueled by immigration consisted mainly of single men, overwhelmingly from China and India.

Family life in Singapore then was mostly enjoyed by the local Malay community of all classes. For the immigrant communities, only the fairly well-to-do, white collar, business or middle class set up family.

More accounts of local fathers emerge after 1930, narrated by their children growing up as river residents and kampong dwellers (their parents mostly worked on farms, in factories and workshops, or as hawkers). It was common to find children working alongside their fathers after school hours, for instance, at the farm or hawker stall.

Life for hawker families revolved, surprisingly, around the public latrine, as it provided the free supply of fresh water. Needless to say, diseases became rampant.

Fathers frequently relied on their communities to provide basic needs such as haircuts, medical and dental care, and security. Sometimes this reliance came at a price – ‘protection money’.

If you were a kid in the early 1900s, your father may have wanted you to learn English because it provided better work prospects in the British colony.

1960 – 1979: The experience of fathers in this period was inextricably linked to the tumult of constant transitions and reinvention of the political, economic and social landscape.

The 1960s commenced in the midst of a housing crisis, when only nine per cent of families lived in government-built housing. Underscoring the rapid changes of the time, within 10 years, the housing problem was essentially overcome.

This involved uprooting many households from their quarters (frequently kampongs and slums), and into the ubiquitous Housing Development Board-built ‘new town’ apartment blocks in which most of our population dwells today.

There was also improvement in transport infrastructure, communications and of course, food.

Singapore Bus Services was formed during this period, likewise the Singapore Telephone Board. Fathers who drove their vehicles to work in the city were pioneers of sorts, as the world’s first road pricing scheme rolled out in 1975 – the Area Licensing Scheme.

On the food front, the hawker scene flourished in the form of regulated hawker centres, where dads and families could enjoy their favourite fare in relative comfort and safety. For the first time, dads were also able to enjoy fast food and happy meals with their families, at the A&W Restaurant, in Cuscaden Road.

If you were a kid during this time, you would have been encouraged to become effectively bilingual, which meant taking up a Second Language in school.

1980 – 1999: To mark the start into another transformative era, the 1980s began with a sudden and dramatic decline in agricultural activities in Singapore. For farming fathers, these were likely their last days tilling the ground.

The last of the boats trawling the Singapore River would also disappear (1983) in this phase of Singapore’s transformation.

Changes were also brewing for fathers in all other industries. The formation of the National Computer Board in 1981 marked the spread of computer usage at the workplace, starting with the civil service. Within ten years, every working Singaporean would be directly impacted by this innovation.

By 1992, Singapore Telecommunications introduced Teleview, and dads were for the first time, able to connect to this service through 1200-2400 bit dialup modems at home. The Internet would follow soon after.

The technology drive led to innovations which made possible another pioneering scheme in urban transport, called Electronic Road Pricing (1998).

As a kid growing up in the 1980s, you likely would have received an electronic gaming toy from your dad as a present.

The Current Millenium (2000 and beyond): The Noughties opened with some drama as dads everywhere held their collective breaths in anticipation of a possible major breakdown in computer systems and networks everywhere. Fortunately, the Y2K bug would only have a minor impact on civilisation.

This non-event was punctuated by two recessions, in 1999 and 2003, and would serve as a precursor to the emergence of bugs of a different kind, as in the Severe Acute Respiratory System outbreak (2003) and H1N1 pandemic (2009). Fathers across Singapore became much more attuned to health threats.

Ironically, a different kind of bug would have a far more widespread impact on fathers here, especially those with toddlers and young children, as the Hand Foot Mouth Disease virus reared its ugly, but relatively non-lethal, head.

If you are a kid growing up in this decade, did your dad ever buy an electronic thermometer for your home?

One development was certainly positive for fathers in Singapore in the 2000s. There was an increased appreciation of the importance of active fathers in the lives of their children. Many fathers would have put up the car decals, visited the website, and participated in discussions with other fathers. Yes, this was the time when Dads for Life came to be in 2009.

Tell us –

Did we miss something from your era? What can you say about being a dad in your time? Do you want to ask other dads from your era a question? Do it in our forum! Do you have an old photo to share of your dad or family? Join us on Flickr!

References:

1. Dobbs, Stephen (2003), The Singapore River: A Social History 1819 – 2002, Singapore University Press, Singapore.

2. Heng, Derek (Ed.). (2006), New Perspectives and Sources on the History of Singapore: A Multi-disciplinary Approach, National Library Board, Singapore.

3. Hon, Joan (unlisted), Tidal Fortunes (pp. 111-54). Landmark Books, Singapore. (A Ministry of the Environment Project).

4. Huff, W. G. (1994), The Economic Growth of Singapore, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

5. Kwa, Chong Guan, Heng, Derek and Tan, Tai Yong (2009), Singapore: A 700-Year History, National Archives of Singapore, Singapore.

6. Shelley, Rex (2010). Dr Paglar: Everyman’s Hero, Straits Times Press, Singapore.

7. Turnbull, C.M. (2009), A History of Modern Singapore 1819 – 2005, NUS Press, Singapore.

8. Warren, James F. (1986), Rickshaw Coolie: A People’s History of Singapore (1880-1940), Oxford University Press, Singapore.

9. Wee, Ann. The Way We Were – The Singapore family of times past. From The Ties That Bind, a Collection of Essays by AWARE (1996). Armour Publishing, Singapore.

10. Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore – History: http://www.ava.gov.sg/AboutAVA/History/ retrieved on 24 July 2011.

11. CIA – The World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sn.html, retrieved on 24 July 2011.

12. HDB InfoWEB: HDB History: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10320p.nsf/w/AboutUsHDBHistory?OpenDocument, retrieved on 24 July 2011.

13. Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore – Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infocomm_Development_Authority_of_Singapore retrieved on 24 July 2011.

14. Internet in Singapore – Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_Singapore retrieved on 24 July 2011.

About the Author: The Dads for Life Resource Team comprises local content writers and experts, including psychologists, counsellors, educators and social service professionals, dedicated to developing useful resources for dads.