SONG Moh Ngai
Chinatown,
Accession Number 002304
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 25
Total Reels
- Yeo Loo Feng
Interviewer
- 12:12:33
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
All rights to the recordings and transcripts on this website, including the rights to copy, publish, broadcast and perform, are reserved. Written permission is required for any use. If you have any queries, please contact nas@nlb.gov.sg
Reel/Disc 1 of 25
Metadata
- 15 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:30:08
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Born in Singapore in 1929. Father learnt trade of watch making in Hong Kong. Later, started business of watch repairing at side of Majestic Theatre. Coffee stalls' girls at People's Park market. Interviewee worked in the day and opened stall at night. Types of business in new People's Park market. Another watch repair shop was opened at Change Alley. Father had to have second hand license to buy and sell second hand goods. Supply of second hand watches from pawnshops. Brands of watches. Grandfather strikes lottery.
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Reel/Disc 2 of 25
Metadata
- 15 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:30:24
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Further elaboration on family background. How father started his little business. Interviewee's memories of life at Pearl's Hill school. School fee. Most of the students of Pearl's Hill lived in Chinatown. Night soil station down at Park Road. How night soil truck looked like. Promoted to Outram school. In the afternoon, interviewee used to study in Chinese school. Father was a man with foresight.
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Reel/Disc 3 of 25
Metadata
- 15 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:30:32
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Staff were the most important mechanism in watches. Interviewee started to learn watch repairing at age of eleven. How father passed the skill of repairing to interviewee. Experiences gained over the years. Interviewee's career advancement. Father's stall was known as "Song Tat" . Physical description of father's stall at side of Majestic Theatre. Other goods sold. Account on how a gramophone worked. Where his father got his supply of other goods.
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Reel/Disc 4 of 25
Metadata
- 15 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:29:11
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Father also repaired clocks. Clocks made in Germany were durable. Grandfather clocks and hanging clocks. Differences between father's stall at side of Majestic and stall in People's Park market. Description of carbide lamp. Source of metal strap manufacturers. Where his father got his supply of spare parts for watches. Charges for changing watch straps and watch repair. Improvement of watches led to decline of watch repairing business.
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Reel/Disc 5 of 25
Metadata
- 22 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:30:09
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Business situation after moving into the new People's Park market. Differences between having a stall and a shop. Reasons for setting up business in Change Alley. Account on how father changed spectacle frames for customers. Description of how Change Alley was like in the past. Kinds of business found there. Hawkers started to occupy unlawful spaces along Change Alley.
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Reel/Disc 6 of 25
Metadata
- 22 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:30:04
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Even staircase spaces were rented out to hawkers. Father used to sell open razors. Brands of razors. Why Germany's hand tool industry died. Description of an open razor. Special piece of leather for honing razors. Their main customers. The itinerant knife sharpeners in Chinatown. How he honed the knives. Most concentrated business in Change Alley. Food stalls found at the side of Majestic Theatre. Story telling stalls opposite father's stall at the side of Majestic Theatre.
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Reel/Disc 7 of 25
Metadata
- 22 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:29:56
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Banda Hill, another popular spot for story telling. Description of story telling stall. Types of stories told. Itinerant medicine man moving around Chinatown. Roadside street singers used to perform in coffee shops. Wet market in the morning. Description of how a fountain pen worked. Popular brands of pens then. Common for people in the past to carry penknife around. Brands of penknife. Why father sold and repaired various goods.
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Reel/Disc 8 of 25
Metadata
- 22 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:30:44
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
How father decided on the types of goods to sell. Customers who would buy their second hand watches. Different types of watches. Jewel found in a watch. Location of watch shops selling high-class watches. Interviewee tried to repair on the spot whenever possible. Every part of a watch was difficult to repair. Their customer groups. Earning per month. In the 1950s, most watch repairers were Cantonese. Peak period for watch repairing. Problems faced by interviewee.
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Reel/Disc 9 of 25
Metadata
- 29 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:30:15
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Further elaboration on problems faced. How interviewee's friend helped him solved the triad's problem. Reason for giving up the watch repair business. Interviewee's view on watch industry over the years. Interviewee worked for Gety Bros & Company. Further discussion on the trend of watch industry. Later, interviewee joined the Federal Chemical Industry. Interviewee and colleagues carried out trade surveys before launching their new brand of MSG. Other brands of MSG. Interviewee left in 1965 and joined Paterson Simons.
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Reel/Disc 10 of 25
Metadata
- 29 Apr 2000
Recording Date
- 00:30:29
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
His main job duties at Paterson Simons. How to determine a good match. Interviewee always had to play hide and seek with the fire department. Book matches. Their stationery business. Greeting cards were also sold during festive seasons. The wholesaler shops at Rochor Road. The main and sub-distributor of cigarettes. Cigarette vans were often robbed then. How interviewee's company distributed their matches. Exporting of matches to other countries. Competition from China-made matches.
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