Eurasian Exhibition and WWII Exhibition in Singapore

The Eurasian centre is near Geylang. On the ground floor, up a few steps, is an exhibition on Eurasians.

I had always thought that Eurasians were mixed Europeans and Asians - Chinese - the majority face and language of Singapore. When I first came to Singapore, it was just before the air crash which killed writer Bonny Hicks and I read her books, 'Excuse Me, Are You A Model?', and 'Discuss Disgust', about the problems and prejudice she faced as a child, and as an adult.

But at this exhibition I discovered that the Eurasians at this centre and in the Toastmasters club were not Chinese but mainly mixed Indian and British.

What is the difference between Eurasian and Anglo-Indian? Eurasians and a mixture of Europeans and Asians, have a European parent, usually the father, and an Asian or to be more precise, Indian mother. Anglo-Indians have two Indian parents but are brought up in Either India or often in England, and look Indian but speak Fluent English from childhood and are completely Anglicised in their cultural customs as well as language.

The majority of them will have two Christian parents, not as I expected, Anglicans, but often Catholics. With language and religion in common, they find it easy to get along, have shared interests, and gain acceptance from both families.

Exhibition and Eurasian History
What is there to see in the exhibition? After the explanation of who are or were the earliest Eurasians, you see the history of the organisation. Not a phenomenon of fighting prejudice at the Thirties or WWII. Nor in the Liberal days post-war. But way back in the 1880s. Yes, long before Lee Kuan Yew decided that best way to prevent riots and massacres was to divide the races up so that no sub group could gather together to plan trouble. Lee Kuan Yew ensured everybody would have friendly neighbours in a mixed race community,

Raffles, by contrast, had established enclaves such as we now see in Chinatown and Little India. Similarly, the earliest settlers, gathered at clubs for groups of people speaking the same language. So the Eurasians, like many others, founded a club where they could meet, speak the same language, and eat familiar food.

Wedding Dress
The largest and most striking exhibition piece is the wedding dress in white. I also liked the letter from the groom to the parents of his bride to be. He ended by telling them that he had already approached his own parents and received their blessing.

White Bread Sandwiches
Today the club has a restaurant on the ground floor. To my surprise, when they provided sandwiches, the sandwiches where white bread with vegetables and or cheese or egg, but into large triangles. The fashion nowadays is to serve a mixture of brown bread, considered healthier, or a usually appealing mixture of brown and white, often cut into smaller sizes.

Victorian Sandwiches
Only after reflecting on the style of food, and the Victorian era origins of the club, did it occur to me that triangles of white bread with cucumber would have been the fare of the Victorian era.

WWII Exhibition
Upstairs was another exhibition about Eurasians, this time concentrating on how they fared in WWII. Like the exhibition I had seen a day previously at The Old For Factory Museum, about WWII (on the site of the surrender to the Japanese) this history of the Eurasians included maps of the region in WWII and some stories including a few harrowing ones about those who disappeared and living in fear.

On a brighter note, and of interest to those who are nervous about bringing in groups who might include a Japanese friend, a large display is about a Japanese man who saved Eurasians by sending them to a centre in Malaysia, out of the way of greater danger in Singapore.

MRT Aljunied
K a l l i n g

A map of their location is on their Facebook site.

Eurasian Association, Singapore
139 Ceylon Road, Singapore 429744.
Tel: (+65) 6447 1578
Email:membership@eurasians.org


Angela Lansbury B A Hons, CL, ACG.