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Jurong was once dubbed “Goh’s Folly” by critics of Dr Goh’s plan to develop the swampland into Singapore’s prime industrial estate. However, Dr Goh eventually proved his critics wrong by expanding Jurong to become Singapore’s largest industrial estate.

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Source: Beyond Boundaries: The First 35 Years of the NOL Story, 2004

Singapore's shipping line, Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), started operations in 1968 with only five vessels. Established by the government to secure low freight rates for local industries and boost export of local products, it is the largest shipping and transportation company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) today, posting a revenue of US$7.3 billion in 2006. Shown here is the “Neptune Taurus”, the first tanker ship owned by NOL in 1971.

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The success of Changi International Airport today stems from a bold decision in 1975 to go beyond Paya Lebar Airport by building an entirely new airport at Changi, on land vacated by the British army. Despite conservative reactions over the project’s scale and cost, the government foresaw that the initial plan to expand Paya Lebar Airport and build a second runway would only cause serious urban congestion and noise pollution and not address the growing demand in air traffic.

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The MRT system lasted 20 years in the making, from the initial feasibility studies conducted in 1967 as part of City Planning and numerous technical surveys in the 1970s, up to the running of the first trains in 1987.

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Source: PUB Annual Report 1968

Electric ovens and stoves were made available for rent at $1.70 per month in 1968, as part of government policy to encourage households to move away from high fire-risk cooking methods such as burning firewood and charcoal.

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Source: PUB Annual Report 1968

Between 1965 to 1975, the length of highways, streets and rural roads illuminated with streetlights almost tripled from 892km to 2,281km. To meet the island’s power needs, planning for Singapore’s second power station at Senoko started even as Jurong Power Station was under construction.

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Source: NAS

The number of standpipes in use in Singapore dwindled from about 2,500 in 1965 to just two in 1975 as rapid improvements to the water supply chain brought clean water directly to people’s homes.

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Source: NAS

Sentosa would probably have become an oil refinery or military base today if not for Dr Winsemius’ foresight to fight to reserve the island to propel the tourism industry as a pillar of economic growth. Shown here is a map of Blakang Mati (Sentosa) in 1895. It remained part of the British military base and was sparsely populated by barracks and a few kampongs up to the 1960s.

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Source: MICA


Source: Wei Sin Public School, 1958

The mailbox system designed for HDB flats was first displayed at the 1973 Made in Singapore Goods Exhibition at National Stadium Complex. It has since become a standard facility not only for HDB estates but in many private-housing flats as well. Export of other locally produced goods such as insect repellent, medicated oil, soft drinks, condensed milk and biscuits was pushed through trade fairs, exhibitions and trade missions at home and abroad.

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Singapore’s status as a financial hub grew from its strategic geographical location which allowed it to plug the time gap between the closing of San Francisco’s financial market and opening of Zurich’s the next day. Singapore’s entry would create, for the first time, a 24-hour round-the-world service in money and banking.

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Source: Lim Kim San Collection, NAS

Singapore’s first currency – the Orchid series, was issued on 12 June 1967 and bore the signature of Finance Minister Lim Kim San. The Singapore dollar today remains of equal value and is interchangeable with the Brunei dollar because of an Interchangeability Agreement signed in 1967 to ensure ease in trade.