D'Walking Museum

Expect the unexpected with D'Walking Museum! – Inspire discovery through hands-on history.👈

Do You Remember This? I've held onto this coin holder since I was a child in the 1970s.🥰

Back before EZ-Link cards, NETS, PayNow, and mobile wallets, everyone used loose change every day. This small holder kept coins stacked and ready for bus fares, public phone calls, or grabbing a drink from a street vendor.🚍📞🥃

Younger Singaporeans might not even know what it is. If you still have one, feel free to share a photo in the comments.

I wonder how many have survived until today.🤔

Expect the unexpected with D'Walking Museum! – Inspire discovery through hands-on history.👈

After collecting these items for quite some time, I think it is finally time to document them properly, one by one, and remember where and why I bought each piece. 🥰

Some artefacts are set aside for the D’Walking Museum! projects, while others stay in my personal collection, which I have built through years of dedication to Singapore’s history. Every piece has its own story and a special link to our nation's past.🇸🇬✨

Expect the unexpected with D'Walking Museum! – Inspire discovery through hands-on history.👈

A remarkable handwritten letter from 21 July 1897

This fascinating piece of correspondence was written and signed by Sir Andrew Clarke, former Governor of the Straits Settlements, whose legacy still survives in 🇸🇬 Singapore today through the well-known ⛵️ Clarke Quay.

✒️📜Written from the Victoria Office in Westminster to W. Montier Woods, the letter reflects on Clarke’s involvement in the “suppression of Piracy and of Debt & Domestic Slavery” in Malacca and the Malay States during the British colonial era.

Sir Andrew Clarke is best remembered in regional history for his role in the Pangkor Treaty of 1874, which strengthened British influence in the Malay States and marked a turning point in colonial administration across Malaya. Although Singapore is not directly mentioned in the letter, these developments were closely tied to the Straits Settlements government centred in 🇸🇬Singapore, which served as the region’s key administrative and commercial hub.

What makes this artefact especially fascinating is that we are looking at an original handwritten document from nearly 130 years ago — a surviving voice from the colonial world that helped shape the history of 🇸🇬Singapore and the Malay Peninsula.

Expect the unexpected with D'Walking Museum! – Inspire discovery through hands-on history.👈

Have you ever come face-to-face with genuine photographs from the Sook Ching mass screening during Singapore’s Japanese Occupation?🧐

Most people have only seen such historical images reproduced in textbooks, magazines, or online. During our recent D’Walking Museum! session, this cohort of students had the rare opportunity to closely observe authentic occupation-era artefacts, including photographs connected to the Sook Ching mass screening carried out in Singapore.🇸🇬

Observing these artefacts up close made history feel incredibly real — almost as though the events had just happened yesterday.💥🎌

At D’Walking Museum!, we don’t just display artefacts… we share the stories behind them and bring students face-to-face with authentic pieces of history.🥰

Expect the unexpected with D'Walking Museum! – Inspire discovery through hands-on history.👈

✨There’s a quiet magic in watching how a simple artefact can unlock an entire world of wonder for a young mind.

💖🤏A small artefact, a big story. This hand-carved Tiger Cowrie shell, created as a memento for the Royal Corps of Transport (est. 1965), may look simple at first glance. But once it’s in the hands of a curious student, it transforms into something much more — a doorway into history, sparking questions and a sense of wonder, just like we shared together during the session.

🙏One student’s reflection stayed with me: “I can learn something new and can learn about Singapore.” Grateful for moments like these, and for the opportunity to spark curiosity in every session.

Finally getting around to sharing this earlier catch-up with Alvin from after a busy period. Truly grateful for his generous foreword and support for Singapore’s Dawn: Stories of Our Firsts. Much appreciated. 🙏💖

Happy to share that the book “Singapore’s Dawn: Stories of Our Firsts – Artefacts That Shaped a Nation’s Legacy,” has also been restocked at Kinokuniya (Ngee Ann City) and is available for worldwide shipping: https://singapore.kinokuniya.com/bw/9781917993098

A project built from years of collecting, researching, and preserving pieces of Singapore’s story. 🇸🇬💖

Expect the unexpected with D'Walking Museum! – Inspire discovery through hands-on history.👈

✨ Another meaningful session — where leadership is not just taught, but experienced.

✏️ “Learning new things and about the culture of Singapore.” — This simple reflection from a student speaks volumes about the curiosity sparked and new perspectives gained through the experience.

🎖️ Leadership is not solely taught; it is cultivated through direct experience.

🥰 Through D’Walking Museum!, young NE Ambassadors engaged with real artefacts and real stories, bringing Kouzes and Posner’s leadership concepts to life.

Expect the unexpected with D'Walking Museum! – Inspire discovery through hands-on history.👈

This morning, I read a feature in 《Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报》 about hospital heritage. It reminded me that history is shaped by many things: places, institutions, artefacts, and most importantly, the people and their stories.

It immediately brought to mind a piece from my own collection: a silver nurse registration badge from 1957, from a time when Singapore was still a colony.🇸🇬

The oval pendant badge features the figure of Hygeia, framed by a pale blue border inscribed “The Nursing Board Colony of Singapore.” On the reverse, it is engraved “1830 Chew Cheh Koon” and hallmarked by J.R. Gaunt & Sons, Birmingham, 1957—a simple marking yet one that speaks of a life dedicated to service.👩‍⚕️

It represents a generation of nurses who worked quietly on the frontlines, long before today’s systems and technology. Their commitment, resilience, and compassion helped lay the foundations of Singapore’s healthcare. Old objects may show their age, but the spirit behind them still shines through the generations.💖

If you have any information about Chew Cheh Koon, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you. Grateful to be able to preserve and share these stories.🙏

#联合早报

Expect the unexpected with D'Walking Museum! – Inspire discovery through hands-on history.👈

Ready for the next session—bringing Singapore’s stories to life, one artefact at a time.🥰🫰🇸🇬

Expect the unexpected with D'Walking Museum! – Inspire discovery through hands-on history.👈

🎯 Focused. Curious. Carefully examining the artefact in his hands.

✏️ “I like that we got to try, observe and touch some of the old items.”

💖 🚀 When students are able to handle real artefacts, history becomes something they can truly explore — not just something they read about. That moment of curiosity is where learning begins.