As Singapore approaches its 60th year of independence, it’s a perfect moment to look back—not just at the well-known milestones, but also the lesser-known and sometimes surprising stories from the nation’s history.
Though Singapore has only been an independent nation for six decades, its rich and complex past stretches far beyond that, and it’s anything but boring. So, without further ado, here are six moments in Singapore’s past you might not have heard of.
1. The Hello Kitty plushies that sparked nationwide frenzy
Hello Kitty has long captured the hearts of fans worldwide, but at the turn of the millennium, Singaporeans took their obsession to the extreme. In the early 2000s, McDonald’s sparked nationwide frenzy with a 40-day promotion featuring limited-edition Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel plush toys, each clad in traditional wedding attire from different ethnic groups.
Fans queued overnight, roads were jammed up, and the fast food chain had to deploy over 130 security guards just to manage crowds.
At its Boon Keng outlet, the chaos culminated in a glass door shattering under the pressure of the crowd, injuring at least seven people. Three of them had to be sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for outpatient treatment. In addition, the long wait was physically draining for some, which resulted in fainting spells.
Fights broke out, too—most infamously between a doctor and a lorry driver who brawled over the collectible, while six people were arrested for rioting and disorderly conduct.
The chaos sparked by the Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel plush toys drew widespread complaints, not just from the public but also from the business community. The Federation of Merchants’ Association, which represents around 6,000 small and medium enterprises, voiced concerns over the disruption, and merchants operating in housing estates reported that the long queues outside McDonald’s outlets were adversely affecting their businesses.
McDonald’s eventually slapped a four-toy limit per customer and pulled the toys from several of its then 113 outlets. Despite the restrictions, a total of 2.8 million toys were sold over the course of the promotion.
Some customers snapped them up purely for resale, flipping them at marked-up prices. At the time, a pair of Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel plush toys cost S$4.50 with the purchase of an Extra Value Meal. There were six designs in total, but on the resale market, the full set went for as much as S$980.
2. Battlebox: A WWII time capsule
Just a short walk from today’s malls and museums lies a hidden wartime relic: The Battlebox, a nine-metre-deep underground bunker in Fort Canning Hill.
Built between 1936 and 1939, it served as the British and Allied forces’ underground command centre during the final stretch of the Malayan Campaign in World War II.
It was meant to help the Allies coordinate a unified defence against the invading Japanese army. Instead, it became the site that marked Britain’s greatest military defeat in its history.
On 15 February 1942, Lieutenant-General Arthur E. Percival and his commanders made the fateful decision to surrender to Japanese forces here. The formal surrender was signed hours later at the Former Ford Factory in Bukit Timah. The event marked the sudden end of 120 years of British colonial rule and the start of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore.
Today, the Battlebox has been restored and opened to the public. Visitors can explore the eerie space—roughly the size of three basketball courts—lined with recreated rooms, wartime texts, photographs, and life-sized figures depicting the final days leading up to the end of the British colonial rule.
3. Before skyscrapers, there were pirates: Singapore’s forgotten maritime past
Long before container ports and towering cranes, Singapore’s waters were feared by sailors.
For centuries, Temasek (as Singapore was then known) was infamous for its treacherous, pirate-infested straits—painting a stark contrast to the gleaming skyscrapers you see today.
Even 14th-century Chinese voyager Wang Dayuan described the strait as perilous, filled with “pillage, ancient rituals, and barbarism.”
Wang’s words specifically referred to Dragon’s Tooth Strait (龙牙门, Long Ya Men), a place now identified as the western entrance of Keppel Harbour. The term Dragon’s Tooth refers to a prominent rock that once overlooked the entrance of the waterway.
The sailing route, situated between Labrador Point and Fort Siloso, was a critical passage for traders journeying between Europe, the Middle East, and China. But merchant ships navigating the channel faced a deadly threat: ruthless pirate attacks that left crews slaughtered and cargo plundered into the black market.
By the time the British arrived on Singapore’s shores in the 1800s, the original inhabitants of Dragon’s Tooth Gate had long vanished—though what became of them remains a mystery.
The rock formation itself was demolished in the mid-19th to widen the channel for the growing number of steamships navigating the strait.
4. Ngee Ann City: From burial grounds to Orchard Road landmark
Where Ngee Ann City now stands was once Tai Shan Ting (泰山亭), a cemetery established in 1845 by the Teochew charitable foundation Ngee Ann Kongsi.
Spanning 70 acres between Orchard Road, Paterson Road, and Grange Road, the site served as a final resting place fo Teochew migrants, many of whom were too poor to return to China.
In the 1950s, the Singapore government acquired the land for urban redevelopment.
The first development on the cleared site was the 10-storey Ngee Ann Building. However, it proved unprofitable and was demolished in 1985 to make way for Ngee Ann City. This time, a Feng Shui master was consulted to oversee the design and construction of the new complex.
Some have speculated that the current layout of Ngee Ann City draws inspiration from a Teochew tombstone—its twin towers are said to resemble red candlesticks, while the five flagpoles and fountain mimic joss sticks and wine offerings. Even the mall’s curved frontage is believed to mirror the arm-like silhouette of a traditional tombstone.
However, Ngee Ann Kongsi has denied the symbolism, claiming Western architectural inspiration with Chinese touches.
Still, every few years, Ngee Ann City hosts an elaborate Thanksgiving Prayer Ceremony, honouring ancestors near the Qing Ming Festival—a tradition that quietly remembers the land’s past.
5. The opium trade: Colonial Singapore’s dark past
While today’s Singapore is famously drug-free, opium was once legal—and big business.
The practice of opium smoking is believed to have arrived with early Chinese migrants. In 19th-century China, it was a widely accepted social practice among both the elite and working classes, and the act of offering an opium pipe to a visitor was akin to serving tea. Some research, however, shows that the habit had been adopted in Singapore instead.
These immigrants formed a crucial part of Singapore’s early population and labour force. Among them were coolies, impoverished Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore to seek fortune, but instead served as indentured labourers.
They were mostly engaged in unskilled, physically demanding work—labouring long hours under the sun for punishingly low wages.
As an escape from their harsh realities, many turned to opium, and soon became addicted. The British colonial government saw an opportunity in this growing dependency. In 1830, it legalised and taxed opium under The Opium Regulation, turning addiction into a source of state revenue.
The opium trade made for such a roaring business that one report found it accounted for between 43.3 and 59.1% of the total revenue from the colony of the Straits Settlements from 1898 to 1906.
By the early 20th century, addiction remained rampant—but it had also prompted growing opposition from reformers and social institutions. In response, the government began tightening control, issuing licences in 1925 that restricted opium use to private premises.
Stricter regulations followed over the decades, bolstered by activist efforts. In a decisive move, the Singapore government extended the death penalty to manufacturers, importers and exporters of cocaine on 30 November 1989, signalling its zero-tolerance stance on drug abuse.
6. Pulau Saigon: Singapore’s vanished island
Once nestled in the Singapore River was a tiny island surrounded by mangroove swamps: Pulau Saigon.
Despite its size, the island bustled with activity—home to warehouses, sago mills, incinerators, and Singapore’s first abattoir. But with its heady mix of industrial odours, Pulau Saigon gained a gritty, less-than-pleasant reputation.
But as the city-state modernised, the island was demolished in 1986 and was eventually merged into the expanding mainland in 1991.
Today, residential buildings, roads and bridges cover the site, erasing nearly all traces of the island.
The Tan Si Chong Su Temple, once a key landmark on Pulau Saigon, was relocated to nearby Magazine Road, just across a street built over the old riverbed—serving as a quiet reminder of a lost piece of Singapore’s natural geography.
- Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s current affairs here.
Featured Image Credit: Battlebox/ National Library of Singapore/ Shutterstock.com