Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. As a teenager in the early 1960s, Jean Ang and her mother went to the wharves to work as longsai, a corruption of the word ‘alongside’. Jean describes how they cleaned the insides of ships, braving the dangers of work that was done by women. Jean lived at Duxton Road and her mother was previously a samsui woman.

00:00 Introduction

02:24 The Longsai, or Ship Cleaners

08:20 Cleaning the Ship

15:32 Hazards & Accidents

20:50 My Mother was also a Samsui Woman

24:29 The Samsui Woman Painting

27:23 My Schools

I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

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