From Orphanage to Entertainment Venue: Colonial and Post-Colonial Singapore Reflected in the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus
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From Orphanage to Entertainment Venue: Colonial and post-colonial Singapore reflected in the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus by Sandra Hudd, B.A., B. Soc. Admin. School of Humanities Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the qualification of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania, September 2015 ii Declaration of Originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the Universityor any other institution, except by way of backgroundi nformationand duly acknowledged in the thesis, andto the best ofmy knowledgea nd beliefno material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text oft he thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. �s &>-pt· � r � 111 Authority of Access This thesis is not to be made available for loan or copying fortwo years followingthe date this statement was signed. Following that time the thesis may be made available forloan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. :3 £.12_pt- l� �-- IV Abstract By tracing the transformation of the site of the former Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, this thesis connects key issues and developments in the history of colonial and postcolonial Singapore. The convent, established in 1854 in central Singapore, is now the ‗premier lifestyle destination‘, CHIJMES. I show that the Sisters were early providers of social services and girls‘ education, with an orphanage, women‘s refuge and schools for girls. They survived the turbulent years of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore and adapted to the priorities of the new government after independence, expanding to become the largest cloistered convent in Southeast Asia. In the 1980s, with urban redevelopment a priority for the new nation, the government acquired the site, demolished some buildings, and put the remainder out to private tender. The chapel and the former nuns‘ residence are now classified as National Monuments. Despite the classification, and in line with government policy of adaptive re-use of heritage buildings, the CHIJMES complex now contains numerous bars and restaurants, and the deconsecrated chapel is used for wedding receptions and other events. Tracking the physical and usage changes of the site, this thesis works to make sense of the journey from convent to entertainment venue. In a society that has undergone massive change economically and socially, and, above all, transitioned from colonial enterprise to wealthy independent city- state, the physical changes and differing usages of the site over the years echo the changes in the nation. The thesis thus uses the Convent/CHIJMES as a site for reading the changes in colonial and post-colonial Singapore. My time period – 1854 to the present – spans the colonial era, including the disruption of the Japanese Occupation during World War Two, the immediate post-colonial period of independence, and the subsequent massive economic and physical development of Singapore into a world city. In a context of rapid change and globalisation, I also examine how the past is remembered in Singapore through the designation of National Monuments and historic sites, as well as how the Convent itself is remembered. The scope of the thesis necessitated an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on a broad range of scholarship, including history, social geography, religion, urban studies, heritage conservation and museum studies. In addition, I have analysed personal narratives, contemporary media reports and the visual record, using v historical and contemporary photographs. In examining a physical set of buildings, I approach the site as a text in which layers of meaning can be read, not only about the site itself, but about the development of Singapore. The transformation of the site, from a wholly European institution into something more quintessentially Singaporean, offers an example which troubles some of the dichotomies about colonialism and about missionaries. The focus on French Catholic nuns in a British, and therefore Anglican, colony adds to the complexity of our understanding of colonialism, and I argue that the laissez-faire approach to free trade also extended to a tolerance of religious missions. The nuns‘ work with orphans, women seeking refuge, and in the education of girls, adds to the richness of our understanding of social issues in colonial Singapore, and demonstrates that they were women who actively contributed to the development of education and social welfare services. In this thesis, I argue that Singapore was both colonised and decolonised in ways that complicate the wider narrative of empire. I also address the postcolonial impetus for industrialisation and urban redevelopment in the new nation and the initial privileging of development over heritage conservation. An examination of the acquisition of the site and its ‗adaptive reuse‘ tells us much about the imagining of the new Singapore. The subsequent turn to heritage conservation in the 1980s and 1990s meant that many heritage buildings and sites have been preserved, and an examination of these national monuments and historic sites shows that Singapore has incorporated its colonial past into its national narrative in ways that differ from many other ex-colonies. Despite a greater focus on heritage conservation, government policies of continued economic development have generated community angst about lost heritage and a nostalgia for the past. In a Singapore that is constantly changing its built environment, I argue that the recent changes at CHIJMES demonstrate not only the relentless developmentalism of the modern city-state, but also the fracture lines in the national narrative. I use the concept of a building as a palimpsest of meaning to show that past uses of buildings resurface at times and that redevelopment does not always erase emotional attachments to place. vi Acknowledgements There are of course many people to thank in this long journey to dissertation completion. I could not have asked for a better Supervisor. Dr Nicole Tarulevicz was knowledgeable, encouraging and always available for advice. Thanks too to Dr Kaz Ross for her guidance and for getting me started on pursuing a PhD. The UTAS library staff members have been of ongoing assistance. I am also grateful for the assistance of staff of the National University of Singapore library and of the National Library Singapore, in particular Ms Joanna Tan and Ms Ang Seow Leng. I am indebted to assistance from Father Rene Nicolas of the Missions Étrangères de Paris, Singapore for his encouragement and assistance with photographs and documents. I also thank Ms Regina Lee, Principal of CHIJ Toa Payoh, for allowing me to visit the CHIJ Museum. I thank Ms Sheila Allison for her close reading of the manuscript, and Mr Brian Hill of Lexington Press for his encouragement and interest. I also thank the University of Tasmania for research and travel funding, particularly Dr Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, Associate Dean, Research and also the Centre for Colonialism and Its Aftermath. Finally, I thank my friend and ‗PhD mentor‘, Dr Cheryl Kerr-Dennis for her ongoing support, and my husband, Tony Richings, who has lived though this journey with me. vii viii Contents Declaration ii / Authority of Access iii / Abstract iv / Acknowledgements vii Figures xii / Abbreviations xiv / Glossary xv Introduction: From spiritual nourishment to spaghetti marinara 1 Chapter One: Literature review: A tiny modernity 13 Introduction 13 Empire 15 Missionaries 22 Gender and missionaries 24 Contemporary Christians 29 Writing ‘The Singapore Story’ 30 Heritage conservation 37 Conclusion 43 Chapter Two: Joining the empire 45 Destination: Singapore 1854 – The Grand Ball 45 Ordering the landscape and society 49 Empire and religion: the Christian missionaries 53 Conclusion 56 Chapter Three: The colonial Convent 1854–1942 59 Introduction 59 Educating children: The impetus for Catholic education in Singapore 59 Getting to Singapore: The arduous journeys of the Ladies of St Maur 63 The orphans 66 Money: Fundraising for the Sisters’ good works 75 Sanctuary and Nursing: The Women’s Refuge and the General Hospital 81 Students and Boarders: The Convent Schools 82 ix The Buildings: The Convent as city 89 Chapter Four: The Japanese Occupation and independence: 93 Worlds turned upside down Introduction 93 Power 94 Race 101 Gender 104 Exodus to Bahau 107 Aftermath: Return to normal? 115 A new identity 115 Nation-building and history-making 119 Conclusion 123 Chapter Five: The city renewed: ‘No less than the gradual demolition of virtually all of the whole’ 125 Introduction 125 From the colonial to the global city 126 Planning the new nation 131 Towards the global city: A place for heritage conservation? 138 The Convent and the MRT 143 Exodus, again 144 Conclusion 146 Chapter Six: The tender document and process: ‘Renewing an Old Masterpiece’ 149 Introduction 149 Genesis: Redevelopment slowly underway 150 The tender document 153 The imagined future 158 The successful tender 164 x Conclusion 167 Chapter Seven: Remembering the past: Choices 169 Introduction 169 Managing colonial structures in a post-colonial world 170 Official custodians 172 Raffles Hotel and CHIJMES 174 Other monuments 177 Conservation areas 179 A bid for world recognition: The Singapore Botanic Gardens 182 Marked Historical Sites 184 Conclusion 189 Chapter Eight: Remembering the Convent 191 Introduction 191 Museums 192 The CHIJ Museum 199 Quill photo