Stories from History: Playing in the Singapore River, 1949

From a Tourist guidebook on the Singapore River:
Many Singaporeans have fond memories of the Singapore River even before its clean-up. One of them is Chia Hearn Kok (Singapore Memory Project Contributor), a retired teacher who grew up near Boat Quay and had this memory to share:

“Living at the junction of Canton Street and Circular Road in 1949 at the age of nine, I always looked forward to the first three and middle three days of the lunar month because that was when the tide of the Singapore River was at its highest between 10 am and 12 noon. That was the time you would find me joining the many boys playing in the flooded streets and swimming in the Singapore River. We would be in our short pants – no swimming trunks as we could not afford them – and bare-bodied. A distinct feature of our swimming style was that our heads were always above water because of the stench from the animal and human wastes and the rubbish. 

One of our favourite antics was to catch a ride to the Elgin Bridge on the heavily loaded tongkangs that plied the river by climbing onto the rubber tyres on its sides. At the Elgin Bridge, the braver of the boys would dive while the less brave would jump down when the “all-clear” shouts was given. We would then return by clinging to another tongkang moving in the opposite direction. Those were carefree, sweet and innocent days!”