SG50 Jubilee Big Walkers discover S'pore's landmarks with little red booklet
Last Sunday, 25,000 people took a historic stroll through Singapore as part of the SG50 Jubilee Big Walk 2015, with a little red booklet in hand
For some participants of the SG50 Jubilee Big Walk 2015 last Sunday, a little red booklet proved to be more than just an item in their goodie bags.
The booklet, which looks like an actual Singapore passport, led Big Walkers on a rediscovery of Singapore's past.
It was also used to redeem lucky draw prizes at the carnival at Gardens by the Bay, the finishing point of the walk which was flagged off by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Museum of Singapore.
The passport contained artwork of the landmarks participants walked past on the 5km route, along with their history and significance.
Four of the 20 landmark pages in the passport had perforated edges so Big Walkers could tear them out and drop into boxes at Asian Civilisations Museum, The Padang, Esplanade Park and Helix Bridge.
"The passport told a lot about the history of Singapore, capturing the past," said Mr Balu Visvanathan, 49, director of a media company.
"It revealed facts which some people may not know about and brought back a lot of memories for me," added the first-time Big Walker.
Mr Balu also said that at Fort Canning Park, he learnt that the hill was the seat of Temasek, a 14th century Malay Kingdom also known as Singapura.
"It (the passport) certainly walked me through the past and it was as though everything was still like how they once were," he told The New Paper.
"We're truly fortunate to live in Singapore, where our pioneers toiled hard for our prosperity."
GUIDE
Ms Jasline Yet, a compliance officer in her 30s, said: "The passport was like a guide to a few of the landmarks which have just been built recently.
"The perforated coupons in the passport for the lucky draw were easy to manage because all we had to do was to fill in our bib number and drop them at the different landmarks.
"It made people want to read what was written in the book about the landmarks along the route."
The passport, sponsored by Myanmar National Airlines, was conceptualised and produced by Think Inc, TNP's creative unit.
The international award-winning artists from Think Inc did sketches of each of the 20 landmarks and took two months to complete the passport.
Here are some interesting snippets from the passport:
- From 1958 to 1978, a lighthouse beacon sat on the roof of the Fullerton Building to guide vessels approaching the harbour.
- The grave of Ms Agnes Joaquim, whom the national flower of Singapore is named after, rests in the grounds of The Armenian Church at Hill Street.
- In 1862, what would later become the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall had began as the town hall of the settlement in Singapore. In 1958, it was the first place that Majulah Singapura, written by Mr Zubir Said, was performed. It was adopted as the national anthem the next year.
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