Online project highlights key days of our lives
Days That Changed Singapore is an online project chronicling selected key days from the past 50 years that helped shape modern Singapore.
The days were selected by a panel chaired by former President S R Nathan and are written by seasoned Singaporean journalists and writers.
Here are some of the events featured in the online project.
GETTING OUR OWN CURRENCY: S'PORE DOLLAR LAUNCHED JUNE 12, 1967
They were crisp and new, proudly displaying our national flower, the orchid.
It was the birth of the Singapore dollar and it marked the young Republic's first step towards independent monetary control.
First issued on June 12, 1967 by the then two-month-old Board of Commissioners of Currency Singapore, the Singapore dollar has gone on to become one of the most reliable and respected in the region.
FAST FOOD COMES TO SINGAPORE: A&W OPENS SEPT 17, 1968
Mention A&W and bring a smile to your parents' faces. It will remind them of a time when Coney Dogs and ice-cold root beer were the height of cool.
American A&W was the first fast-food chain to arrive in Singapore. Its first outlet openedat the M.S.A Building (today's Robinson 77) along Robinson Road. Current fast food giants KFC and McDonald's opened in 1977 and 1979 respectively.
The last A&W outlet in Singapore closed in 2003.
ERA OF SHOPPING MALLS BEGINS: PEOPLE'S PARK COMPLEX OPENS OCT 1, 1970
The shopping mall, Singapore's first, was a game changer.
For people used to department stores and street-side shops, an air-conditioned place with four floors of shops and food outlets was a sight to behold.
Its atrium even hosted fashion shows.
When the mall opened on Oct 1, 1970, it marked the start of the 70s, an era of economic progress. It also set the prototype for malls to come.
TAKING FLIGHT: SIA'S FIRST FLIGHTS LAND OCT 1, 1972
Singapore Airlines' (SIA) first three flights took off as Malaysia-Singapore Airlines but landed at their respective destinations as SIA.
On board, there was champagne and a fruit cake bearing the new airline's yellow and blue logo.
Celebrated by 450 passengers 32,000 feet in the air on Oct 1, 1972, it was the start of one of today's most recognised and profitable airlines in the world.
S'POREANS GO CASHLESS: NETS LAUNCHED JAN 17, 1986
Go cashless was the buzzword as the Network for Electronic Transfers (you would be more familiar with its acronym NETS) was piloted in 1985.
The introduction of the system was seen as a big step forward in Singapore's drive towards a cashless society.
When it went online officially on Jan 17, 1986, it enabled some 1.3 million ATM card holders to make transactions through 195 terminals located at 84 retail outlets in department stores, supermarkets, petrol stations and restaurants.
THE MRT BECOMES OPERATIONAL: FIRST SIX KILOMETRES OPEN NOV 7, 1987
Then Second Deputy Prime Minister Mr Ong Teng Cheong was one of the first 400 people to take the mass rapid transit (MRT) system.
The North-South line took 30 minutes from Toa Payoh station, past Braddell, Bishan and Ang Mo Kio stations to Yio Chu Kang and back.
Just three weeks after its launch on Nov 7, 1987, it recorded its millionth commuter.
The first six-kilometre stretch now spans some 179 kilometres, with 141 stations and over 2 million people riding it every day.
DIGITAL STEP FORWARD: SINGNET LAUNCHED JULY 1, 1994
Singapore Telecommunications began offering Internet services for homes and businesses through SingNet.
The dial-up service, crackling to life on July 1, 1994, cost $35 a month for a few hours' of use and had 1,500 subscribers by the end of the year.
The next year was dubbed 'Year of the Internet' in Singapore and saw about 20 new related businesses and $10 million in revenue.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Days That Changed Singapore is an online project chronicling selected key days from the past 50 years that helped shape modern Singapore.
The days were selected by a panel chaired by former President S R Nathan and are written by seasoned Singaporean journalists and writers.
Each article covers a single day and tells a complete story, from the events that led up to the day and its subsequent ramifications.
The selected days cover a range of themes: From education to the environment, fast food to finance, population to politics and transportation to television.
The project (www.daysthatchangedsingapore.com) aims to show Singaporeans, and the rest of the world, that of the more than 18,000 days since independence was achieved, some days have had greater lasting impact than others.
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