Abstract

The article is concerned with

the process of turning
historical events into tourist
attractions and the emergence
of a heritage industry. It uses
the example of Singapore's
experiences during the Second
World War, describing the
various sites and facilities
with a wartime theme
currently in operation. The
material raises questions
about different approaches to
presenting and interpreting
the past, and the difficulties
posed for providers. It
includes a discussion of the
concerns expressed by those
who claim history has become
commercialised by this
process which denies visitors
a proper understanding of the
past, as well the challenges of
operating such attractions
successfully.

Dr Joan Henderson is a Lecturer

in the Division of Marketing and
Tourism Management, Nanyang
Technological University,
Singapore.

Singapores
Wartime
Heritage
Attractions
Joan C. Henderson

History, heritage and tourism: An introduction

History, in its many different forms, is an important tourist
attraction throughout the world but it has an uneasy relationship with
tourism which has been blamed for the creation of a heritage industry
which restructures events and conditions in its own commercial
interest to create an unreal past based on fake and bogus
representations. Hewison (1989) claims that Heritage is gradually
effacing History, by substituting an image of the past for its reality
while at the same time commodifying it in pursuit of profit. Such
arguments are echoed by post-structuralists who describe society as
being unable to have any genuine appreciation of history because it is
depicted and perceived in terms of signs and images rooted in the
present. An inauthentic heritage has replaced history, becoming a
product to be marketed to consumers by organisations more concerned
with income generation than traditional curatorial responsibilities of
stewardship, scholarly activity and matters of cultural identity.
The debate has attracted much interest with different theoretical
approaches being used to explore the connection between history,
cultural heritage and tourism, summarised in a recent article by
Nuryanti (1996) who writes of the challenge of reconstructing the past
in the present through interpretation. Effective presentation and
interpretation which involves a combination of academic rigour, the
communication of information, enlightenment and entertainment is
not easy to achieve with a high potential for tension and conflicts of
various sorts. According to Boniface and Fowler (1993) It is apparent
that heritage presentation may take many forms, and that they are
susceptible to many sorts of distortion for many kinds of reason. The
audience too is diverse, maybe bringing to the situation of presentation
a variety of aspirations of it as well as an innate assortment of cultural
THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97 39

configurations and Tunbridge

and Ashworth (1996) identify
various types of what they
describe as dissonance generated
as a result of the process which
can
lead
ultimately
to
dispossession and disinheritance.
Tunbridge and Ashworth also
consider the place of human
suffering as an aspect of heritage,
recognising the three general
categories of atrocity as natural
and accidental disaster, broadgroup atrocity and war as well as
four more specific types arising
fr om persecution, judicial
process, massacre and genocide.
The subject is a difficult and
disturbing one, but it must be
ac knowledged that there is
considerable interest amongst
tourists in tragedy and disaster
which represent the themes of
several forms of attraction.
Avoiding a discussion of the
motives of those who display an
obsessive and unhealthy appetite
for details of the extremes of
human distress and accepting
that society in general has a right
and responsibility to be informed
about the excesses of human
cruelty, the challenge for those
concerned with provision is to
secure an appropriate balance
between
education
and
entertainment,
achieving
inte grity in the practice of
interpretation and presentation
so that visitors have the
opportunity to be informed about
great historical processes which
have drastically affected their
lives, and thus to empower them,
by enhancing their capacity to
understand, to perhaps change,
their world (Wallace, 1987).
A Singaporean perspective
These challenges of heritage
management have been discussed
widely within Europe and North
America, but less so in the
developing world and newly
industrialised nations of Asia
although greater attention is now
being given to the topic. This
study explores some of the issues
within the context of Singapore,
considering approaches to

40

managing and marketing the

heritage of the Second World
War. The period was selected as
one of dramatic, and often
violent, change which is
remembered in a variety of
markedly contr asting visitor
attractions. Different communities were affected in
particular ways, complicating
current
meanings
and
perceptions.
For examp le,
Britons from the former colonial
power, Japanese from the nation
which ousted Britain and
Australians from amongst
Britains wartime allies all are
tourists in Singapore while the
Asian countries which now
represent the principal source of
visitors were less directly
involved in the conflict. Ethnic
communities of Chinese, Malays
and Indians have their own

considerable amount of space has

been devoted to the subject.
A brief history of Singapore
Singapore today is a modern and
prosperous city state of 3.6
million people (1996) and a major
centre for trade, transport and
tourism. Part of its success has
been due to its location, 137km
north of the equator and on the
busy sea routes connecting east
and west which was one reason
why Stamford Raffles claimed it
for the British East India
Company in 1819. In 1826 it
became part of the Straits
Settlement with Penang and
Malacca which in turn acquired
crown colony status in 1867. The
colony was run from Singapore
which had expanded rapidly as a
free port, drawing migrants from

While a difficult subject, there is an interest

amongst tourists in tragedy and disaster
including war and atrocities.

experiences of the war and

Japanese occupation, as do
individuals, with younger
generations of all nationalities
often believing it to have little
relevance to their lives. The
attractions will thus exercise a
greater appeal to some visitors
and residents than others, but it
can be argued that they have an
interest and significance for
everyone.
The study begins with a review of
the actual historic events,
providing a background to the
sites and facilities which attempt
to depict them, before moving on
to an analysis of these attractions
within the context of wider
theoretical concepts.
It is
important
to
have
an
understanding of these historical
developments because they have
implications for the ways in
which the various sites are
designed,
oper ated
and
experienced
and
thus
a

THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97

China, India, Indonesia, Malaya

and other neighbouring states,
and was a key link in Britains
network of overseas ports especially after the development
of Malay Peninsular trade in tin
and rubber.
At the same time Singapore
assumed a strategic significance
as a vital defence base in the Far
East, particularly in the years
after the First World War. The
German naval threat had been
overcome in Europe, but Japan
had emerged as a rival and
potential enemy in the East.
Britain was prepared to send her
navy to tackle any Eastern crisis
and needed a local base, choosing
Singapore in 1923. As Japanese
ambitions became apparent,
naval facilities were expanded
and new airfields built on the
island. There was much talk of
Singapore as an impregnable
fortress with the Sydney Morning
Herald of 14 February 1938

describing it as the Gibraltar of

the East ... the gateway to the
Orient ... the bastion of British
might. A sense of complacency
was evident in both Singapore
and London where officials
viewed the island as unassailable
and the chances of any Japanese
land attack on it or Malaya as
highly unlikely. An assault was
considered possible from the sea
and hence priority was given to
preventing any enemy approach
from the South China Sea with
very little done to protect the
northern shores of Singapore.
The Second World War and its
consequences
The Japanese soon destroyed this
myth by invading Malaya on 8
December 1941, a day after the
bombing of Pearl Harbour, when
Singapore experienced its first
air raid. The army, under
General Yamashita, made rapid
progress south and reached Johor
Bahru at the tip of the Malaysian
Peninsula at the end of January
1942. Singapore was invaded on
8 February and was fought over
for the next seven days as the
Japanese forces continued their
advance towards the city.
The British government had been
extremely anxious to hold
Singapore, but was for ced to
accept defeat and LieutenantGeneral Arthur Percival signed
the surrender on 15 February less than ten weeks after the
campaign had begun and one
week after the assault on the
island commenced, and despite
the fact that there were
approximately 80,000 Allied
combatants in the field compared
to 35,000 Japanese. What the
Allied Army and the Navy lacked,
however, was adequate air cover.
The fall of Singapore was
described by Churchill as the
worst disaster and largest
capitulation in British history
and marked the end of the sense
of complacency and superiority.
Indeed, it was a turning point in
the relationship between Britain
and her colonies. The colonial

regimes role as a protector and

defender had been tested and
found wanting - the old
unquestioning trust in British
protection had been shattered
forever (Turnbull, 1997) and
things could never be the same
again.
There are numerous descriptions
of the campaign whic h was
characterised on the Allied side
by ineptitude, poor decisions,
mutual distrust, personal
antagonisms and wrangling in
high places. Many of these
accounts seek to identify those
responsible for the humiliation,
but putting aside the question of
who was to blame, the battle and
subsequent Japanese occupation
of Singapore was an eventful and
dramatic period with a high
human cost, themes of the

limited in volume but its study

both adds to understanding and
introduces another form of
heritage dissonance.
In terms of numbers killed in the
Malayan campaign as a whole,
the Official War History lists
2,446 British and Allied troops
dead, 2,230 wounded and 127,000
missing or Prisoners of War when
the fighting ended. The graves of
2,445 British soldiers, 1,113
Australians, 669 Indians and 178
Malayans can be found in Kranji
cemetery. In addition, many of
the boats carrying evacuees were
sunk with heavy loss of life.
What cannot be numbered are all
the civilian deaths, especially in
the Chinese communities,
because of the absence of
documentation. Singapore was
the target of constant aerial

The fall of Singapore was, in Churchills view,

the worst disaster and largest capitulation in
British history.

contemporary attractions.
There is a danger of emphasising
the consequences of the events
described for the colonial power
and neglecting the experiences of
the local population; this partly
reflects the nature of the
documentary evidence with
comparatively little information
available describing what life was
like during these years for the
ordinary people of Singapore.
There are no surviving official
written Japanese papers and only
a few personal memoirs, recently
supplemented by contributions to
an oral history project conducted
by the National Heritage Board.
The situation is further
complicated by the relationships
that the Japanese built up with
the ethnic groups in Singapore principally the Chinese, the
Malays and the Indians who were
each treated differently. Japan
also has its own literature on the
Malaya campaign which is

bombardment and Simson, the

Chief Engineer and DirectorGeneral of Civil Defence,
estimated that as many as 2,000
a day might be dying at the
height of these raids due to
bombings and shelling of the city
whose population had been
enlarged by an influx of migrants
from the rest of the island and
further north.
It became
impossible to bury all the dead
and corpses were often left in the
streets.
The Japanese occupation
After the cease fire the Japanese
were faced with the problem of
what to do with the large number
of enemy soldiers and civilians.
The European population was
assembled on the Padang in the
city centre and marched away to
internment, mainly in Changi
Prison which also housed
Prisoners of War. Here, over 200
died while others experienced

THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97 41

mental and phy sical torture,

malnutrition, d isease and a
general breakdown in health.
There was also the possibility for
military inmates of being sent to
work on the railway line linking
Thailand with Burma where
deaths from malaria, cholera and
dysentery
were
common.
Incidentally, the so-called death
railway has become a popular
attraction in northern Thailand.
Several personal accounts of
survivors of the deprivations in
Changi and the forced labour
camps have been written.
Outside, Singapore was renamed
Syonan-to (Light of the South) by
the Japanese who quickly
established control, although
conf lict was later to emerge
between different factions, and
began a process of Nipponisation.
On the whole life appears to have
been tolerable for most residents
with the exception of those
Chinese affected by the reprisals
of Sook Ching (purge through
purification).
Singapore had been a centre of
anti -Japanese activity in the
1930s, especially after 1937 when
China declared war on Japan.
Most Chinese considered China
their motherland and had little
identification with Singapore.
The movement was monitored by
Japanese agents and information
sent back to Tokyo, and the new
regime sought to punish the
offenders and suppress any
resistance. All Chinese male
adults were told to report to mass
screening centres in the early
days of the occupation. Suspects
were identified and loaded onto
lorries which were driven away to
various locations where they
were killed by machine guns and
bayonettes. Altogether there
were eleven known sites. At the
War Crimes Trial in 1947 the
Japanese admitted killing 5,000
Chinese civilians, but local
sources put the figure as high as
50,000. Other races were not
spared, although the Chinese
suffered the greatest number of
casualties. Thereafter , the
occupying forces and the

42

Kempeitai, the Japanese Military

Police, in particular were feared
by most residents who suffered
from a loss of freedom.
According to Turnbull (1997), the
attitude of the Japanese to the
ethnic groups in Singapore
varied. In general they tended to
leave the Malays alone,
distrusted the Eurasians, treated
the Indians with consideration as
allies of the new regime and were
suspicious of the Chinese. An
Indian National Army was
organised and prepared to fight
with the Japanese in the cause of
Indian independence. However,
the memories of war in Malaya
are not at all simple or
straightforward according to
Lim Pui Huen (1995) who writes
perceptions of friend and foe
varied from community to
community and from time to time
depending on the individual and
his circumstances. We see a
strange situation where an
enemy was sometimes a friend,
and a friend could become an
enemy. There were numerous
groupings whose relations with
the Japanese were more or less
friendly while for many,
irrespective of race, it was a case
of living as quiet a life as possible
and avoiding contact and the
possibility of confrontation.
What records do exist show
evidence of attempts to restore
normal conditions in everyday
life, but circumstances deteriorated as the war progressed.
Singapore lost the benefits of its
free port status and the economy
was disrupted with high inflation
and unemployment.There were
severe shortages of food and
other essentials, and a thriving
black market which attracted
many racketeers. It has been
estimated that large numbers
starved to death or died from
disease while the treatment of
Indonesian labourers and
comfort women was especially
harsh. The Japanese destroyed
most of their records immediately
after the surrender so many
aspects of the administration still
remain unclear.

THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97

The end of the war and

occupation came quite suddenly
and Singapore was spared
another military battle for
control. The formal surrender of
the Japanese took place on 15
August 1945 and the British
started to return in September.
Such were the events in
Singapore during the relatively
brief period between late 1941
and 1945 - a period which left an
emotional and physical legacy for
all those involved and future
generations. The question of how
that inheritance has come to be
expressed in terms of tourist
attractions can now be addressed.
Singapores heritage
attractions
Singapore is perhaps best known
as a tourist destination for being
a place where Eastern and
Western cultures meet, a
combination of modernity
exemplified by its skyscraper
skyline and shopping facilities
and tradition as illustrated by
the ethnic areas of Arab Street,
Chinatown and Little India as
well as the Colonial District - the
latter representing significant
heritage themes (Chang, Milne,
Fallon & Pohlmann, 1996; Teo &
Huang, 1995).
It attracts
approximately seven million
visitors a year with shopping
recognised as the most popular
activity (STPB, 1996). There are
other attractions on offer as
already noted and the Tourist
Board has been making efforts to
draw attention to this diversity,
currently listing nine types which
it calls Animal Kingdom, Isles of
Singapore, Places of Worship,
Ethnic Scenes, Theme Parks, The
Suburbs,
Mother
Nature,
Museums, Landmarks and
Memorials in its promotional
literature. The table below
summarises the countrys
heritage tourist attractions using
this categorisation.
Singapore Official Guide 1997
The two categories of Landmarks
and Memorials and Museums

cover most of the features related

to wartime heritage, but the
theme park section lists The
Battle Box which recreates the
British decision to surrender in
1942 while the Sentosa Wax
Museum depicts aspects of the
war in Malaya and Singapore as
part of its Images of Singapore
display and Fort Silosa includes
exhibits of certain stages of the
battle for Singapore. These and
the other wartime attractions are
considered more fully after a
review of some theoretical
approaches to interpretation
which provide a framework for
the discussion.
Issues of interpretation and
presentation
There is a growing body of
literature on visitor studies,
outlined by Moscardo (1995),
which discusses the various
forms of presentation, their
characteristics and effectiveness
with strong evidence of a
movement away from conventional and static displays to more
dynamic ones which engage the
senses and involve a degree of
visitor interaction and partici-

pation. In terms of the aims of

interpretation, Tilden (1977)
describes it as a combination of
education, art and revelation.
The
communication
of
information is important, but so
too is the function of provocation
and the need to connect in some
way to the visitors character and
personal experience. Hall and
McArthur (1993) see it as having
two main objectives - to enhance
and maximise the experience of
visitors and educ ate them to
behave in an appropriate
manner, encouraging the support
of continued conservation.
Moscardo puts forward one way
of assessing effectiveness and the
realisation of these objectives
using a classification devised by
Langer (1993) of mindfulnessmindlessness.
People are
mindless when the material
presented is seen as irrelevant,
unimportant or not requiring
deep thought to process and
mindful when stimulated to think
afresh, change their perspectives
and appreciate context. Control
is also a factor - the greater
power the individual has over
any situation, the more likely

Table 1: Singapore's Heritage Tourist Attractions.

A.

B.

C.

Ethnic Scenes
Arab Street
China Town
Little India
Landmarks and Memorials
CHIJMES
City Hall
Civilian War Memorial
Kranji War Memorial
Merlion Park
Parliament House and the Elephant Statue
Raffles Hotel
Statue of Sir Stamford Raffles
Supreme Court
Museums
Changi Prison Chapel and Museum
Chinaman Scholar's Gallery
National Museum
Republic of Singapore Air Force Museum
Royal Selangor Pewter Museum
Singapore Art Museum
Singapore Maritime Showcase
Singapore Mint Coin Gallery
Singapore Navy Museum
Singapore Philatelic Museum

they are to be mindful. What this

means for the design of
attractions is that in order to
p romote mindfulness (which
would appear to be the more
desirable option), a site needs to
have variety, a chance for visitors
to exercise a degree of control by
way of opportuniti es for
interaction/ participation and
ease of physical orientation, offer
a personal message and lead to
challenging and questioning.
These qualities are frequently
found in more modern types of socalled experiences and larger
museums which use a variety of
sometimes very sophisticated,
and expensive, tools and
techniques to capture the visitors
attention including multi-sensory
effects, interactive exhibits and
dynamic models.
There is a danger, however, that
the medium becomes more
important than the message with
the need for a balance between
information provided and the
appeal and excitement of its
expression. Moscardo also notes
that these methods can lose their
novelty and force through
repetition and overuse, a stage
some might argue has already
been arrived at in the UK with
its numerous heritage centres
which expose the visitor to very
similar sets of stimuli and types
of representation.
A comprehensive application of
the above criteria to the wartime
attractions of Singap ore is
beyond the scope of this study,
but it does employ them in a
preliminary assessment of the
effectiveness of the sites. What
also needs to be addressed is the
question of appropriateness given
the nature of the material,
relating as it does to human
distress of both a physical and
emotional nature, an d some
observations are made on this
topic, returning to the difficulties
and
dilemmas
posed
by
Tunbridge and Ashworth (1996)
who write of the management of
that which might appear by now
to
be
intrinsically
unmanageable.

THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97 43

Wartime heritage in
Singapore : The National
Museum
Singapore has a total of ten major
museums, four of which give
some space to the period 19421945. The National Museum,
operated by the National
Heritage Board, has a mission to
explore and present the heritage
and nationhood of the people of
Singapore.
Its permanent
collection contains a gallery of
twenty dioramas illustrating
highlights of Singapores history
from its founding to independence. Two of these relate to
wartime events - the Victory
Parade of the Japanese and the
Japanese Screening the Chinese
Population 18-22 February 1942
while a third entitled Official
Opening of Naval Base Dock 14
February 1938 is also relevant.
There is no other material on
permanent display.
The dioramas, by their very
nature, are static and the visitor
occupies a passive role as a
viewer of the scenes and reader of
information. The history is a
selective one with a degree of
oversimplification imposed by the
limitations of the form. It could
be concluded that there is an
absence of challenge in this
approach, although the dioramas
aim is to introduce the visitor to a
series of key events in Singapores
history and place the war years
within this broader picture.
The Air Force and Naval
Museums
The Republic of Singapore Air
Force Museum and Naval
Museum both give some attention
to the war, but their principal
focus is on the relatively short
histories of the respective
services. The air museum has a
collection of aviation-related
exhibits and records and artifacts
of historical value. Over half its
area is devoted to outdoor
displays and major highlights are
the aircraft missiles and support
equipment outdoors and the
indoor
dioramas
with

44

synchronised audio-visual effects

and pre-recorded commentaries.
The museum aims to depict the
rapid transformation of the RSAF
and concentrates on military
history, aircraft and South East
Asian defence.
The Naval Museum explores the
traditions,
customs
and
development of the Singapore
Navy. Its narrow passages are
specially built to resemble the
interior of a ship and this effect is
enhanced by portholes and the
figures of sailors in attendance.
The exhibits are chronologically
arranged with a variety of models
and equipment on display. There
are
also
many
historic
photographs, plaques and
weaponry and visitors are
informed about the sinking of
HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of
Wales, the Japanese surrender at
the naval base and the signing of
the Surrender Treaty by Lord
Mountbatten.
Although some modern display
techniques are used here, the
approach is a more traditional
one with artifacts presented as
objects to be observed rather than
experienced.
A military
orientation characterises these
collec tions which are not
principally concerned with the
human suffering of war.
The Changi Prison Chapel
and Museum
The Changi Prison Chapel and
Museum is the museum most
directly related to the war. It is
located near the entrance to the
modern Changi Prison and was
set up in a joint initiative
between the Singapore Tourist
and Promotion Board and the
Singapore Prison Service in
response to the interest shown by
ex-Prisoners of War, their
relatives and friends and the
general public. The chapel is an
open-air wooden structure with
an attap thatched roof and is
typical of those built by Allied
POWs. A new memorial was
erected at the entrance in 1995 to
commemorate the ending of the

THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97

Second War and this provides a

plan of the camp and some
background information about
the battle for Singapore.
There is a small museum nearby
which contains a var iety of
displays and memorabilia. There
are sketches and photographs
which depict what life was like in
the camp, as well as material
about the Burma-Thailand
railway and the war in general.
A small area is given over to
postcards, books and a limited
range of souvenirs, proceeds from
sales going towards the upkeep of
the site. Gifts include T shirts
and baseball caps. Visitors are
encouraged to leave messages and
floral tributes in the chapel, using
flowers from the garden and
notes provided at a desk in the
museum. The Visitors Book
suggests that most visitors are
British and Australian, but it is
on the itinerary of several coach
tour s and draws people from
around the world, including
Japan. It is also visited by local
school children.
While it might be judged old
fashioned by those more
accustomed to new style heritage
c entres which employ multimedia technology and state of
the art audio-visual effects to tell
their story, here the photographs
and personal records speak for
themselves. The messages left in
the chapel are mainly from
relatives or friends of those who
were imprisoned and/or died in
Changi. The attraction makes no
attempt
at
sophisticated
interpretation and presentation,
yet comments in the Visitors
Book suggest that it is still
thought provoking, challenging,
moving and does not fit into the
mindless category - indicating
that in some cases the historical
subject is powerful enou gh to
express itself with only a limited
role for the interpreter.
War Memorials
In terms of Landmarks and
Memorials, there are two main
memorials devoted to the war -

the Kranji War Memorial in the

north of the island dedicated to
the Allied troops who died during
the defence and fall of Singapore
whose names are inscribed on the
memorial walls, and the Civilian
War Memorial located in the city
centre. The Kranji Memorial is
maintained by the British and
Commonwealth War Graves
Commission and is made up of
the numerous headstones of the
dead as well as an entrance arch,
the walls already described and a
tower at the highest point
surmounted by a cross. There is
an information plinth just outside
the entrance, similar to that
found at Changi, with a metalled
surface which summarises the
stages of the battle for Singapore
using a map to highlight key
locations. A register of the graves
is also available for inspection.
The other monument comprises
four white columns, representing
Singapores ethnic groups and
remembers civilians who lost
their lives during the Japanese
occupation. It was partly funded
from Japanese sources. There is
also a third site at Butik Batok
where memorials were erected
firstly by the Japanese in 1942
and then by the British to honour
their dead. Neither has survived,
but steps leading to the spot
remain and there is an
information panel. The Bukit
Batok Memorial was recognised
by the Committee on Historic
Sites in 1995.
These sites do not exist solely for
the purpose of attracting visitors
and questions of design and
display are not always relevant.
However, the Kranji Memorial is
a part of the history of the war
and of importance for those
seeking to appreciate its
implications with some evidence
of provision for visitors. The rows
of gravestones are a visual
reminder of the scale of the loss of
life.
Wartime sites
The Committee on Historic Sites,
part of the National Heritage

Board, marked a total of eleven

World War Two Sites and three
Massacre Sites to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of the end of
the Second War in 1995. The list
includes locations of the fiercest
fighting, strategic points and
military bases as well as
important Japanese centres such
as their propaganda HQ, a
branch of the Kempeitai and a
Sook Ching assembly station.
They perhaps represent an
additional set of more specialised
landmark/memorial attractions
devoted to a specific theme.The
sites are indicated by an upright
slab which contains a brief
account of what is being
commemorated. There is no
current official literature
describing and linking the spots
(although they do feature in the
National Heritage Boards
website) which the visitor is more
likely to come across by chance,
unless they have a particular
interest in the subject and are
prepared to seek them out.
The Battle Box
Turning now to those attractions
which op erate on a mor e
commercial basis, The Battle Box
is the latest one to open with a
wartime theme. A need was
recognised in the 1930s for an
underground bomb proof shelter
in Singapore and this was
constructed at Fort Canning, a
military fort since 1860 and the
location of Malaya Command
Headquarters during the Second
War. The shelter was also used
by the Japanese and then sealed
after their surrender. It was
reopened in 1988/89 and a
temporary exhibition held there
in 1992 which attracted great
interest. A decision was taken to
develop a permanent attraction
by Fort Canning Country Club
Investment Ltd and this opened
in 1996.
The Battle Box recreates the
shelters
function
as
an
operations and command centre
of The Malaya Command
Headquarters with eleven areas
given over to different activities

such as the telephone exchange,

cipher and signal offices, gun
operations room and fortress
command office. It also tells the
story of the decision to surrender,
portraying the conference
between General Percival, The
General Officer Commanding
Malaya, and his senior officers
when this decision was taken.
The visit opens with a short video
of original film which begins with
a morale boosting news feature
about preparations for the
defence of Singapore and ends
with shots of the actual battle
and surrender. Visitors are
issued with a War Department
(Malaya) Pass and Identity Book
facsimile in place of a ticket and
then led by khaki uniformed staff
underground through the various
rooms.
A variety of presentation
techniques are used from an
opening display of boards
illustrating the history of Fort
Canning to advanced audio and
visual effects, high quality
animatronics and specially
crafted figurines.
A guide
accompanies small parties
through the exhibition, but offers
only a brief commenta ry with
most information communicated
by way of pre-recorded material.
The
conference
itself
is
dramatised on TV screens behind
a tableau of those involved with
final original footage of the
signing of the surrender
documents. The visitor then
makes his own way out guided by
figures in uniform and through a
small retail unit selling books,
posters and postcards.
The Battle Box has the advantage
of the authenticity of the original
site and structure.The techniques
employed aim to convey the
drama of the story and act as an
aid to the interpretation of events
and their significance.
It does, however, adopt a very
colonial perspective and the
extent of its appeal might
therefore be limited. In addition,
it could be argued that it

THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97 45

oversimplifies several of the

issues - in particular, the
unpreparedness of the British
administration
and
the
weaknesses of the military
command and its strategy. The
surrender is presented as more of
an unavoidable disaster for
Britain and its allies, damaging
to its reputation and war effort
while a study of the historical
records suggests that better
planning and more effective
decision making could have
averted the final outcome. The
role of the local population is
lar gely ignored with little
reference made to the profound
consequences the surrender was
to have for them, although it
would be misleading to criticise
the attraction for failing to
include that which is not a part of
its particular narrative.

The role of and consequences for the local

population are not well represented in the total
presentation of Singapores wartime attractions.

of Singaporean survivors. The

British and Japanese Surrender
C hambers areas have been
designed to portray the scenes of
the
surrender
and
are
accompanied by archival film of
the actual events.
Originally
the
Surrender
Chambers was housed in the
Council Chamber in City Hall
where the Japanese surrender
took place and first opened in the
early 1970s. On the topic of the
pursuit of authenticity, it is
worth recording that after taking
the decision to re-enact the
surrender ceremony in 1971, the
Special Committee for the
Conversion of Selective Historic
Sites into Tourist Attractions set
up an Ad Hoc Committee to
conduct the necessary historic
research. A report was published
containing the results and to
indicate the kind of research
that is necessary in the
development of certain physical
tourist projects particularly of a
historical nature (Director of the
Singapore Tourist Promotion
Board, 1975).
Fort Siloso

Images of Singapore
Sentosa Island lies just south of
Singapore Island to which it is
connected by a short causeway.
The island is operated by the
Sentosa
Development
Corporation, a public body, but
many of the various attractions
are run commercially. It has
been developed as a leisure
centre and contains a range of
facilities, two of which make use
of the war. Images of Singapore
is a three-part museum including
Pioneers of Singapore, The
Surrender
Chambers
and
Festivals of Singapore. The
Surrender Chambers uses
tableaux, animatronics and audio
visuals to depict the battle for
Malaya and Singapore in
chronological sequence. There is
also authentic film shot by
cameramen of both sides and a
simulated soundtrack, Japanese
occupation artifacts and telephone recordings of the memories

46

THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97

Fort Siloso is on the site of an

original coastal fortification built
in the 1880s, the guns of which
were used in the defence of
Singapore and then destroyed. It
was a Prisoner of War camp from
1942 to 1945 and has now been
recreated
in
a
set
of
displays/activities which trace its
history , concentrating on the
Second World War. Defence of
the Empire explains how the
guns were fired, the Assault
Course is an obstacle course
which involves climbing and
rapelling, Battle Command Post
covers the start of the war with
the opportunity to sight for
enemy targets and order their
destruction, and the Battle for
Singapore shows the guns in
action.
A Tunnel Complex
provides
a
picture
of
underground activities with an
audio visual show of the progress
of the war and the return of the
British. The Games Area has

interactive games relating to the

loading, aiming and firing of the
forts guns.
These two attractions, and
especially the latter, employ a
range of techniques to attract
the attention of visitors and give
them
an
opportunity
to
participate physically with
considerable variety and a chance
to exercise a measure of control.
They are designed for the family
market and childrens enjoyment and entertainment in
particular. Indeed, Sentosa sells
itself as an island paradise
where the fun never ends
(promotional leaflet, 1997).
A review
Overall then, the examples
illustrate a range in approach

Alternate futures for the wartime heritage ... a

dwindling visitor interest or the possibility of
creating attractions of enduring universal appeal.

from the easily accessible to the

more technical and academic,
from traditional to modern, from
commercial to non-commercial
and from educational to
entertaining - each one having its
own particular mix of the latter
two qualities. All address the
horrors of war in some way, but
vary in their intention and
capacity to convey its brutality,
raising doubts about whether
this can ever be done. While it
has been possible to recognise
some sites as likely to create a
greater sense of mindfulness
than others, this is not only due
to presentation and interpretation forms, but also to the
facts of history themselves. War
is perhaps a subject which
demands the most sensitive of
approaches to avoid accusations
of trivialisation and disrespect
with a minimum of interpretation sometimes more likely
to challenge and create the
desired effect, especially at

original locations. There also

needs to be space and silence for
the imagination to operate,
something it cannot always do
when the senses are assaulted by
the images, noises and smells
which are a feature of many contemporary themed attractions.
Thus the Second War represents
one aspect of Singapores history
which has become a tourist
attraction of sorts and part of the
heritage business. It should be
noted, however, that it is not
recognised as a major attraction
by either the tourist authorities
or visitors themselves and this is
unlikely to change as the
numbers personally affected by
wartime events dwindles and as
Singapore comes to rely more
heavily on its Asian neighbours
as a source market. Interest in
the subj ect appears greatest
amongst people of the former
colonial power, the UK, and its
old allies. Perhaps there is a
feeling amongst local residents
that the period saw the island
exchanging one colonial regime
for another and that this is
history to be remembered by
these nations rather than their
own, with the exception of events
such as Sook Ching, sites related
to which have a meaning for local
residents as well as visitors.
These different perspectives,
including others adop ted by
Singapores various ethnic groups
and individuals, indicate a high
level of dissonance which it is
difficult to see being fully
resolved.
Nevertheless, there is an
argument that war is a topic of
universal and unending interest a source of education and
potential form of entertainment
for all - and Singapore could
perhaps be doing more to exploit
this resource, maybe extending
and adding to existing facilities
and linking the various sites
more effectively to tell as full a
story of the fighting and its
aftermath as possible. It would
seem that this is a social and
tourist resource which is
currently under-utilised, the

THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97 47

appropriate development of
which would be of value to
residents and visitors alike allowing a better understanding
of the past, an appreciation of its
effects on the present and helping
to secure a more peaceful future.
Future research
As already stated, there is a need
to explore further the effectiveness of heritage attractions in
communicating history and their
ability to generate states of
mindlessness and mindfulness.
Such studies should involve an
assessment of visitor responses
and experiences at particular
sites, leading to clarification of
key determinants and a set of
measures with wider application.
Within the context of Singapores
wartime heritage, topics for
research include the attitudes of
residents towards the war years
and whether, as well as how,
these should be commemorated.
Ack nowledging that heritage
belongs to the hosts rather than
guests
and
consid ering
mechanisms for shaping its
presentation accordingly might
help to meet the criticism often
directed at tourism development
of
its
debasement
and
commercialisation of culture.
Official policy needs also be
explored, examining the decision
making process behind heritage
management and the role of
formal agencies in promoting
greater awareness amongst
Singaporeans of their roots and
history. Such an approach raises
the interesting, and neglected,
issue of how a relatively new
nation still seeking to forge a
common cultural identity deals
with its past.
Extending the geographical scope
of the subject allows an analysis
of how the events and aftermath
of war have been treated in other
parts of the region. For example,
the Thai-Burma railway line
built by Second World War
prisoners to which reference has
already been made is a popular
tourist site and Vietnam is

48

Table 2: Sources of Information for Singapore Heritage Tourism.

Allen, L. (1977). Singapore 1941-1942. London: Davis-Poynter.
Ashworth, G.J., & Larkham, P.J. (Ed.). (1994). Building a new heritage.
London: Routledge.
Barber, N. (1988). Sinister twilight - The fall of Singapore. London: Arrow.
Beeho, A.J., & Prentice, R.C. (1997). Conceptualizing the experiences of
heritage tourists. Tourism Management, 18(2), 75-87.
Bitgood, S. (1988). Visitor studies: Coming of age. Visitor Behaviour, 3(3), 3.
Boniface, P. (1995). Managing quality cultural tourism. London: Routledge.
Chew, D., & Lim, I. (Ed.). (1992). Sook Ching. Singapore: Oral History
Department.
Chew, E.C.T., & Lee, E. (Ed.). (1991). A history of Singapore. Singapore:
Oxford University Press.
Elphick, P. (1995). Singapore: The pregnable fortress. London: Hodder and
Stoughton.
Harrison, R. (Ed.). (1994). Manual of heritage management. Oxford and
Boston: Butterworth Heinemann.
Kaplan, F. (Ed.). (1994). Museums and the making of ourselves: The role of
objects in national identity. London: Pinter.
Kennedy, J. (1987). British civilians and the Japanese war in Malaya and
Singapore. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
National Archives of Singapore. (n.d.). Guide to the sources of history.
Singapore: National Heritage Board.
National Heritage Board. (1996). The Japanese Occupation 1942-1945.
Singapore: National Archives of Singapore/Times Editions.
Simpson, I. (1970). Singapore: Too little, too late. Singapore: Asia Pacific
Press.
Tan Beng Luan (Ed.). (1988). A battle to be remembered. Singapore: Oral
History Department.
Singapore Tourist Promotion Board. (1997). Yearbook. Singapore: Singapore
Tourist Promotion Board.
Tsjui, M. (1988). Singapore 1941-1942: The Japanese version. Singapore:
Oxford University Press.
Urry, J. (1990). The tourist gaze. London: Sage.
Uzzell, D.L. (1989). Heritage interpretation, Volumes 1 and 2. London and
New York: Belhaven Press.
Yap, S.Y., Pang, A., Bose, R., & Tan, L. (n.d.). Battlefield tours teachers
g u i d e . Singapore: Mil itary Heritage Br anch, Joint Manp ower
Department.

transforming relics of its more

recent conflict such as underground tunnels, battle sites and
equipment into tourism resources.
Questions of the appropriateness
of these visitor attractions,
reactions to them and related
ethical dilemmas could thus be
explored more thoroughly.
Overall then, heritage attractions
generally and wartime heritage
attractions particularly merit
further study in order to better
appreciate their significance for
residents and tourists, and the
functions and responsibilities of
providers.
The problem of
defining and measuring effective
and suitable presentation and
interpretation has still to be
resolved while the challenges of

THE JOURNAL OF TOURISM STUDIES Vol. 8, No. 2, DEC. '97

dealing with the atrocities of war

have not been fully addressed.
Thus this is an area for continued
research, especially in the newly
emerging tourist destinations of
the Asia-Pacific region which are
seeking to further exploit their
historic resources as tourist
attractions, and within the longer
established destination of
Singapore looking to extend the
variety it has to offer the visitor.

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