Heritage Trail Blog: Mace of the City of Singapore.

The Mace of the City of Singapore

Origins

The Mace of the city of Singapore was first presented to Singapore in 1953 by prominent Chinese philanthropist Loke Wan Tho. This Golden Mace was an act of recognition that Singapore had changed it's status to becoming a city, which was granted by King George VI on the 22 September 1951.

The mace was made by Messrs Hamilton and Inches, Goldsmiths in 1951. The design motifs for The Mace was mostly suggested by the following: Loke, a university professor, and the staffs of Raffles Museum, the latter being known as the National Museum of Singapore in the present day.

Different parts & meanings of The Mace

From the top of the Mace, stands a lion under a coconut tree. This represents the Singapore City Council Crest.

Following which are the different communities in Singapore, represented by the statues of people; Chinese, Malay, Indian, European.

Next up is the different emblems for the different coat of arms; The Straits Settlements, The East India Company, The colony of Singapore, The City of Singapore, The United Kingdom and Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

The words Majulah Singapura can be found under the coats in a design of side railings. Majulah Singapura is a phrase used in Singapore's national anthem, meaning "Onward Singapore" in Malay. The phrase was adopted as Singapore's motto after World War II.

The different types of shipping in Singapore can be fond next. Starting left to right from with aeroplane, represents the Comet Aeroplane, English Tea Clipper, Bugis Leteh-leteh, Chinese Junk, Bugis Schonner, and last but no least, the Straits steamer.

Loke Wan Tho, the Mace's Donor, was a bird lover. Therefore, the designs of Sea Eagles can be seen are around the bottom of the Different types of shipping.

The floral designs on the handle of the Mace represents the different flowers that spawn naturally in Singapore. Such flowers are Orchids, Yam, Nutmeg, Sugar Cane, Pepper, Areca Palm, Gambier and Rambutan.

Badminton shuttle cocks can also been seen near the end of the Mace, this is also because badminton was Malaya's national sport.

Picture from Roots (Roots, 2017)

The base of the Mace contains writings that credit the makers of the mace, with the heading "MADE AT MDINBURGH IN THE WORKSHOP." In no particular order, the contributors written are:

Goldsmiths- Messrs Hamilton & Inches
Silversmith- Edward Robert Key Hamilton
Chaser- William Samuel
Engraver- James Anderson
Enameler- Francis George Thomas West
Sculptor- Charles d'Orville Pikington Jackson

Personal Thoughts and Research...

When I first went to the National Museum of Singapore, I was lost on what I wanted to do for this heritage trail, but when I saw The Mace of the city of Singapore, I was intrigued at what it symbolises. I have never thought of what made Singapore get recognised to become a city and also never thought that such an artifact was made to remember such an event unfolding in 1951.

Naturally I was curious to what Singapore status was prior to becoming a city. So I went online to search and found out that Singapore was simply just known as "Town of Singapore" before being dubbed "City of Singapore" after having its status changing to a city.

Picture of City Day (HistorySG)

As it turns out, the reason why Singapore had changed its status turns out to be due to a successful  petition to King George VI. The petition was done by the municipal commissioners in August 1950 after the witnessing of Nairobi, one the British colonial capital, becoming a city as the status was given by a royal charter. The municipal commissioners felt that Singapore was ready to have a fully elected City Council to replace the Municipal Commission at the time. The commissioners thought the petition to be a great idea as a form of recognition for Singapore's achievement as a British colony at that time.

It was recorded that on 22 September 1951, there were around 50,000 people who attend the ceremony, which occurred at the Municipal building, where Governor of Singapore Sir Franklin Gimson presented the charter as well as the Royal Seal to Municipal President T.P.F McNeice. Henceforth, Singapore was dubbed as the City of Singapore and the whole event was named City Day.

What struck out personally for me learning this is that now I know there is actually a special day that is lesser known to public but still very important, which is the before mentioned City Day. I feel that this matters as Singapore is always know to b a "A third world-country made first-world in 50 years."
However, how many Singaporeans actually know of this fact and commemorate the day in which Singapore was no longer merely called a town, but also elevated into a higher state which is commonly known to the world today as the "City of Singapore."

In a nutshell, I am very proud to know that there was such an event that took place that help my own home, Singapore, becoming a city state and was also given the freedom to fully elect it's own City Council to allow the city's own people to decide for themselves. I personally feel that more people should be aware of City Day in Singapore.
Reference

National Heritage Board. The Mace of the City of Singapore[online]. Available from: https://roots.sg/learn/collections/listing/1108609 [Accessed 15 June 2018].
National Library Board, 2014. Singapore is conferred City status [online]. Available from: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/7333873b-d517-4a75-b828-331a30673b30 [Accessed 20 June 2018].