Mike - Four Winds Trading Company

The Four Winds Trading Company

I went to a Wax Museum which gave me a crash course in understanding the history of Singapore, as well as the 4 dominant cultures, which have come together to give Singapore it’s uniqueness.

The first room we go into is a mock up of a Trading Company from the 19^th century.

I’m not sure how true the story is from the museum, but we watched a most interesting video in the whare house of the Trading Company.  I say interesting, because most of it was holograms which played on smoke rising out of different crates.  The owners of the Four Winds Trading Company say they came from the four corners (India, Malaysia, China, Britain), and wanted to work together to make life better for all.

Afterwards, we were able to walk through a guided path, which walked us through the history of Singapore.  And there was more than enough to learn… more than I would be able to write in just a few minutes.

But I learned a bit more about the “Coolie” – the same labor force who came over and built the Trans-American train line.

Imagine this little room being your “everything”.  I would say life here was no easier than it was when they were building the train line in California.

One thing is for sure – two hundred years ago, the “machine” of choice was ‘Man’.  Three men using their body weight as the engine for an improvised crane.  Now, naturally as a Safety Engineer – I’m wondering … “why are you standing under the load?  Where’s everyone’s work gloves and hard hats?  Did you fill out the Critical Lift Permit?”

No wonder everyone looks at the next generation and says “The youth just don’t know the meaning of hard work”.  No kidding.  After trying to imagine doing this all day, every day… I wonder if any of us know what “hard” work is.

The museum also shows many different aspects of the four major cultures – ranging from marriage, to major religious ceremonies.  One thing is for sure, there is plenty to learn here.

The above is one of my favourite finds – sort of looks like a cross between a doll house and a wheelbarrow.  The display says these were very popular at the beginning of the 20^th century.  The proprietor would roll his wagon to the market, and then charge a few pennies for the people to look through the windows, and together everyone would watch a short movie projector playing on the inside.

In case anyone wonders – the Mandarin on the side.. it translates as “Block Box Buster – Saturday Matinees, please turn off pocket phone.”