Memories Of The Lost World

One of possibly two of a kind left in Singapore, the Dove of Dakota Crescent, is one in danger of extinction.

Wearing the look of having been used, probably abused, and possibly neglected, it lies forgotten, unwanted by a Singapore obsessed with the need to renew, even where renewal is not required or appreciated.  

It is probably that those in their 30’s who would have grown up with these playgrounds - which were found throughout the island, that there has been a that wave of remembering playgrounds such as these we most of Singapore wants to forget, now that only a few are left. 

As more wear and tear begin to set in, I suppose such playgrounds would inevitably have to be demolished to make way for newer versions - plastic playgrounds with rubber mats. Though I guess some might feel that it is a safer and more hygienic option, I lament at the loss of such a precious memory to Singapore's history and our childhood. Although these no longer around, such simple playground structures were enough to bring many simple pleasures, laughter and memories to many children.

It will probably be a matter of time before the Dove and several other of such playgrounds which are left are replaced as they probably are terribly out of fashion in the brave new world we now embrace.

There is hope that the Dragon of Toa Payoh is saved, and hopefully with it a few more, if not for anything else, at least to remember an important era in our public housing story, having coincided with a time when the monster estates such Clementi, Bedok and Ang Mo Kio were at the peak of their development. 

A Long Forgotten Boat

A bumboat sits high and dry, resting on a bed of sand in Pasir Ris, seemingly out of place in a sea not of water, but one of the concrete structures which now dominate much of Singapore's sub-urban landscape. 

The boat, designed to resemble the bumboats, is one of several unique playground designs that hail from a time we seem to have forgotten. It was a time during which the Housing Development Board [HDB] had a department within their Landscape Studios, dedicated to developing playground designs to complement the landscape of the public housing estates that were fast coming up, during which several notable playground designs were developed. 

The death knell for many of the homegrown playground designs was probably sounded with the advent of modular play equipment in the 90's. 

While some of the older playgrounds were upgraded to improve their safety including having sand pits which were thought to be too shallow replaced with rubber mats which provided a soft landing, a massive wave of upgrading efforts which swept through many of the older HDB estates in the 90's and early 2000 did see many of these playgrounds demolished in favour of modular equipment which were also a lot easier to maintain and the population of the distinctive mosaic faced structures dwindled over time to the handful we find today. 

Although there is hope that at least one, the Dragon of Toa Payoh will be kept for some of us to remember a time which will soon be forgotten, there probably is not much time left for some of the the children of the 80's and 90's to catch the boat to bring them back to their childhoods before these structures along with much that is familiar is erased from our ever evolving sub-urban landscape.