It made me realise that there must be an interesting history behind the shopping mall that we visit for the cinema and shopping and take for granted.
As it turns out Great World Amusement Park was one of three "Worlds" in Singapore during the 1950s and 60s. The other two were the New World located at Jalan Besar and Gay World at Geyland Road(originally Happy World). Obviously the connotations of the word 'gay' were slightly different back then.
The Great World Amusement Park had very humble beginnings in the 1930s, with 150 wooden shacks. Free films and Peking Opera as well as wrestling and boxing matches were shown to mainly British servicemen and the upper class.
During the Japanese Occupation the park sadly became a prison for Australian POWs and many suicides occurred due to the harsh conditions.
After the war, the Park resumed its cultural activities and the 1950s saw a major upgrade, with fountains, carnival rides, a carousel, Ferris wheel, mini-rollercoaster and the Ghost Train. There was also 4 cinemas, cabaret at The Flamingo Nightclub, many hawker stalls and two Cantonese restaurants famous for their suckling pig and sharks fin soup.
Television, discos and supermarkets brought all three "Worlds" to their knees in the 60s and 70s. Great World closed down in 1964, although the cinemas and restaurants remained open until 1978.
The history of these iconic centres mirrors the way that Singapore is changing generally. Great World Amusement Park is now a large shopping mall; the site where New World Park sat is being developed into a condominium and shopping mall, and Gay World was demolished in 2001 and is zoned for 'housing'. It is a little sad that nothing remains of that time, just a few photos and of course people's memories. For interesting stories told by people who visited these Worlds in the 50s and 60s, go to http://www.goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.com/
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