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House Visit – An Afternoon with the Gwee Family
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a visit to the home of a family of collectors in Siglap

Sat, 6 September 2014, 1pm – 4pm
Meet: Kembangan MRT, 12.30pm
Limited to 12 participants, open to SHS members only.
S$5 per person, inclusive of kueh-kueh.
To register, please email shs.secretary@gmail.com

Students and researchers of the Peranakan Straits Chinese community, culture and history will no doubt be familiar with William Gwee Thian Hock, a fifth generation Singapore Baba. This 80-year-old is considered as an authority on all things Peranakan and is the author of four books on Peranakan-themed topics and lyricist to numerous Baba skits, plays and songs.

William and his son Andy are also prolific collectors. William has probably the largest collection of Baba Malay books in the world and has gathered memorabilia and artefacts pertaining to World War 2, medicine and porcelain. Their three-storey Siglap home is a treasure trove of the past, including hundreds of folders of newspaper cuttings, documents and letters are purposefully organised by themes and topics. Andy has extended the family collection to include tin can containers, toys and even shopping bags from long-forgotten retail outlets. William’s wife Rosie is well-known for her cooking skills, and together they tend to their garden teeming with ornamental flowers and plants, herbs and fruit trees.

The Singapore Heritage Society is very privileged to organise this informal get-together session hosted by the Gwees at their family home. Are you a budding collector? Are you a kindred history, culture & heritage buff? Are you a Baba-Nyonya heritage enthusiast? Are you interested to learn more about the lifestyle of Joo Chiat/ Katong/ East Coast in times gone by? Do you have a Peranakan heirloom that you like to learn more about? If so, this gathering is a must!



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