'The city transformed itself into a real world power': 90-year-old former NUS professor details his life in Singapore since 1961

Wondered what life in Singapore was like back in the day?

In an YouTube interview with content creator Max Chernov, uploaded on July 25, 90-year-old Peter Ellinger shared his experience working in Singapore during the 60s. 

The Vienna-native moved to Singapore in 1961, and is now a retired professor of law from the National University of Singapore. He even wrote his own memoir called Down Memory Lane.

In the 60s, Peter mentioned that back then, foreigners could easily buy a property, or the "same as locals".

According to him, houses back then were cheap: "A good friend of mine bought a house in Chancery Lane for $80,000. The same house would be worth $8,000,000 [today]."

With that said, he also noted that the value of the Singapore currency has changed drastically over the last few decades. To illustrate his point, he revealed that his salary back then was $750, working as an assistant lecturer. 

Singapore has come a long way 

Sure we have heard the narrative that Singapore was previously nothing but a fishing village. But Peter adds a little colour to that by sharing his past memories. 

He recalled the poor state of housing back in the day, before Lee Kuan Yew came to power — and he witnessed the tangible changes for himself. 

"The People's Action Party (PAP) did wonders in so far as housing is concerned," Peter mentioned, highlighting how the Bedok neighbourhood was built under their wing. 

The other big change had to be the MRT trains. When Peter arrived in Singapore, the local public transport system was limited to the bus system, which "wasn't perfect".

According to him, our world-class public train system was a factor in our nation's success. 

Such improvements in the public transport system have been noticed and appreciated by Peter. For instance, he cites the example of the journey to visit Sentosa.

In the present day, there are many ways to visit Sentosa, from taking the Sentosa Express train to cycling to walking. 

But for Peter, he had to take a boat there as there were no roads connecting to Sentosa then. 

"I think the city transformed itself into a real world power", Peter reflected on how Singapore has changed completely over the last few decades.

Living in modern Singapore

Peter also shared his opinion on Singapore being labelled as an expensive city. He disagrees and stated, "If you eat in a hawker centre, and go by a local bus, and local transport, you're perfectly alright."

Furthermore, he added that there are also affordable Western restaurants available in Singapore, with prices that are marginally higher than food courts. 

And having spending most of his eventful life here, it shouldn't be a surprise that Peter knows how to get the best deals in town.

Now at the ripe age of 90 though, does Peter have any regrets about his time in Singapore? 

Looking back, Peter just wished that he had learnt Mandarin from his wife, who is fluent in the Chinese language and all dialects except Hainanese: "I tried but I gave up too easily".

ALSO READ: 'Living here is a blessing': British expat praises Singapore and calls it home, here's why

venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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