This black and white image of Robinson Road from the Harrison Forman Collection provides layers of rare snippets of stories waiting to be uncovered. The location is at Robinson Road and Japan Street. Japan Street today has been renamed as Boon Tat Street.
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| Robinson Road and Japan Street - In picture is Wah Hin & Co. (source: Harrison Forman Colllection) |
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| Location of photograph - Robinson Road and Japan Street |
The buildings that i can identify are as follows:
American Lloyd Agency - 64 Robinson Road
64 Robinson Road used to be the location of the office of the Chinese Consulate-General before it moved to No. 2, Cairnhill Circle. On January 1934, the article stating that American Llyod Agency which provides travel, shipping and insurance agent services, which includes booking to all countries for steamship lines, railways and airways.
Wah Hin & Co, Ltd. 62 Robinson Road
Contractors to H.M. Navy & Army. Provision, Wine & Spirit Merchants
The company was incorporated in 1929 whose story is intertwined with Singapore Tycoon Mr. Lien Ying Chow. In 1920, Lien travelled to Singapore as an orphaned teenager at the age of 14 with very little money and only an address of a friend who promised him a job. He started as a shop assistant at 52 Robinson Road, earning $10 a month and gradually rose in ranks. In 1929 at the age of 23, he set up his business. Wah Hin & Co, which supplied provision to the British military forces. From humble beginnings his empire grew to banking, hotels and property. This included the Overseas Union Bank (OUB), Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE), Mandarin and Marina hotels and Mandarin Gardens condo in the East. In 1985 it was reported that Wah Hin & Co had 24.48% stake in Overseas Union Bank (OUB). In 1993, when he was Chairman of Overseas Union Bank, he reduce his stake in the bank from 21.78% to 19.53% by selling 10 million of his shares for $62 million. The sale was made by his private investment vehicle, Wah Hin and Company (Pte) Ltd, on 19 October 1993. Lien Ying Chow passed away on 6 August 2004.
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| Wah Hin & Co, Ltd |
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| Lien Ying Chow |
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| Overseas Union Bank |
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| Wah Hin & Co. |
Abdul Rahman (66 Robinson Road, opposite Telegraph Co.)
The business existed even in 1929 up to 1931 under Mohd. Bin Hoosainsah. After 1934 the same business was under Abdul Rahman at the same address and same telephone.
KK - Marine and Land Products Trading Co. Ltd - Singapore Branch (Incorporated in Japan). - 60 Robinson Road
With it's Japanese flag hanging from its window, it is obvious it is a Japanese company at Robinson Road close to Japan Street. But unfortunately i am not able to find information as to what the company does. There is another company with the KK logo but that one is called Kohbun Kwan (Kobunkan), a Japanese bookstore and publisher central to Singapore’s pre-war Japanese community located at Middle Road.
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| KK - Marine & Land Products Trading Co., Ltd |
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