Of whales and dinosaurs
Issued Date
Resource Type
Language
eng
Book
Book
File Type
application/pdf
No. of Pages/File Size
266
ISBN
9789814722131
Alternative Title(s)
the story of Singapore's natural history
Author(s)
Abstract
Officially established in 1878, the natural history collection originally housed at the Raffles Museum now has more than 560,000 specimens in its care, one of the largest collections of Southeast Asian plants and animals. Dedicated to scientific research and education, the museum was reincarnated as the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in 2015, closing the loop on its remarkable 127-year history.
But beneath the sleek exterior of the museum's new, modern building lies a saga of struggle and change. That the collections survived at all through the multiple challenges of the nineteenth century, the disruption of World War Two, and its potential disintegration in the face of Singapore's modernization is nothing short of miraculous. This book is not only an institutional history of the museum but also recounts the frustrations, tenacity, and courage of the numerous individuals who battled officialdom, innovated endlessly, and overcame the odds to protect Singapore's natural history heritage.
Table of contents
Acknowledgements x -- Prologue by Peter K.L. Ng xii -- Preface xvii -- Chapter 1: Temenggong Ibrahim's Coins and the Founding of the Raffles Museum 1 -- Chapter 2: Laying the Foundations 1876-86 20 -- Chapter 3: The Halcyon Years 1887-1926 40 -- Chapter 4: From Strength to Strength 1921-42 70 -- Chapter 5: The War Years 1942-45 93 -- Chapter 6: Becoming the National Museum 1946-70 111 -- Chapter 7: The Zoological Reference Collection 1970-77 136 -- Chapter 8: Back from the Brink 1977-87 154 -- Chapter 9: A Kent Ridge Homecoming 171 -- Chapter 10: Building World-Class Natural History Museum 200 -- Endnotes 220 -- Bibliography 242 -- List of Illustration 247 -- Illustration Credits 252 -- Index 256