In Pictures: Sawmill factory Hiap Chuan Joo

Balestier used to be home to one of Singapore's largest sawmill factories, Hiap Chuan Joo. Its heyday was in the 1950s and 1960s, when some hundred workers ran the 7,600 sq m space to produce wooden crates used for beverages such as Coca-Cola and Tiger Beer. Today, the sawmill's activities are detailed in 195 images and documents on loan to the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in Balestier.

Updated
Feb 01, 2016, 05:34 PM
Published
Feb 01, 2016, 08:16 AM
A corrugating paper machine producing corrugated paper boxes in 1964. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
New machinery at the sawmill in 1964. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
The state of the sawmill after a fire in 1962. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
The sawmill after a fire in 1962. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
The rebuilding of the sawmill after the fire in 1963. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
The rebuilt sawmill after the fire in 1963. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Hiap Chuan Joo produced wooden crates for Tiger Beer in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Hiap Chuan Joo produced wooden crates for Coca Cola in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Hiap Chuan Joo produced wooden crates for Red Lion in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Workers loading wooden crates onto a truck in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Workers loading wooden crates onto a truck in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Workers assembling wooden crates at the factory in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
A worker operating machinery at the sawmill in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Workers cutting timber planks at the sawmill in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Workers sawing timber logs at the sawmill in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Workers unloading timber at the sawmill in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Hiap Chuan Joo after the factory was built in Balestier in the 1950s. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Mr Ng Boon Huay's Overseas Chinese Certificate of Registration in 1939. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
Hiap Chuan Joo Store at No. 516 Balestier Road pre-1954. PHOTO: HIAP CHUAN JOO IMAGES
More On This Topic
Logging the Balestier story

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Available for
iPhones and iPads
Available in
Google Play

MCI (P) 066/10/2023. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2024 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.

Back to the top