Despite their distinctive uniform – a deep blue shirt and pants coupled with a bright red headdress – younger readers would probably not have seen a Samsui Woman in their lifetime. In an age where Singapore’s recent construction boom is fuelled by workers from nearby, often poorer, countries, this unique group of female labourers helped fuel the early construction boom of Singapore. When you think about it, how many women have you seen working at construction sites? These women were tough as nails!

The Samsui Women came to Singapore in the earlier part of the 20th century, between the 1920-1950. At time when construction relied on manual labour and not heavy machinery, they literally contributed to the building up of Singapore during this time. James writes a tribute to these unique construction labourers:

The Samsui women arrived in Singapore during the 1930s and 1940s to work as construction workers and other menial work. Many of them had taken root in Singapore as their homeland.

The modern day immigrants to Singapore and other neighbouring countries are no longer of the Samsui women breed of the past generations. However, immigrant workers have contributed to the development of Singapore, regardless of whatever roles…talented or skilled, formally educated or informally educated within the acceptable immigration requirements.

The Samsui women and other foreign immigrant workers, who travelled and contribute to their host countries in search of adventure in a place at different times for a different journey and life experiences, have changed their profiles over the several decades. Singapore is a global city today, very different from the days of the Samsui women who left their country home over five decades ago.

In his Tribute to Samsui Women, he collects a range of online resources including videos and images on the Samsui Women. Most Samsui Women eventually settled in Singapore, however by this time all have retired and very few are alive today. Looking back at our nation’s history, Singapore has literally been built up with the help of foreign labour – and while we often hail the architects of society, we should also not forget and acknowledge the hard work of our builders.