SINGAPORE HISTORY
Who was Singapore pioneer, Naraina Pillai?
A short summary of a full life
Singapore has been a multi-racial, multi-religious settlement since its early days.
One of the people who came on the ship Indiana with Sir Stamford Raffles — who founded modern Singapore — on his second visit to Singapore was a certain Mr Naraina Pillai from Penang.
Nobody knows much about him, other than a few broad snippets of his public life.
When he first arrived in Singapore, Naraina Pillai became the chief clerk at the Treasury checking coins for their authenticity.
He later became the first building contractor in Singapore, setting up the first brick kiln. His company was located at what is known as Tanjong Pagar today.
He was also a successful textile merchant, selling textiles at Cross Street.
According to research by the Singapore Bicentennial Office (SBO), Naraina Pillai proved himself to be a reliable and resilient man.
The SBO gave this example in their official press release:
