SINGAPORE WATERING HOLES

Those of you who remember, the Melbourne Bar was the place many headed for in 'The 'Wang' when they first hit Singapore. Mr and Mrs Cheong who owned the Melbourne Bar spared no expense on refrigeration and the beers would often be frozen solid. Mr. Cheong was an accomplished racing car driver and the bar was adorned with his many spectacular trophies. He hardly ever visited the bar himself and left it up to his wife Sandra to run. The Melbourne Bar was perhaps the most modern of the bars in the 'Sembawang Strip' and boasted a live and quite heavy band belting out covers from Deep Purple and Santana. The Melbourne Bar's toilets were never upgraded from two filthy holes in the ground in the 17 or so years I frequented the place and was one of the few things that let it down apart from when Sandra used to crack the shits.

Inside the Melbourne Bar for Christine's 18th Birthday 1974. On the left you will see a young Leading Seaman Gunner, Paul Rowan, with his arm around Sandra Cheong.

With LSWM Glen Chandler Melbourne Bar November 1973. In front is 'Kiwi' - why so named? Because Kiwi used to be the local shoe shine boy and of course only used Kiwi nugget. Kiwi had a hair lip and was hard to understand even when he wasn't pissed. i became his friend over the years and regarded him as a pretty decent, if not crazy, sort of a bloke. He was a champion arm wrestler and I have personally watched him knock off some big boys including very large maoris and black americans. Knowing the situation I would always put my money on Kiwi, which was easy to do with the yanks for there was never any shortage of willing punters who thought he was just a crazy 'easy beat'.. One of the reasons I would always shout him a beer when I saw him. After Kiwi was shot in the left shoulder by a Singapore Copper during a bungled robbery I never had any trouble beating him left handed.

The Navy's Bar was always a popular favourite. We changed watering holes mainly because of the girls, when your girlfriends changed their jobs from one bar to another so did you change. However the strip of bars in the 'Wang was just a nightly 'pub' crawl. There was a band and dancing in the Melbourne Bar, Darts in the Nelson Bar, Crown and Anchor in the Upstairs Nelson, The Gutter Club at the Navy's Bar, quiet country and western at the Ship Inn Bar and so on. Each and every bar in The 'Wang had souvenirs, ships plaques, crests, photos and trinkets donated by passing parade of drunken appreciative sailors covering their walls. All accumulated over the decades from thousands of ships from scores of navies.

ABUW 'Ocker' Collins and Myself behind the jump at the Navy's Bar. Considering I was sharing free accomodation with Rose and Lily upstairs it was the only decent thing I could do to pay my way. No free beers here! The bearded bloke at the bar buying is LSUC Alex 'Stilts' Sherrin.

Closing time in 'The Wang'. All bars closed promptly at midnight. Having bought a couple of 'gashies' they gather outside the bar for some revelry and belt out a few well known sea shanties. NAMET Tim Belcher, Al Simpson, Stokesy, Gus Ridley, Ocker Collins among others.

A typical night in. On the chair in front is 'Black' Allen Nair an old friend of mine introduced to me in 1972 by a newly re-promoted LSFC Norm Evans. Allen was a former leader of one of the gangs in The Wang and went on to become a pretty handy motor mechanic he was also one of Mr Cheong's Pits Crew. From Black Allen clockwise are Rose, Gus, Me, Lily, Dave Knox, Tony Newlands (on stoppage of civvies) and Stephen Mitchell.

Next Bar!

Previous Page