1953 in Singapore

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The following lists events that happened during 1953 in Colony of Singapore.

← 1952 1951 1950 1953 in Singapore → 1954 1955 1956
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	Other events of 1953 Timeline of Singaporean history

Incumbents

• Governor: Sir John Fearns Nicoll
• Colonial Secretary: Sir Wilfred Lawson Blythe (Until 30 July), Sir Wiiliam Goode (From 30 July)

Events

January

• 18 January –
  • One of three main water supply pipes near MacPherson-Aljunied Road junction burst, leaving 70,000 people without water.
  • Singapore experienced power outage for one hour when St. James Power Station broke down.
• 30 January – 450 attendants at Woodbridge Mental Hospital staged a strike, initially leaving 1,758 patients to the care of 30 nurses, the doctors and three volunteers. The strike ended on 5 February 1953, after negotiation between union leaders and Governor of Singapore Sir John Fearns Nicoll.

February

• 20 February – Record-breaking rainfall flooded several regions of the city-state, including Bukit Timah Road, Orchard Road, Tanjong Pagar and Kallang Airport.
• 23 February –
  • John Eber, lawyer and Malayan nationalist, was released after two years of detainment by Singapore Special Branch in Changi Prison under emergency regulation and without trial.
  • The Finnish oil tanker Wiima, carrying 7,000 tons of jet fuels and bounded for Communist China, was ordered to sail into Singapore waters by the British authority. The ship was eventually allowed to leave Singapore for Kokkola on 12 May 1953 after it sold its cargo to the US Navy ship USS Cahaba for a price of US$500,000 (about US$5.9 million in 2024 money).

April

• 9 April – Devan Nair, then former secretary of Singapore Teacher's Union, was released from more than two years of detainment on the St. John's Island under emergency regulation.
• 12 April – In an arbitration of wage dispute between the Government and the postal clerks, nearly 1,000 clerks were awarded 500 dollar, equivalent to 28 months of back pay. Lee Kuan Yew represented the workers during the arbitration.
• 21 April – The Government announced that, as part of the local government reform, the Singapore City Council will elect a mayor annually.
• 27 April – In an attempt to reduce recurring expenses, the Government required all new hirings to be approved by the Financial Secretary.
• 28 April – Two-third of the island's electricity supply was cut off for about 15 minutes due to a fault at the then new Pasir Panjang Power Station.

May

• 2 May – BOAC Flight 783, a Comet jetliner flying from Singapore to London, crashed near Calcutta, India after encountering bad weather, killing all forty-three passengers onboard.
• 10 May – The City Council announced that it is banning smoking in buses.
• 11 May – Parts of Singapore were without electricity for up to three hours in the evening due to a technical fault at Pasir Panjang Power Station and subsequent overloading at St James Power Station.

See also

• List of years in Singapore