Century-old time capsule found at Methodist church in Telok Ayer

Contents will be on show at heritage gallery to mark building's centenary come 2025

- Ng Keng Gene

Among the stories passed down by generations of Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church members are those of the church's role during World War II, when it provided shelter from bombs to people living in the area and beyond - including the relatives of a current church member.

Almost a century old, the church's building in Telok Ayer has a storied past, having witnessed several milestones in Singapore's history.

But one story about the building containing a time capsule had circulated over decades with seemingly no substantiation or conclusion until Feb 7, when a century-old steel box was pulled from the church's wall.

Opened at the church's second building in Wishart Road, Telok Blangah, on Feb 14, the capsule contained a Bible, a hymnal and meeting minutes, among other items.

Mr Tan Chew Lim, 74, a lay leader of the church and a retired professor in computer science, said regular churchgoers had heard by word of mouth that the church contained a time capsule, but no concerted effort was made to recover it over the years.

That changed about two months ago, when members of the church's archives committee - which is currently curating materials for a heritage gallery to be launched in celebration of the church building's 100th anniversary in 2025- discovered an article from The Malayan Saturday Post that detailed the laying of the church's foundation stone on Jan 9, 1924, and the placement of the time capsule under it.

Mr Goh Yat Teck, who heads the church building's centennial celebration committee, pursued the lead in the 1924 article and worked with other church leaders and consultants for the church's ongoing restoration works to locate and extract the time capsule.

The 72-year-old said he had envisioned laying a time capsule as part of the upcoming celebration, and was pleasantly surprised to be able to retrieve one placed by the church a century ago.