Asia’s first Armenian museum opens in Singapore

Armenians are behind some of most commonly-used machines today - including the automated teller machine and magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. They were also pioneers in plastic surgery and colour television.

In Singapore, members of this diaspora include Catchick Moses who started The Straits Times in 1845, the Sarkies who founded Raffles Hotel in 1887, and Agnes Joaquim who in the late 1800s hybridised Singapore's national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim.

Now, the small but prolific community here is spending $1.2 million in its first concerted effort to raise awareness about its presence and role in the Republic as one of its oldest communities.

It has built a museum at its Parsonage building in Hill Street and is in the midst of constructing a community centre there. It will also continue the ongoing restoration of the Armenian Church in the same Hill Street compound, the Strait Times reports.

Speaking to the publication, Mr Pierre Hennes, 45, a trustee of the church, said sometimes they get mistaken for Jews.

He said: "We want to share who we are with Singapore. Armenians have always punched above our weight although we have never numbered more than 100 in Singapore."

The Armenian museum - the first in Asia - will be officially launched today by National Heritage
Board (NHB) chief executive Chang Hwee Nee and Bishop Haigazoun Najarian from the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand.

Artefacts on display include an intact British-made Doulton & Co mid-to-late 1800s glazed stoneware bottle found on a ledge in the church spire two years ago. There are also paintings of "Armenian Streets" across the globe.

The church here is the oldest Armenian church in South-east Asia.

The gallery opens to the public on an appointment basis from June 7. It will be opened to the public on a daily basis once the Community Centre is completed next year.

Armenia is landlocked by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran. Ancient Armenia fell under the rule of various empires, resulting in the dispersion of many Armenians.

Mr Hennes said: "It has been part of our DNA to be entrepreneurial and innovative to survive."

The establishment of the East India Company's trading post in Singapore in 1819 brought

Armenians to the island and the founding community stood at 16 in 1823.

Today, the Armenian diaspora of seven million is more than double its population at home, although just 40 live in Singapore.

Singaporean Sandra Basmadjian, 55, who married an Armenian and was involved in the project, said: "The aim is to share with Singaporeans that the island was built by many different ethnic groups."

The museum is also supported by the NHB's Heritage Project Grant.

NHB assistant chief executive of policy and community Alvin Tan said: "We believe in showcasing the heritage of less 'visible' communities and in promoting greater inter-community understanding."