Our History
It is unfortunate that so few historical records of the early years of the Eurasian Association have been preserved, but from what evidence is available it appears that the EA had a precursor – the Eurasian Literary Association which was formed in 1918.
This literary association ceased to exist in 1919 following the formation of the EA and it seems likely that its founding members were among the founding members of the Eurasian Association, as a number of its committee members also featured prominently in the Executive Committee of the EA for several years.
Founding Objectives
The objectives of the Association as enunciated in its first constitution were as follows:
To promote the political, economic, social, moral, physical and intellectual advancement of all Eurasian-British subjects.
To promote among its members an active interest in the affairs of Malaya.
Generally to look after the interest of all Eurasian-British subjects.
These objectives remained unchanged from 1919 to 1947.
Post-Independence Objectives
The objectives of the Association were revised sometime after 1965 but there is no record of the exact date of revision. These were:
To promote the economic, social, moral, physical and intellectual advancement of all Eurasian Singaporeans and Eurasian Permanent Residents.
To promote among the Members an active interest in the affairs of Singapore.
Generally, to look after the interests of all Eurasians in Singapore.
Long before your time..
Pre-War Benchmark
The Straits Times reported in July 1926 that the Eurasian Association had a membership of 724. In the years before the Second World War, the EA maintained close ties with the Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) and the two associations had many members in common. On the eve of the Japanese invasion of Singapore in 1942, EA membership was 770.
The Post War Years
There was an outflow of Eurasians during the post war years, emigrating to distant shores in Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia.
The EA membership figures between the 1960s and 1970s hovered between 400 and 800, with 855 members in 1973.
’80s Dwindling Numbers
Another wave of Eurasian migration occurred in the 1980s, with the number of Eurasians in Singapore falling from 18,200 in 1970 to 10,172 in 1980.
EA membership began to dwindle in the 1980s from 306 in 1981 to 240 in 1988, falling as low as 91 in 1986.
1994
The Eurasian Association was accorded “Self-Help Group” status by the Government, qualifying as a registered charity and an Institution of Public Character (IPC), to act on behalf of the Eurasian Community in Singapore.
’90s Revival & Growth
In 1989, a team of Eurasians embarked on a massive membership drive which resulted in the membership rising to 800 members by the end of the year, hitting 1,245 members by 1991. Over the years, EA membership steadily increased to 2,739 (as at end 2023).