These tools belonged to Mr Neo Kim Teah, who had worked as a coolie in Singapore from the 1950s to the 1970s. Part of his job was to unload sackfuls of rice from boats docked at the Singapore River, and to transport them to the godowns. Such tools were essential during this process. Mr Neo had arrived in Singapore as a young child in the late 1930s and he had stayed in the Sungei Kadut area.
