Painting of the van Cuylenburgs’ house in Bahau

Alice van Cuylenburg painted this view of her house in the Bahau Settlement when she resided there with her husband Dr. J. B. van Cuylenburg, who was the vice-president of the Eurasian Welfare Association during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. Like most other settlers, the van Cuylenburgs paid local contractors to build their home as they lacked the skills to do so. The house had two rooms, a bathroom, and a living room. It was raised five feet high on timber posts for better ventilation. The verandah faced a vegetable plot, where the household cultivated crops such as sweet potato, papaya, and banana. The Bahau Settlement was set up in December 1943 by the Japanese military administration to reduce the civilian population in Singapore and ease the pressure on critical resources such as food. Although settlers were promised free transport, land, and a self-supporting agricultural community, the settlement suffered from scarce resources and deadly malarial outbreaks. Of the 3,000-plus settlers who made their way to Bahau between 1943 and 1944, it is estimated that around 500 died during their stay.