Xmas shopping in Singapore DPR/TV/757

The tourist brochures will tell you that Singapore is a shopper's paradise - and they're fairly close to the mark. It's a duty-free port and for an Australian soldier and his family living in Singapore this means money in the pocket at Christmas time. Australia's 121st Signal Squadron and an administrative headquarters staff for both Singapore and Malaysia are based on the island. Most of the personnel are married. Christmas in Singapore is an international occasion - there are merchandise and foodstuffs from all over the world packed into modern emporiums, modest shops and tiny stalls. The shops cater for every taste and pocket within the two million population. Three quarters of the people are of Chinese origin, 13 percent are Malays, eight percent Tamils and two percent are others including Europeans. It is a youthful population - about half are under 21. The Armed Forces in Singapore, of which the Australian component is very small, have a marked effect on the economy. An estimate shows that the Armed Services contribution to the national income is about $270-million (Singapore currency) - about 14 percent of the total. The Australians living in Singapore can celebrate Christmas in home-town, Continental or Oriental style. The stores are loaded with turkeys, chickens, ducks and hams - and a complete range of Australian beer, wines and spirits. Most stores catering for Europeans are decorated for the season and every Australian child has a chance to see Santa Claus around the town. Those troops buying gifts to send home concentrate mainly on cameras, tape recorders and radios. (Identified: Sig Fred Robinson of Meningie, SA; wife Leonora; children Andrea (toddler), Peter (in arms); L/Cpl John Branscombe; Cpl Ray Aszkielowicz of Midland Junction, WA; Miss Gaynor of Hawthorn, Vic; Cpl Owen Wood, wife Barbara "Dawn".