Safes through the ages in Sibu

The first safe I remember seeing was the one in Hua Hong Ice Factory and my father had the key to it and so did the accountant. It was very old and worn out as it was probably first bought in the 1910's. The next safe I saw was the one in Hock Hua Bank when it was first started. It was newer and prettier. There might have been another vault but it must have been very well hidden.

Ever since I was a child I learned well that money was very important and that the Foochow men would work very hard for their money. They loved their money. I saw a lot of money changed hands in Chop Ching Cheong and the shop had two safes. But what was even more important was who held the key to the safe.

Another safe that was quite obvious to the public was the one in the Dentist Tiong Teck King's clinic. It is still there today. This safe must have seen tons of cash at the prime of its life.

I suppose during those days it was okay to have the safe seen by customers and relatives. After all it was a strong box and no one could break into it.

The Google Images supply me with these images:



This is a safe you can find in most hotels and perhaps even in some homes.



This is a fairly old safe but still in used by many.



Chubb is a famous name for safe. And at the present moment they make some of the biggest safes in the world.

 


This is the safe in Dentist Tiong Teck King's Clinic in Sibu in Channel Road. I took the photo a few months ago. It is old but still very sturdy and most probably it can still be used.

I remember my grandfather having a very old safe and he would gently open the safe to check his cash and other personal items. He would carefully keep his many keys on his body. I suppose he never left them around . I have never seen him being careless with his own personal things. He was a very meticulous man. All certificates land titles and gold items of course were kept in the safe by most of the men who owned safes. It was their filing system in the olden days.

After he passed away and my grandmother moved to her new house we do not know what happened to that safe. Perhaps it was kept by grandmother at the back of one of her rooms. She was also a person who kept things well as she was a very neat and tidy person.

Do we still need a personal safe today?