This is the shaft of an umbrella, which was attached to a ‘kueh tutu’ (steamed rice flour cake) trishaw cart. Itinerant food sellers, such as ‘kueh tutu’ hawkers, moved around and sold food in trishaw carts (see 2003-00236). The cart consisted of a trishaw (see 2003-00236-001), an umbrella attached to the cart (see 2003-00236-011), and aluminium compartments which held the ingredients for making ‘kueh tutu’. During the 1950s, all food carts used by itinerant hawkers had to be licensed and registered by the Registrar of Vehicles. In 1957, it was further stipulated that the size of the food cart must not exceed 40 inches in length and 30 inches in width. These regulations were part of the efforts by the government to clamp down on itinerant hawkers and relocate them to hawker centres.
