Hedwig Anuar (b. 1928)
BIOGRAPHY
Hedwig Anuar (née Aroozoo) comes from an old Singapore Eurasian family now in its 7th generation in Singapore. Born in November 1928, her schooling at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus was interrupted by the Japanese Occupation, so she completed her secondary education in 1946. In 1947 she entered Raffles College which became part of the new University of Malaya (in Singapore) in 1949, so she was amongst the first Arts graduates in 1950. She obtained a B. A. Hons (Class 1) in English Literature in 1951. She joined the University library in 1952 and was awarded an Inter-University Council fellowship to study librarianship in London from 1955-57. In two crowded years, she topped her class, while serving as Honorary Secretary of the Malayan Forum and later of the Malayan Students’ Union in London.
After returning to the University Library in Singapore in 1957, she moved to the new University of Malaya Library in Pantai Valley from 1959-62. This included a secondment from the University Library to serve as Director of the National Library in Singapore in 1960 for over a year, where she was responsible for the move to the newly completed National Library building and the start of the Library’s services there. She moved from the University of Malaya Library to the National Library in Singapore as Assistant Director in 1962 and Director of the National Archives from 1969-78. She was awarded the Public Administration Gold Medal in 1969.
She is a founder member of AWARE and its third President from 1989-91. She has also been involved with the National Book Development Council of Singapore, a non-profit society, since its founding in 1969, and with the Society for Reading and Literacy, where she runs a Women Learning English (WISH) programme for older women.
Author Photo © The Straits Times. Author Biography © Jonathan Chan. All rights reserved.
