Kellie's Castle

The unfinished Kellie's Castle stands majestically over Kinta River near Batu Gajah. The castle, with its four-storey tower (legend has it that it was supposed to be six storeys high) was an ambitious project by William Kellie Smith who intended to make it the hub of social life for the area's wealthy colonial planters and administrators.

William Kellie Smith was from a village in Scotland known as Kellas. He arrived in the then undeveloped Malaya when he was 20 in 1890. He made a fortune from concessions from the state government to clear forests in Perak.

With his fortune, he returned home to marry his Scottish sweetheart, Agnes and brought her to Malaya in 1903. A year later, they were blessed with a daughter, Helen . William Smith desperately wanted a son and heir to take over his empire. Finally, Agnes gave birth to a son, Anthony in 1915.

Moorish arches and walls embellished with Greco-Roman designs give the castle a colonial look. The walls are red bricks and wooden window arches are of solid wood. The castle has a high stately columns, a grand living room, bedrooms, guest rooms, a worship room, rooms for servants, store rooms and many other rooms.

Beside the castle, there is a huge tree which was given the nick name The Bear Tree.

Evidence of the luxurious lifestyle intended for this mansion lies in a bar room adjacent to a wine cellar room with a special wine racks. There is a secret tunnel from the cellar room but it was sealed by the museum authorities in 2003 for security reason. Where the secret tunnel leads to remain a mystery. Some speculate it serves as an emergency escape route to a nearby Hindu temple.

William Kellie Smith also plan to make a portion in the main hall into a family's altar. They were Catholic.

"Apricot Brick" which comes in various design can be seen mainly in the tower block and the new wing. It is over 100 years old.

The door and window panel are of Chengal wood which is believed to be over 200 years old. The wood is still strong with no visible decay.

Beside the castle lie the ruins of Smith's first family home, Kellas House. Even these ruins tell stories of yesteryear when it had also served as a clinic for the rubber planter's hired hands from India.

Some of the remnant of the marble can still be seen around Kellas House. These marble are imported from Italy to England and it is shipped to Malaya sometime in 1891. It is mainly found in the bathroom.

This is actually the ventilation hole for the tunnel and the underground rooms. I initially mistaken it as a well.

Its reputation as a must-see was enhanced after the filming of Anna & The King in 1999 starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fatt.

There is a Hindu temple, Sri Mahamariamah Ladang Kinta about a kilometre away from the castle which has Smith's statue among the Hindu deities. The temple also has a story to tell. As stated earlier, Kellie wanted a son so badly that one of the Madras laborers advised him to pray to Amman (a Hindu Goddess) whom will grant their wishes. So, he prayed to the Goddess and Anthony was borned. As a token of appreciation, Kellie a Hindu Temple for the Goddess

Smith contracted pneumonia while in Lisbon, Portugal in 1926 to source for the elevator for his castle. The devastated wife decided to pack up and return home to Scotland and sold the castle away.

This is supposed to be the lift well for the first "Bucket Lift" in Malaya should Smith did not succumb to his fate in Portugal.

Along the corridors, there had been a few sightings that the spirit of William Kellie Smith can be seen wandering here.

This is the castle master room. Simply spacious and awesome. All the rooms has natural ventilation to cope with the heat and humidity in this part of the world.

From the Master Room, William can peep through the balcony to see the activity at the guard house.

Helen (Smith's daughter) room is rather unique as it has blue ceiling plaster which was completed around 1910. Inside this room, some visitors had claimed they saw Helen emerge from the door for a few seconds and then disappear. She was described as a 6 year old child in white blouse and curly hair.

There are many emergency spiral staircases from the upper floor leading to underground dungeon, probably as a mean to escape in case of an emergency.

The most significant feature of the castle is at its rooftop courtyard, also known as "Para Pad". This place is where Kellie Smith may stand and see the surrounding area of his estate.

The rooftop courtyard might also be used for family leisure activity as well as formal function with the wealthy countrymen that reside in Malaya then. Visitors need to be extra careful here as safety features were not installed at the roof top (as the castle construction was never completed by Smith) such as fences and guard to prevent free fall to the ground below

Kellie's Castle is a beauty and I'm happy I finally made it here. Entrance fee is RM4 for Malaysian and RM5 for foreigner.

Tin Dredge Heritage

Malaysia was once the largest tin producer in the world and in 1929, it was reported there were 123 active dredges in Malaya. Sadly, there are only 3 tin dredges left in the country and one of them is located at Tanjung Tualang, Batu Gajah along the 9th KM, Jalan Tanjung Tualang, Batu Gajah.

The dredge machine here has been converted to a museum and has been opened to the public since February 2008.

Entrance fee is RM5 each and I believe all those funds will go into maintaining this dredge as it is reported the monthly maintenance for the dredge cost RM 5,000.

There is a mini museum right after the entrance which showcases the history of tin mining and the general arrangement plan of a typical tin dredge machine

This dredge was built in 1938 by W.F. Payne & Sons. It once belonged to Southern Malayan Tin Dredging (M) Sdn Bhd and had scoured for tin ore in the Kinta valley for 44 years until operations stopped in 1983 due to the collapse of the tin industry.

It pretty much look like a floating factory from this angle.

The dredge is in danger of sinking due to its damage on the pontoon side and the management is seeking funds to repair it to keep it afloat.

The heritage dredge, T.T. No. 5 has tilted 18% into the water on the Starboard side at the stern. Some of the machinery and pumps are already submerged under water and part of the area had been flooded.

One should navigate around the deck area with special care as several holes can be spotted here. The steel plate also appear thin and it will take a lot of effort to crop and replace them.

Ideally, one should wear a safety shoes here for safety reason. Anyway, I am used to this type of hazards.

Safety signs can still be found all over the operation areas to ensure the employees adhere to the safety policy and standard at the time.

The dredge bucket which was made from manganese steel and appears to be the most durable material onboard.

The maintenance records of the critical equipment of the dredge was still visible and the last maintenance works carried out was in 1981, roughly about the same period when the tin industry collapsed.

All the machines here are properly fenced and guarded in way of the rotating parts in line with the Factory And Machinery Act at the time.

All the switch gears, starters and "electronics" were made from the United Kingdom. Obviously, they are all obsolete by now.

Me at the control station observing some of the documents left behind.

An overview of the interior of the dredge.

This is what I believe to be revolving or oscillating screens where large stones and rubble are retained and the tin bearing material passes to another plant.

This living museum is our country's heritage but it will need a huge funding to keep it alive/afloat. Donations can be made to the care taker of this dredge, Century Mission Sdn Bhd who can be reached by 05-3702253 (tel) or tt5dredge@yahoo.com