Kellie Castle

History

William Kellie Smith was from a village in Scotland known as Kellas (I do not know whether the village is still exist at Scotland nowdays…hope still there). He was born on 1st March 1870 from farmer family and third from 5 siblings. In 1890, at the age of 20, he arrived at Malaya (now it calls Malaysia), he met an estate owner called Charles Alma Baker, who had won concessions from the state government to clear 360 hectares of forests in Perak. With the substantial profits made from his business venture with Charles Alma Baker, Smith started planting rubber trees and dabbled in the tin mining industry. In time, he became the owner of Kinta Kellas Estate and the Kinta Kellas Tin Dredging Company.

Now with fortune made,in 1903 he had returned home to visit his ill-beloved mother and forth to marry his Scottish sweetheart, Agnes and brought her to Malaysia in 1903. When he returned back to Malaya, he decided to put 'Kellie' to after his name as a memorial upon his mother.The following year, the couple was blessed with a daughter whom they named Helen. William Smith desperately wanted a son and heir to take over his empire in the Malay Isles. After many years, Agnes finally gave birth to a son in 1915. He named his first son as Anthony.The birth of Anthony was the start of even greater success for William Smith. To celebrate Anthony’s birth, William Smith decided to expand on his mansion. Smith started planning for a huge castle which he planned to call Kellas House, after his hometown in Scotland.

William Smith had hired 70 workers taken from Madras, India and most of the building materials were imported from India and tiles imported from Italy. The architecture of the castle is so unique at that time (i.e. Greco-Roman Moorish India concept) in which cannot be found at any other places in Malaya.

For your information, Kellie's Castle also had ever being reported in one of English's newspaper in London (i.e. London Financier) on 15 September 1911.

According to the original layout of the castle, it had 14 rooms and rooms for his family located at the first floor of the castle in which each rooms have emergency stairs exit. The castle was said to have 3 secret tunnels. First tunnel was built 500 metres toward a Hindu's temple, second tunnel toward to his family's car (Marlborough shown as in the picture above) and the third tunnel is remains unknown to where it goes.

The first and second tunnel were already being known since the castle being left abandoned long time ago. But the third tunnel was accidently being found recently on 2003 during the contruction of KM4 highway Gopeng-Batu Gajah Road by the Malaysia government.

The construction of the castle started to be in delay when the First World War begun. And then not long after that, there was a disease known as 'Spanish Flu' started from Europe and eventually reached Asia and India. The disease was finally arrived at Malaya through the workers brought from India. The disaster had caused a tremendous trouble to William in order to complete the building of his castle. All of his 70 workers died due to this disaster.

In 1926, William and his daughter Helen went to Lisbon, Portugal before they continued their journey to England to visit his wife, Agnes and his son, Anthony. Some also said that William Kellie went back to England because he want to bring back a lift set to be fitted at his castle's tower. Unfortunately, during in Portugal, William had been infected with lung disease called as pneumonia and finally died at Lisbon on 11 Disember 1926 at the age of 56 years old.

Construction of Castle abandoned

After his husband died, Agnes left Malaya and had sold all their properties including Kellie's Castle. Farms owned by Kellie had been sold to Harrisons and Crosfield Company. The construction of the castle was finally stopped since 1926 till nowadys.

Heir of William Kellie Smith

Not much information that  could find but referring to website (http://www.thepeerage.com/) under "The Peerage: A genealogical survey of the peerage of britain as weel as the royal families of Europe", his son Anthony William Kellie-Smiths had used to be with Britain'army during World War 2 and later died on 9 June 1942 when he was a Lieutenant. Anthony's son,  David Anthony Kellie-Smith were born on 4 June 1940 and two grandsons, Samuel Anthony Kellie-Smith (born on 12 May 1966) and Owen William Kellie-Smith (born on 20 July 1968). On Kellie's daughter side, Helen, his heir were not detectable.

Below are some photos taken during my visit previously:

View from right side of the Castle

Old building structure behind the Castle

(Kellie's First Home Named as Kellas House)

Kellie Smith's Kitchen

(Oven Made of Bricks)

Last and foremost, the scary parts:

Re-Write the Signboard Statement as below

Ghostly Cloister Balcony

William Kellie Smith died of pneumonia in Lisbon, Portugal and was buried in the British Cemetery. Nevertheless, it is said that his spirit roams at night, especially along the corridors, guarding his great mansion.

Dutch Fort

This place is also one of the favourite tourism hotspot recommended for tourists to visit. The fort were left abandoned for more than hundreds years ago and still remain exists.The fort called as 'Dutch Fort' or in Malay language (Kota Belanda) is located at Teluk Gadung, Pangkor Island, Perak, Malaysia. However, Dutch records referred it as Dinding Fort ('Dingdingh'), named after the Dinding River.

Perak was the main tin-producing kingdom in the whole Peninsula and the Dutch East India Company wanted to control and monopolise its trade, so its ships blockaded Perak for much of the sevententh and eighteenth century. There was also a strategic reason for the blockade - Perak nominally a vassal of Acheh and the Dutch was at war with the Sumatran state. For this reason a Dutch outpost was established at Teluk Gedung in 1670 to support this blockade and to prevent the occupation of the island by the English who were by then active trade competitors in the region.
The report of the Dutch Governor Balthasar Bort in 1678 states that "at the present time, 59 men are beore Perak, engaged in the blockade of the place and stationed on the island of Dinding, which the Hohourable Company has in its possession, occupying a square wooden fort there provided withnine pices of iron ordnance."The 59 men consisted of superintendent merchant, a captain, a bookeeper, thre asistants, three second mated, two junior surgeons, eight men-at-arms and 40 seamen, manning the garrision and its small flotilla of the yatch 'Laren', the sloop 'Cacap' and the boat 'Dingdingh'

The fort appears to have been strengthened a few years laters, as British explorer and buccaneer William Dampier decribes in 1689:"The Dutch, who are the only in habitants, have a fort on the east side (of the island), close by the sea, in a bending of the island, which makes a small cove for ships to anchor in. The fort is built four-square, without flankers or bastions, like a house: every square is about ten or twelve yards. The walls are of a good thickness, made of stone, and carried up to a good height of about thirty foot, and covered overhead,like a dwelling house. There may be about twelve or fourteen guns in it, some looking out at every square. These guns are mounted on a strong platform, made within the walls about sixteen foot high; and there are steps on the outside to ascend to the door that opens to the platform, there being no other way into the fort. Here is a governor and about twenty to thirty soldiers, who all lodge in the fort. The soldiers have their lodging in the platform among the guns, but the governor has a fair chamber above it, where he lies with some officers.

"About a hundred yards from the fort, on the bay by the sea, there is a low timbered house, where the Governor abides all the day time. In this house, there were two or three rooms for their use, but the chief among them was the Governor's Dining-Room. This fronted to the sea, and the end of it looked towards the Fort."
"The distance between the fort and the river's mouth is about 4 to 5 miles; thy have also a guard-ship commonly lying here, and sloop with 20 or 30 armed men, to hinder other nations from this trade. The Dutch also commonly keep a Guard-ship ans have made some fruitless essays to bring that Prince and his subjects to trade only with them; but here over against Dinding, no strangers dare approach to trade-neither may any ship come in hither but with consent of the Dutch."
All supplies were brought from Melaka because according to Dampier, the garrison was in "a continual fear of the Malayans, with whom though thwy have a commerce, yet dare they not trsut them so far, as to be ranging about the island in any work of husbandry, or indeed to go far from the Fort for there only they are safe."
Dampier describes an incident during dinner when "the Governer, his guest and some of his officers were seated, but just as they began to fall to, one of the Soldier cried out "Malayans!". Immediately the Governer, without speaking a word, leapt out of one of the windows, to get as soon as he could to the fort. His officers followed, and all the servants that attended were soon in motion. Every one of them took the nearest way, some out of the windows, others out of the doors, leaving the three guests by themselves!"
" They fired several guns to notice to the Malayans that they are ready for them; but none of them came on. Fpr this upproar was occasioned by a Malayan canoe full of armed men that lay skulking under the island, close by the shore; and when a Dutch Boat went out to fish, the Malayans set upon them suddenly and unexpected with their krises and lances, and killing one or two the rest leapt overboard, and got away, for they were close by the shore: and they having no arms were not able to have made any resistance. It was about a mile from the Fort: and being landed, every one of them made what haste he could to the fort, and thr first that arrived was he who cried in the manner, and frightened the Governer from supper."
"We kept good watch all night, having all guns loaded and primed for service. But it rained so hard all the night, that I did not much fear being attacked by any Malayan; being informed by one of our seamen, whom we took in at Malacca, that the Malayans seldom or never make any attack when it rains. The next morning the Dutch sloop weighed, and went to look after the Malayans; but having sailed about the Island, and seeing no enemies they anchored again."