MYSTERIOUS
KELLIE'S CASTLE
I
have been many times to Kellie's Castle, as it is located only 30
minutes driving from Ipoh.
Normally,
my visit to the castle was to bring outstation friends to view the
place or for reporting purposes.
Personally,
I feel strange whenever I visit the castle – it is so hollow and
incomplete and there are tales of ghostly presence, here.
 |
| KELLIE'S CASTLE |
I
had encountered once the ghostly present when I failed to snap a
photograph of a room downstairs – as I learn from the tour operator
that this particular room is pretty 'frightening'.
Kellie's
Castle (Kellie's Folly) is a castle located in Batu Gajah, Kinta
District, Perak, Malaysia.
It
is situated beside the Raya River, which is a small creek to the
Kinta River.
 |
| KELLIE'S CASTLE VIEW FROM ATOP |
The
unfinished, ruined mansion, was built by a Scottish planter named
William Kellie-Smith.
According
to legend, it was either a gift for his wife or a home for his son.
HISTORY
William
Kellie Smith (1870-1926) was born in 1870 in Kellas, Moray Firth,
Scotland. In 1890, at the age of 20, he arrived in Malaya as a civil
engineer. He joined Charles Alma Baker's survey firm, who had won
concessions from the state government to clear 9000 ha of forests in
Batu Gajah, Perak.
With
the substantial profits made from his business venture, Smith bouthg
405 ha of jungle land in the District of Kinta and started planting
rubber trees and dabbled in the tin mining industry.
 |
| POSING WITH THE CASTLE'S COLUMN |
With
his fortune, Smith returned home to marry his Scottish sweetheart,
Agnes, and brought her over to Malaya in 1903. They had a daughter
named Helen the following year.
In
1909, Smith built his first mansion 'Kellas House', which was so
unique that it was even mentioned in the London Financier newspaper
on Sept 15, 1911.
 |
| THE RUINED WALL IN KELLIE'S CASTLE |
William
Kellie Smith died at the age of 56 of pneumonia during a short trip
to Lisbon, Portugal in 1926, William's wife was devastated and
decided to move back to Scotland, construction on the castle was
never competed by Tamilvanan workers.
Kellas
House later known as Kellie's Castle was sold to a British company
called Harrisons and Crosfield.
