The unfinished Italianate style 'castle' which stands against a background of densely planted rubber trees, was commissioned in 1915 by Wm Kellie Smith, an English rubber baron who was born in Scotland.
Some time after arriving In Malaysia, he purchased 900 acres of land just south of Ipoh and cleared the jungle for his rubber plantation and homely estate which he named Kinta Kellas. The 'castle' was to be their family wing, an addition to their first house on the property. Just behind the unfinished wing are the crumbling ruins of their first Manor home which was built of brick & wood more than 120 years ago. Because the new wing was rather grandiose, by local mansion standards of the time, it was nicknamed "Kellie's Castle" as well as "Kellie's Folly".
In the middle of its construction, which to this point had already taken 10 years, Smith returned to England. It is speculated that he went to England with his daughter to reunite with his wife & son, and then went to Portugal to buy a lift for his new wing where he got sick and died of pneumonia in Lisbon Portugal in 1926. He is buried there in the British cemetery. His family sold the estate & never returned. Shrouded in romance, mystery, & historical inaccuracies, the 'castle' was never completed.
Today, a company has taken over the management of the castle and has converted it into a tourist attraction. Admission is only rm5 for adults & rm2 for children. They have an excellent brochure for sale at rm3. They also offer a package tour of Batu Gajah town.
Additional information can be found at this excellent link: http://www.journeymalaysia.com/MHIS_kellies.htm
This series of Ipoh journals is dedicated to my photographer pal Jon who took me home to Ipoh one weekend & was my 1st class driver/tour guide.
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