Rough Guide

KELLIE'S CASTLE
-SYAZWANI AZIZ-

-Kellie's Castle, 2012-

Assalamualaikum to all Malaysian citizens. First and foremost, I proudly writing about the history of Malaysia. Since Malaysia is too "broad", I would like to make it specific here that I'm writing about the history of one of the states in Malaysia that known as Perak Darul Ridzuan.So, I'm going to write about the actual history of Kellie's Castle situated at Batu Gajah, Perak. Let's discover this undiscovered history of Kellie's Castle. Sounds confusing right? But sometimes, the undiscovered place is "things" that risen our country with its uniqueness.

Basically, a lot has been written about Kellie's Castle and its owner, William Kellie Smith as well as the people involved with Kellie's Castle construction. The unfinished, ruined mansion, was built by William Kellie Smith, a successful Scottish planter. According to differing accounts, it was either a gift for his wife or a home for his son.It is a true rags-to-riches story.

-William Kellie Smith-

Many people know about the love story attached to the Taj Mahal. But how many of you know the story of a Scottish man named William Kellie Smith and his beloved wife Agnes? In 1890, a young Smith left his home farm in Kellas for Malaya. It is not known why he ventured to Malaya for career opportunities much less when he actually arrived. However, he integrated in to the community with ease. He bounced around several business opportunities finding some success but it wasn't until he met Alma Baker that he struck gold. Baker obtained several government projects to built roads in South Perak. Their partnership in these projects led to quite a bit of profits. Enough to purchase a 900 acre piece of land for his rubber tree plantation and homely estate named Kinta Kellas in Batu Gajah.

-Craft of Agnes Smith-

Now with his fortune made, he returned home to marry his Scottish sweetheart, Agnes, and brought her over to Malaysia in 1903. The following year, the couple was blessed with a daughter whom they named Helen Smith. For many years after that, Agnes tried to conceive, but to no avail. William Kellie 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, Anthony Smith, in 1915. The birth of his child was the start of even greater success for William Kellie Smith. To celebrate Anthony's birth, William Kellie 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.