Present-day Malaysia is filled with skyscrapers, with elevators that send you from the ground level to floor 27 in almost no time. But, the idea for what would have been the first lift in Malaysia (called the Bucket Lift) was born inside a mansion in the state of Perak way back in 1915, and built by 70 skilled workers from Madras.
The plan was drawn by a successful Scottish civil engineer, William Kellie Smith, who had made considerable profits from his stint at Charles Alma Baker’s survey firm, and later, at Kinta Kellas Tin Dredging Company.
Helping him out were the workers from Madras, who had brought in bricks and marble from home. Together, they chalked a plan for his dream mansion — in which he wanted to live with his wife Agnes, daughter Helen and son Anthony. “William seemed to have been fascinated by the Hindu religion and Indian architecture, especially the imposing colonial builds in Madras,” states a note in one of the rooms, “Most of the raw materials used in the decorative parts of the castle had to come from India.”
The plan was simple: a six-storey tower (that would include the lift), an indoor tennis court and a rooftop courtyard. But, that was not easy in those days.
During construction in 1918, a virulent strain of the Spanish flu struck the Madras workmen, who approached their master to build a temple to appease the gods. The Maha Mariamman Temple stands even today, a few metres away from the castle. In the middle of all the gods placed atop the temple, one can spot a white man’s idol — a board says that in return for Kellie’s generosity, the workers built a statue of him.
Soon, William Kellie Smith died of pneumonia and his wife moved to Scotland, and the property was sold to a British company called Harrisons and Crosfield.
Over time, like other castles across the world, Kellie’s too became dilapidated. Ghost stories started floating around — an European couple who came to film nocturnal creatures, especially bats, reportedly spotted the ghostly image of a man looking out of the window. Since then, Kellie’s has been largely uninhabited. Currently, the Malaysian government has come up with plans to include it in the tourist circuit — the castle has been renovated and is now open to the public.
(The writer was recently in Malaysia on the invitation of Tourism Malaysia.)
