William Kellie Smith & Charles Alma Baker were two personalities typifying the high life in Batu Gajah. Smith was the largest private owner of rubber estates and Baker, largest owner of rubber holdings.
It was Smith who has left a legacy behind – the Kellie’s Castle in the vicinity of Batu Gajah, and about 30 min from Ipoh. He has presumably borrowed in anticipation of his wife’s inheritance, to build the landmark. It was styled after the British Raj Palaces in India but Smith passed away in 1926 before it was completed. The building, with the estate was then sold to Harrisons & Crosfields by Agnes, Smith’s wife.
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