The unfinished, ruined mansion, was built by a Scottish planter named William Kellie Smith. According to differing accounts, it was either a gift for his wife or a home for his son. William Kellie Smith (1870 - 1926) [1] 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 con
cessions from the state government to clear 9000 hectares of forests in Batu Gajah, Perak. With the substantial profits made from his business venture with Baker, Smith bought 1000 acres of jungle land in the district of Kinta and started planting rubber trees and dabbled in the tin mining industry. In time, he named his estate Kinta Kellas after his home farm "Easter Kellas" and went on to own the Kinta Kellas Tin Dredging Company as well.With his fortune made, he returned home to marry his Scottish sweetheart, Agnes, and brought her over to Malaysia in 1903. They had a daughter named Helen the next year. In 1909 Smith built his first mansion, "Kellas House" and in 1915 with the birth of his son and heir Anthony he started planning for a huge castle with Scottish, Moorish and Indian architecture. He brought in 70 craftsmen from Madras India. All the bricks and marble were imported from India, too. Included in the plan for the 6 storey tower was Malaya's first elevator, an indoor tennis court and a rooftop courtyard for entertaining.
