MALAYSIA, April 12, 2022 (The Star): A book paying tribute to William Kellie-Smith of “Kellie’s Castle” in Batu Gajah, Perak, will be published in four languages. Sri Maha Mariamman Devotees Association president P. Velmurugan, 38, said the book Forgotten Tales and Existing Facts was expected to be launched by Deputy of Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Santhara Kumar on April 16 in conjunction with the annual celebration of Chitra Pournami, a Tamil festival observed in the month of Chithirai. Velmurugan said the 115-year-old Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, sited about 1640 ft. from the famed Kellie’s Castle, was only a shrine before Kellie-Smith expanded it in 1907. “We want everyone to read the actual history of this tourist landmark (castle) and temple. The “castle” was designed with Scottish, Moorish and Tamil architecture, never finished and now in ruins but a tourist attraction–see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellie%27s_Castle.
The book, written by the temple committee, will be published in Tamil, Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin. Velmurugan said signboards explaining the temple’s brief history would also be placed in front of the building. He said a statue of Kellie-Smith, a Scottish planter in the 19th century, would be erected near the signboards. It was said that Kellie-Smith noticed devotees praying at a little shrine at his Kellas Estate when he passed by daily. When he asked them what they were doing, they said they were praying to Goddess Mariamman (Amma), as she was known to grant wishes. He then prayed for a child and his prayers were answered. “Overjoyed, and as a show of gratitude to the Goddess, Kellie-Smith instructed the workers to stop work at the castle and ordered them to start building a temple instead, a promise he had made to Amma,” said Velmurugan.
https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2022/04/12/book-highlights-history-between-kellies-castle-and-115-year-old-temple