The German managers house - Malaysia 08

[Raz333]

This is an interesting plantation house which was first used by a German fellow in
the 1920's or 30's. These days it sits abandoned since the last occupiers hurriedly
vacated after some gangsters raided the house for scrap material a few years ago.

I love these pre war homes for their history, but by today's living standards, they are dark,
dingy and depressing places. No wonder so many prewar estate houses are left abandoned
or get torn down.

 

[smiffy]

Thats a grand old place mate....wouldn't mind owning that as my holiday home in the Far East!!!!
What sorta money would summat like that fetch if it were on the market In Malaysia nowadays?????

 

[Raz333]

Thats a grand old place mate....wouldn't mind owning that as my holiday home in the Far East!!!!
What sorta money would summat like that fetch if it were on the market In Malaysia nowadays?????

Of course in real life you would have to buy the entire palm oil estate if you wanted the house.

But a stab in the dark, I would imagine around the 35k GBP range for just that 1 acre plot the house sits on.
The house itself would hardly even be factored into the price, as it is old and most buyers here would demolish
it any way.

 

[smiffy]

Uum.............
Whilst i like the thought of owning my own 'estate' in the far east I gotta admit to having difficulty in looking after a postage stamp size lawn here in the UK so I don't think my agricultural skills quite run to running a whole estate !!!!!..
My Dad was stationed in Malaya for a while with the Army between 1952 through to 1957 and I wouldn't mind a visit out there.........Cheers so just out of interest.......... what would the whole estate go for then ????????/

 

[Foxylady]

Despite it being dark, it's absolutely gorgeous. Nice find.

 

[Raz333]

Uum.............
Whilst i like the thought of owning my own 'estate' in the far east I gotta admit to having difficulty in looking after a postage stamp size lawn here in the UK so I don't think my agricultural skills quite run to running a whole estate !!!!!..
My Dad was stationed in Malaya for a while with the Army between 1952 through to 1957 and I wouldn't mind a visit out there.........Cheers so just out of interest.......... what would the whole estate go for then ????????/

Which part of Malaya was your dad posted to? He would have been up against the communist
terrorists who were running about the jungles at the time. Nasty.

I've no idea the size of this particular plantation, but if it's one of the big ones that run into
the 100's of acres, then a couple of million quid. These large estates also have to sustain a small
work force who live on site in self contained communities.

@Foxylady
I rate this is one of my better finds. At least this house had some stuff inside rather than another
totally gutted building that I normally find.

 

[smiffy]

I'll see him over the weekend and get some place names outta his memory.!!!
He has a brilliant photo album from those days with loads of pictures of him and his mates doing their thing .....I do know he was in 410 Plant Troop Royal Engineers so wasn't in the fighting as such but yer right............ the 'ChinComs' were their adversaries and a cruel lot they were particularly to the local villagers and tribesmen.
Incidentally there is a fantastic book about Malaya in WW2 called "The jungle is neutral".............written many years ago by a British Officer fella that got left behind when the Japs invaded and captured Singapore ....he stayed in the jungle working with the very same guerillas that only a few years later the British Army was fighting.............Strange old world sometimes.....very similar situation to what the French and then the Americans found themselves up against in Vietnam with Hoi Chi Min's guerilla forces except that it did at least end in a little more positive manner in Malaya didn't it?.................

 

[skittles]

yep nice. Love the house.

good photos

 

[Trinpaul]

Raz,

I quite enjoy your Malaysian photos and subject matter so I'm going through your older posts. I swear the 1st pic was taken in Trinidad It looks very much similar to style and color to a site I visited in central Trinidad, the British colonial influence I guess

 

[Raz333]

Thanks Trinpaul.

Do the ones in Trinidad have also have the separate servants quarters and kitchen building at the back of the main house as well?

 

[Trinpaul]

Thanks Trinpaul.

Do the ones in Trinidad have also have the separate servants quarters and kitchen building at the back of the main house as well?

Depending on the age (when they were built) yes. I grew up in a house on the University of the West Indies which was originally the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, founded in 1921. The main kitchen was "set off" on the side of the house and well ventilated. The servants quarters, kitchen and laundry was in a separate building just off from the main house.

Your 1st picture could just as well been taken either at the UWI campus, on the old Caroni (Tate & Lyle) housing estates or on the managers housing at the refinery (Dominion Oil, BP and Shell) and oil camps. The color scheme is nearly identical to the old expat houses at Sevilla (see attached). The main differences I guess would be down to localised influences as well as my observation that the ones in Trinidad are not as "grand" as those in Malaysia, perhaps more utalitarian.

Old golf club house at Sevilla.

Expat Houses at Sevilla.

 

[Raz333]

I like that last building on columns. I guess they had the same objectives
with the main living area elevated as they had here in Malaysia, mainly
for ventilation and cooling effect. Also good for protecting against flood
waters and more importantly elephants and tigers!

 

[Trinpaul]

I like that last building on columns. I guess they had the same objectives
with the main living area elevated as they had here in Malaysia, mainly
for ventilation and cooling effect. Also good for protecting against flood
waters and more importantly elephants and tigers!

Sorry, no elephants and tigers in these parts

The houses were (and still are), like in Malaysia, raised off the ground for ventilation and cooling. We also have the high roofs to allow for circulation inside the houses. The area below the houses would also be used for servants quarters, parking of carts and vehicles and storage. Also a great place to sling up a hammock