Angel
mansion | 1906 | Demolished
The only evidence of any kind of dwelling within this land,
is a very ornate arched gateway that stands guard at the properties
entrance. Two chubby angels stand at the top of the arch,
with the moon between them, they have stood vigil here for
over 100 years.
On the day of our explore we were lucky and bumped into a
local man who lived nearby and who offered to guide us to
the site. He also provided us with some useful background
history to the place, as well as giving us early warning snake
detection with the help of his two dogs who tagged along on
the trek.
The house was originally owned by a wealthy Chinese plantation
owner of some status. We don't know much about its actual
history when it was lived in, but do know it saw its last
human occupier back in the 50's. After that, things went down
hill fast. What we are left with today is essentially a ruin,
as some fool burnt most of it down in the 80's. What material
survived the fire was then fair game to scrap merchants and
scavengers.
The original house with all its decoration and architectural
style, must have looked more like a Chinese temple than someone's
residence. During its heyday the surrounding grounds were
lushly planted with tropical flowers and plants, as well as
few ponds dotted here and there, of which are still in existence
today.
It took a trek of 20 minutes through dense undergrowth and
marshy ground to get to the building, Bear Grylls style!
Once we finally laid eyes on the structure, it was good to
see some of the elaborate Chinese ornamentations had survived
the fire and plundering. Surprisingly enough much of the original
paint on these decorations had also survived, giving us an
idea as to how brightly coloured and decorated this residence
must have been back in the day.
The elaborate carvings with Chinese characters also gave us
a few more clues about the house and owner. But it took some
work, the characters are so old in style that most people
can't understand them today. We did finally find someone who
could read them, and as fate would have it, even knew of the
house, as a relative or theirs used to play cards with the
mistress of the owner back in the day!
The inscriptions essentially date when the residence was built,
the name of the owner and the religion of the family, as well
as some good luck inscriptions for good measure.
This old building has turned into a truly historic find. If
only it could be preserved and brought back to its full glory.
But as the site has been bought by a large property developer,
its prospects are not good.
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