Takua Pa
Takua Pa is the former tin capital of Thailand. Located just to the north of Khao Lak, the town dates back to the 13th century. Often overlooked by visitors, this town offers visitors a glimpse into the past of South East Asia.
Takua Pa was originally settled by takkolam people from what today is Sri Lanka . Takua Pa had the finest harbor on the west coast of the Malayan peninsula and traders from as far away as India used Takua Pa as their main trading port along the coast in the 13th century - centuries before western seafarers made their journeys to the east.
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The name Takua comes from the thai word for lead, even though it was tin which created the riches for Takua Pa.
Modern history
The district was an important tin-dredging area in the first half of the twentieth century, when the british company Siamese Tin Syndicate Ltd. Satupulo No Liability Co. from Australia both operating dredges in the rivers, with narrow-gauge tramways following them upstream.
The Asiatic Company also had a dredge and tramway further inland at Amphoe Kapong. Siamese Tin was operating here at least as late as 1967, but Thai magnates, such as the late Chuti Bunsung, took over operations by the early 1980s.
By 2008 there was no sign left of the mining, as plantations, particularly rubber, have covered the former dredged areas. The public library at Takua Pa town has photographs on display of the dredging and sluicing operations in their heyday in the 1920s and 1930s. The former Asiatic Company workshops can also still be seen in Amphoe Kapong town.
Map Takua Pa, Phang Nga
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