Museum

Tin mining museum 

Phuket Mining Museum, located in Kathu on the road between Loch Palm Golf Club and British International School, is one of the island’s most interesting history of Phuket museums. . Price, for Thais 50 baht per adult and 20 baht per child and for foreigners 100 baht per adult and 50 baht per child.

The building is in the Sino-Portuguese style, built in a square around a large open courtyard .Museum is an interest in industrial processes, From the evolution of man and the beginnings of using rocks and mental as tools, to the mining of minerals for making metals that led to the beginning of tin mining in Phuket.

Tin mining was the main industry on the island for at least half a century beginning around the turn of the 20th century and the mines attracted thousands of Chinese labourers (worker) who eventually settled on Phuket, creating the current cultural and ethnic mix that is so prevalent around the  Phuket island

the museum using a mix of beautifully painted Picture and actual objects to explained the story of how life was in Phuket's tin mining days.

    

in mining is a big educational all about the structure of the earth with information in English and Thai language. This leads through to the history of mining in general with models of stone age people banging rocks together.

Models of stone age people

The building is in the Sino-Portuguese style, built in a square around a large open courtyard .Museum is an interest in industrial processes, From the evolution of man and the beginnings of using rocks and mental as tools, to the mining  minerals for making metals that therefore led to the beginning of tin mining in Phuket.

The museum  will lead you to the different eras of tin mining and the processing  for sale to overseas traders and explaining how tin is turned into pure metal. The stretching along the right side of the building is a recreation of a street in Phuket Town around 1900, with shops, cafés, a San Jao, or Chinese temple, and a typical kitchen of the century .Originally Chinese immigrant families sifted for tin in rivers and using very simple equipment, this progressed to Open-Cut Mining by drilling or exploding into hillsides which used a lot of workers and little technology. Soil would be carried for cleaning and ore removed for processing.

Sino-Portuguese Houses (the old houses of Phuket)

                               Sino-Portuguese Houses (the old houses of Phuket)

Every people haven’t been to Phuket, the first thing when you arrived at Phuket that is walking alone in the old part of Phuket city and looking around to see the real nature of Phuket architecture that you never saw before ,this is the action that you could to do and the beautiful architecture will you back to flourish age of a century ago.

In the 18^th century, much of the is Phuket island’s tin mining was carried out by Hokkien, a Chinese who became the importance players in the old part of the city. In the late 19th century, Kor-Sim-Bi Na Ranong (a Sino-Thai businessman and Governor of Phuket at the time) was started to build the chinses settler with many characteristically hybrid mansions, combining arched window and doors with Doric. Many different style of building can be found in Dibuk road (Phuket old town road).

Some of the mansion and shop houses are gorgeously restored, with many still inhabited by local family (Thai-Chinese people in Phuket). 

Definitely in the 1930’s the architecture had developed into more European-Sion-Thai style but the attractive form of the earlier period were also incorporated.

In the early of 20^th century, under Governor Phraya Rassada Nupradit (who were took the first rubber tree from Malaysia to Phuket). The major of European mining companies were came to Phuket during the flourish age of tin mining because Phuket has a long associate with European (Portugal), Great Britain, Holland and France, and the major public infrastructure such as roads and canals was built.

Phraya Rassada Nupradit

But no one know exactly when the first building were built in this Sion – Portuguese style was constructed, but old photographs from reign of King Rama V (1853-1910) show that it was already well established from the then.

Trading tin

Trading Tin

Phuket is the one of southern province of Thailand .Phuket’s history has been shaped by tin mining, rubber, agriculture (Sion-Portuguese) the best goods of trading was The tin .Because of Tin, it cause amount of tin companies was increase .Tin mining cause Phuket grew quickly and became the center of tin trade at time .Though, Phuket was rich of natural resources but the most important sources was remain a tin .Phuket was on one of major of trading in Thailand routes between Indi and China, and abundant supply of tin and it as importance natural resources of trading .Phuket was a real innovation in the tin mining in Thailand .Tin mining as a major sources of income for Phuket in 16^th century.

Phuket was grew up from the tin mining which, mineral was covered with metal that protect from rust and mix copper to be a bronze for 500 year ago.

In 1511 Malacca was a trading hub of southeast Asia and after next a tin trading company was opened in Thalang .Native called Cha Lang, which involved to ThaLang  the name of the main town to the norther of the island .During the 16^th century ,Thalang became to the popular trading port for tin with Portuguese, Dutch ,England ,and French traders flocking to the island.

The area of the south of Phuket (Phuket city) was developed and became to center of a tin trading .In 1853,Phuket was elevated to be status with Thalang .It attracted more immigrants from Thalang  and local communities .

In 1894, Phuket was promoted to be a Monthon Phuket under the direct supervision of Interior Ministry and Phraya Tipkosa was named the first Regent of Phuket .

Phuket was completed of Sarasin Bridge in 1965 and the opening of an international airport in 1976 Today, tourism is by far the island's biggest industry with over 3 million tourists visiting the island annually, making Phuket one of the most popular travel destinations in South-East Asia.

Sarasin Bridge 

Phuket international airport

Tin mining

Extensive tin mining drew thousands of Chinese labours (working class) to the island and their influence and has remained, making Phuket the province with the highest percentage of ethnic Chinese in the Thailand.

 Phuket is the first mentioned as a major source of tin and it became the important natural resource for Thailand’s economy and trading in the sixteenth century. In sixteenth century, tin became to the big reason why French and England came to Phuket, great power of this two countries cause a price and a demand were increase in a few time.

History of tin was made at Wat Chalong (temple) in 1876, when a riot involving 25,000 migrant workers was quelled by two temple abbots who rallied with the local people. However Chinese businessmen and miners did eventually enjoy thriving business wealth, and most settled in Phuket.  

Wat Chalong (Wat in Thai language mean temple)

Due to Phuket’s supply of tin and its importance as a trading port, the island’s economy continued to prosper. The British secured a tin mining concession and nearly claimed Phuket as part of the British Empire, opting instead for Penang due to its safer harbours. Phuket’s streets were lined with beautiful buildings constructed in the Sino-Portuguese style by the tin-barons, many of which can still be seen in older quarters of the town.

Phuket old town by Sino-Portuguese style

Because of tin boom in Phuket when the tourism first came to Thailand, Phuket was among the first provinces of the tourist industry became famous tourist attraction in Thailand that every people around should to know because of the natural beauty and hospitality.

At present, tin mining become to the tourist attraction of tin mining history of Phuket .The tin mining museum was opened in 2008 .The architecture was designed by Miss Panjaphant choo-Rach. The museum's architecture is on Sino-Portuguese lines, located on the road between Loch Palm. 

SUMMARY OF HISTORY OF PHUKET

History

Phuket was known as Bukit, Junk Ceylon, or Muang Talang .Bukit is the name that derives in meaning from the Tamil manikram, or Crystal Mountain, Junk Ceylon is the old name found in the old map and Muang Talang is called since the part of the Srivichai and Siri Tahmarach empires. In the part, Phuket was a big land that connected with Pang Nga but because of a natural event that broken down the land and It cause Phuket to the single island in Andaman sea. Neolitic people, the original people of Phuket were Chao Lay or sea people .Chao Lay is the people who working the in sea.   

Tin and Rubber

Phuket has a very rich and varied history which stretches back thousands of years. Because of its rich natural reserves the island has always been important for the Thailand economy .In the 16th Century, tin came into Phuket's economical and Dutch know as French and British they came to Thailand because of it in that time a demand for tins were increase .In 1903 Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahison Phakdi was the first person who take a rubber tree from Malaysia to Thailand in 18th century.

Geography

Phuket situate the west coast of Southern Thailand in the Andaman Sea near the equator .The weather is warm all year round with the temperature ranging between 25 – 34°C  with the two season dry season and rainy season.

Heroine

The sisters lady Chan and lady Mook were born into the head of Baan Kien Village family who were protected Thalang Town from Burmese. Lady Chan and Mook decided to gather the people together and fight back. The rest of the story has become a legend.

Festival

Phuket Vegetarian - celebrating the Chinese community's belief that abstinence from meat and various stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar will help them obtain good health and peace of mind.