The last Judge Dredge in Perak

The last Judge Dredge in Perak. #Eh
The last Judge in Perak. #Eh
The last Tin Judge Dredge in Perak. Ahhhh..... Baru betul!

Judge dredge? Heheheheeee...

When I got the invitation from Gaya Travel, I was ecstatic, one of the places of interest included in this Perak trip was a visit to a tin dredge ie kapal korek. KAPAL KOREK! It can not be any cooler than this! It's the highlight of Perak trip and I told myself that I will brag like no one's business, and boy did I brag. Loud.

I have always been curious of this made in England behemoth monster, wandering inside its belly would be like an exploration in 20,000 league under the sea. A mysterious creature this one. 

This last tin dredge named Tanjung Tualang Dredge No. 5, or TT5,  weighs 4,500 tons and is supported by a pontoon of 75 meters in length, 35 meters in width and 3 meters in depth. It was built in England in 1938 by F.W.Payne & Son which, at that time, was a major design engineering company in bucketline dredges.

Thanks to google and ipoh-city.com the above paragraph made me sound like a geek when I am not (yet).
 
Perak being the tin mining state since 1900, was where the first tin dredge being introduced by Malayan Tin Dredging Ltd. It was showcased for the first time in Batu Gajah, located approximately 30mins from the Ipoh town.

This last tin dredge that we visited was in operation for 44 years and cease its operation in 1982 when the tin industry went into a decline stage due to tin deposits, prices drop and high operating costs, thus maintaining it is not economical anymore.

This magnificent monster runs 24/7 managed by shift workers, each shift consist of 20 workers. The dredge is pretty much a self-contain floating factory. 

When I was wondering in its belly, I was very fascinated with all the old school equipments and tools. Being the curious me, I wanted to explore everything, every nook and cranny, every holes and knolls, ie everything. The minute they allow us to visit the upper deck I was among the first 3 that ran up (wearing dress doesn't help as the staircase are all hollow, #facepalm) and..... I stop there, at the first deck.

You will never realised how high/tall/big/gigantic this monster is until you are up there, way up there (for me, it's one floor up "ONLY"). Those brave media when even higher, to the envious of me. The view from up there, SUPERB!

We have been briefed that everything here is big, the biggest wrench (spanar) requires seven men to lift it up. SEVEN. Enough said.

The Perak Government has plan to preserve this tin dredge and the mining industry as one of Perak unique tourist attraction.

From Malaysian Minerals :
The “Save The Dredge” campaign is initiated by the tin industry (Research and Development) Board in collaboration with Magic Mirror Sdn Bhd and Intact Group with the support of the Ministry of Natural Resources and environment, Department of Minerals and geoscience, Malaysian chamber of Mines and the Kuala Lumpur tin Market, State economic Planning Unit Perak, Department of National Heritage and Osborne and Chappel Sdn Bhd.

I would highly recommend and encourage schools to do an educational field trip here to learn and feel of our long lost past, our pride and joy; the industry that built our Perak state.

The Last Tin Dredge
Daily : 8:30am - 6:00pm
Entrance Fee : RM6 for adults, RM3 for kids.
Address : 
Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge Ship
Warisan Kapal Korek (Tin Dredge Heritage)
9th Km, Jalan Tanjung Tualang
31000, Batu Gajah, Perak.
Tel:  +605-3702253

A #VMY2014 #Perak Media Fam Trip in collaboration with #GayaTravel