Puket

Puket (also known by the Chinese name Tongkah), the first Siamese port on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, situated on the eastern side of the island of Junk Ceylon (Malay, "Ujong Salang") in 7° 50' N. and 98° 24' E. It is the headquarters of the high commissioner of the Siamese administrative division of the same name, and has a population of about 30,000, of which more than a third is Chinese. Beneath the town and around it lie deposits of tin ore which have been worked by Chinese from ancient times, and the extraction of which still furnishes occupation for the majority of the inhabitants. In 1907, dredging for tin in the harbour was undertaken by a European company. Puket has been a resort of European merchants since the 16th century. During the ancient wars between Siam and Burma it was more than once attacked by the latter, but was relieved by forces from Nakhon Sri Tammarat (Ligore) on the mainland. The Siamese mining department has a branch at Puket under control of European officers.