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Takua Pa (, ) is a district (''
amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', , )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the Provinces of Thailand, provinces, and are analogous to count ...
'') in Phang Nga province in south
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
.


Geography

The district is on the
Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated f ...
coast. To the north of the district is Si Phang Nga National Park. The southern part of the district contains Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park, which includes the beach resorts of Khao Lak, devastated by the
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
resulting from the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...
. Neighboring districts are Khura Buri to the north, Phanom of Surat Thani province, Kapong to the east, and Thai Mueang to the south.


History

Originally named ''Takola'' (), the town was one of the historic city states ('' mueang'') dating back to
Srivijaya Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...
times in the 13th century. It was also known as ''Takkolam'' () which is the Tamil word for "piper cubeba" and "calyptranthes jambalana". There is also a place in the Tamil country which up to now carries the same name ''Takkolam''. Takua Pa could have either abounded in the spices "calyptranthese jambalana" and "piper cubeba" or it could have been occupied by settlers from the Takkolam of the Tamil country, or both. Takua Pa is said to have been the finest harbor on the west coast of the peninsula for trade between the kingdom of Srivijaya and the early Tamil kingdoms of the Cholas and Pallavas during different times in history. It was later renamed ''Takua Pa'' due to the rich ores found near the town: ''takua'' (ตะกั่ว) is the Thai word for
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
, even though tin was the most important ore found there. Laem Pho Beach in the Chaiya district of Surat Thani province, on the other side of the isthmus 200 km distant, is thought to have been a Srivijaya Kingdom seaport in the 7th to 13th centuries. Srivijaya was an Indonesian city-state that grew to become an influential maritime power in what is now
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
.
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
(7th–10th centuries) ceramics have been found in the area as well as pottery from India and glassware from
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Similar finds have been made in Ban Thung Tuek of Takua Pa District, indicating that there may have been an overland route connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the
Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated f ...
coast. This route would have enabled traders to avoid piracy in the narrow Strait of Malacca. There was a Hindu/Vishnu temple there in the 8th century CE. An important mercantile organisation called ''Kodumbalur Manigramam'', built a water tank for this temple. They left an inscription in Tamil. The tank was called "Avani Naaranam", the name of one of the Pallava emperors of Tamil Nadu. The town was long administered by Nakhon Si Thammarat. In 1892 it was converted to a province, part of the Monthon Phuket. This province was merged into Phang Nga Province on 1 April 1932. The district, Talat Yai ('big market', ตลาดใหญ่), was then renamed Takua Pa. The district was an important tin-dredging area in the first half of the 20th century, with the English company, Siamese Tin Syndicate Ltd., and the Australian company, Satupulo No Liability Co., both operating dredges in the rivers, with narrow-gauge tramways following them upstream. The Asiatic Company also had a dredge and tramway further inland in Kapong District, depicted in the Thai film, '' The Tin Mine''. Siamese Tin operated here at least as late as 1967, but Thai firms assumed operations by the early-1980s. By 2008 there were no remaining signs of mining, as plantations, particularly rubber, 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 Kapong town. The centre for the identification of bodies found after the 2004 tsunami is in the district. Opposite the identification centre is the cemetery where all unidentified foreign bodies have been buried. Laid out somewhat like the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Kanchanaburi. By late-2008 the cemetery was overgrown, run down, and inhabited by feral dogs.


Administration


Central administration

Takua Pa district is divided into eight sub-districts (''
tambon ''Tambon'' (, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' of Bangkok, whi ...
s''), which are further subdivided into 51 administrative villages (''
muban Muban (; , ) is the lowest Administrative divisions of Thailand, administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet (place), hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74 ...
s'').


Local administration

There is one town ('' thesaban mueang'') in the district: * Takua Pa (Thai: ) consisting of sub-district Takua Pa. There are two sub-district municipalities (''
thesaban tambon Thesaban (, , , Pali, Pali: desapāla (protector of region) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesa ...
'') in the district: * Bang Nai Si (Thai: ) consisting of sub-district Bang Nai Si. * Khuek Khak (Thai: ) consisting of sub-district Khuek Khak. There are four subdistrict administrative organizations (SAO) in the district: * Bang Sai (Thai: ) consisting of sub-districts Bang Sai and Tam Tua. * Bang Muang (Thai: ) consisting of sub-district Bang Muang. * Khok Khian (Thai: ) consisting of sub-district Khok Khian. * Ko Kho Khao (Thai: ) consisting of sub-district Ko Kho Khao. Takua Pa itself has town ('' thesaban mueang'') status and covers the complete ''tambon'' Takua Pa. There are six tambon administrative organizations (TAO). Takua Pa is administered by the town council and Tam Tua by a neighboring TAO, Bang Sai.


Climate


References


External links

*
amphoe.com
(Thai)

{{Authority control Takua Pa Populated places in Phang Nga province Mining communities in Thailand