Do you know the upscale residential areas in Colombo in the old days?
Some old houses and even a Dispensary are still there. Here is some
info.
Bloemendhaal : The valley of flowers.
Grandpass (from Grande Passo) or Main Street (Roa Direto).
Korteboam Short trees
The Dutch remembered one of their governors – Hulft who died during
tthe siege of Colombo , with Hulftsdorp and recalled some of their
native place names like Leyden and Delft . The Dutch named Maliban
Street to identify the fashionable promenade in Pettah – Maliban
meaning the MMall;
Kayman's Gate refers to 'kayman' – crocodiles whoo
were found in the area where the rivulet entered the sea;
Wolvendaal
meant the dale of wolves; Bloemendahl is a vale of flowers; Korteboam
means short trees;
Beira (mythology), the mother to all the gods and goddesses in the
Celtic mythology of Scotland
There was a time when
Kollupitiya was known as Baradeniya. It was a
beautiful rustic village with coconut gardens and cinnamon trees that
grew wild and narrow cart-tracks which connected the few villas and
homes here with the rest of the country.
For the purpose of postal services ‘Colombo 03’ consists of Kollupitiya.
How Baradeniya became Kollupitiya
The year was 1664 and the king was Rajasinghe II
Three Kandyan chiefs sought to slay the king
and place his 12-year-old son on the throne. One of the conspirators
was Udanuwara Ambanwela Appuhamy. When the plot failed, the king had
two of the rebel leaders beheaded. However, instead of executing
Abanwela Appuhamy, the most feared of the rebels, he handed him over
to the Dutch to undergo what he thought would be a more brutal
torture. Instead the Dutch set him free. Ambanwela Appuhamy took the
Dutch name of Van Ry-cloff and built up a good relationship with the
Dutch who gave him a large plot of land by the sea where he grew a
coconut plantation which soon expanded over the ancestral farms of the
natives who dared not complain. They could only retaliate by calling
the plantation Kolla-ke-pitiya meaning 'Plundered land'. Today, there
is still an area in Kollupitiya that is called Polwatte.
The footprints of Galle Face
Colombo 03 begins with Galle face south of Colombo Fort ( Colombo 01).
Originally a vast swamp, the Portuguese and Dutch used this piece of
land as a strategic defense. It was the British who developed the
Green into a leisure ground. The 19th century paintings of John
Deschamps, show the Galle-Face esplanade with a high road running
through the centre of it. Added later was a promenade by the sea and a
driveway bordering the lake where the Dutch Military cemetery was.
Deschamps describes it as forming not only the principal exercising
ground of the garrison, but also the general promenade of the
inhabitants of Colombo and its vicinity. “On foot, on horseback, or
in carriages, people flocked to this salubrious setting to inhale the
delicious breeze which is almost always to be found by the sea side of
this part of the Island†.
The Galle Face esplanade or Green was
established by Governor Ward in 1859. An inscription reads "in the
interest of the ladies and children of Colombo ".
Cricket, football and polo were played on the Green. In 1829, horse
racing was established under the auspices of Sir Edward Barnes.
“Everyone enjoyed a day at the races: the vendors poured in from
early noon, servants on leave spent their day there, as well as
schoolboys who didn’t make it to school, palanquin carriages with
shutters down and curtain drawn conveying Mohammedan ladies†and of
course the European community†. A circular race stand was built by
subscription. Initially it was a building of brick, coated with a
plaster of chunam. Its conical roof was covered with an excellent
thatch of kehjan (woven coconut leaves). From here a view of the whole
course could be obtained. The race-balls were held here, the upper
room being cool and airy for dancing; card-tables were placed in the
verandahs, whilst the lower portion formed a good supper-room.
Subsequently the roof was tiled. By the 1870s it had become a more
substantial building and was known as the Colombo Club. This building
still stands, even though maybe not in its original modest form, and
is now the Crystal Ballroom of the Taj Samudra Hotel Colombo.
At one end of the green was the Galle Face Boarding House, forerunner
of the present Galle Face Hotel, which was constructed in 1887.
Today the green has lost much in its extent but after a long period of
neglect has recently been restored back to the chief leisure ground of
modern Colombo for people of all walks of life.
A temple, a church, a school
Kollupitiya Walukarama Buddhist Temple is said to be the oldest temple
in Colombo . It was founded in the 1800s by Ven. Panditha Valane Sri
Siddhahatta Maha Nayake Thera, who was also the founder member of the
Maha Sangha Saba of the Siyam Nikaya of the Kotte Chapter. The land
for the construction of the temple was donated by a famous indigenous
medicine physician of Kollupitiya, Arnolis Silva.
St. Andrew’ s Scots Kirk founded in 1842 as a Church of Scotland by
Scots living in Ceylon , has today become the International Church in
Colombo welcoming into its fellowship people of all nations and
denominations of the Christian faith.
Jinaraja Kanista Vidyalaya down Dharmakirthi Ramya Road dates back to
1898. Then named " Jinaraja Buddhist English School " this was the
oldest Buddhist English mixed school in Colombo . This school was
established for boys and girls of Colombo managed by the Buddhist
Theosophical Society, Colombo under the guidance of Col. Henry Steele
Olcott.
A jeweller, a textile dealer, a baker, a grocer, an optician and a
private hospital
Galle Face Court 1 was the first multi storey block of flats in Sri
Lanka and the domed addition which followed as Galle Face Court 2 were
both buildings that were initiated by the Macan Markar family as
residential, business and real estate ventures. The dome housed an
observatory. The road here was renamed Sir Macan Markar Mawatha on
account of the contribution of the Macan Markar family towards
industry, business, trading and politics in Sri Lanka .
More famous were the Macan Markar family for their gem and jewellery
trade, which had, among its clientele, several members of the British
nobility and Royalty including His Majesty King Edward VII (1875) as
Prince of Wales and His Majesty King George V (1901) as the Duke of
Cornwall and York . The world famous Cat’s Eye, weighing 105 Carats
referred to as the Blue Giant of the Orient, a Blue Sapphire weighing
225 carats named the Wonder Star of Asia and a Star Sapphire weighing
225 carats are said to be in the possession of the firm.
Victory Silk Store was established in 1947 and is the oldest Textile
shop in Kollupitiya. The founder, C Parsram, was a highly honored and
respected Sindhi who had come to settle permanently in Ceylon from
India in 1914. Parsram was the founder of member of the Sindhi
Merchants Association of Ceylon and also held the prestigious position
of its Presidency many times. He was also responsible for the
establishment of the Ceylon Sindhi Community Center at Kollupitiya.
Perera & Sons originated with K. A. Charles Perera who came to Colombo
from a village called Kodagoda near Galle . He arrived in Colombo in
1888, with only 50 cents. He began his career as a cook in colonial
mansions and then joined the Grand Oriental Hotel as a kitchen helper
where subsequently he took up the responsibility of the hotel’s
bakery. Perera commenced his own bakery in 1902 by renting two houses
at Steuart Place , Kollupitiya. Today Perera & Sons, are perhaps the
largest bakers in the country.
Albert Edirisinghe Opticians is the very first optical firm dealing in
eye testing and manufacture of spectacles in Kollupitiya, established
in 1949. Albert Edirisinghe, hailed from Galle and originally joined
the business of William Pedris & Company in 1936 where he worked in
the optical section of the firm gaining valuable experience. After
serving for almost 13 years, he started his own enterprise, which is
today a very successful optical company in the country.
Durdans Hospital established in 1945 at Alfred Place , Kollupitiya, is
one of the oldest private sector hospitals in the country. This was
the home of Charles Pieris. It was begun as the Principal British
Military Hospital in Sri Lanka .
Premasiri Stores originally limited to groceries, was established in
1952 by Premasiri a young entrepreneur. Within a short time, Premasiri
Stores built up a regular clientele from among the local population
and a sizeable foreign community of the area. They ventured into the
direct imports of certain products to cater to the mixed clientele. A
"Wine & Spirits" department was also added to the stores.
Temple Trees - where the rich and famous lived
The house and premises a little over six acres named the ‘De
Brandery’, meaning the Distillery, is believed by some to have
housed an excellent cellar, while others say the building was used to
make spirits.
Many have been its famous occupants in the past. Frederick Baron
Mylius (from 1805) a judge in the Ceylon Civil Service social reformer
and anti-slavery activist, John Walbeoff (1830) head of the Cinnamon
Department, George Winter who was a pioneer of sugar cultivation on a
commercial scale and other enterprises in Ceylon like manufacturing
coir rope and distilling arrack in Kalutara, C R Buller (1840)
Government Agent of the Western Province , after whom Bullers Road (now
Bauddhaloka Mawatha) was named, the Layard family, Dr Christopher
Elliot (1848) the Principal Medical Officer in Ceylon who was also the
proprietor and editor of the ‘Ceylon Observer’ English daily
newspaper. It was during the occupancy of J P Green (1856), that the
De Brandery was renamed as ‘Temple Trees’, so called after the two
gnarled old temple trees growing in the front yard.
Temple Trees was purchased by the Government in November 1903, for the
use of the Governor and other high ranking British government
officials. After Independence was granted in 1948, it was declared the
official residence of the Prime Minister. Today, it is the official
residence of the President of Sri Lanka.
A mini zoo, a cattle farm, and Weliganna watte
A mini zoo had been in operation at "IXORA" Green Path. This was
earlier owned by Hagen Bech who was the originator of the Dehiwela
Zoo. The animals were later transferred to Dehiwela.
A cattle farm, referred to as 'Kiri Pattiya', had been in operation
down Palm Grove Avenue . It is said that milk was distributed free to
the people from beneath a huge tamarind tree that stood in this area.
Weli Ganna-watte (the garden where sand was taken from) was an area
between the Kollupitiya Railway Station and Galle Face Hotel, to its
North. It was a highly profitable illegal business and people used to
come from all parts of Colombo to take away sea sand, using bullock
carts. There used to be organized gangs who demanded 'kappan'
(protection money) from the carters in order to guarantee them safe
passage with their sand.
Thus is a brief description of what was Kollupitiya or Colombo 03.
(Some of this information was obtained from a book titled Colonial
Kollupitiya and its environs by H.M.M. Herath).
