Musings on ColomboVinodh WICKREMERATNE Vinodh Wickremeratne (born 1958) has cycled, walked and double deckered all over the city as part of "Colombology". was a Committee Member and consultant for the National Railway Museum and the National Transport Commission. Other interests are genealogies, model railways, classic cars, old buildings and walawwes, vintage fashion and lifestyles etc.. Was a major contributor to the book Railways of Sri Lanka by David Hyatt (2000) and other publications. Administration The capital city for quite some time till the Administrative Centre was shifted to Kotte. But still the main business hub is in and around the Fort and the Presidential Secretariat is at the Galle Face entrance to Fort. (Old Parliament). The Kachcheri operates at Dam Street in an 1858 built structure and secondary functions are from the New Secretariat at Maligawatte. Zones Colombo since 1947 is divided to 15 Postal Zones and the city was bounded sensibly by waterbodies i.e the canals at Wellawatte, Kirullapone, the Kelani River and a series of connecting canals at Dematagode and Borella. So if anyone feels and mentions that they lived in Colombo 7 in 1925....they are mistaken! For Municipal Council Rates & Taxes collection purposes there are 48 Wards, and Assessment Notices are served Ward wise. A phenominon later than the 1950s was that some person wanted a Colombo address and got the Colombo City Limit extended to about Anula Vidyalaya on High Level Road, Nugegoda....that section of Nugegoda has Colombo 6 addresses !. Colombo 6 was not good enough for some and Colombo 5 extends like a finger to some sections of Railway Avenue. However the telegraphic codes are as for Nugegoda....282xxxx etc in these "New" areas. Fortress Colombo used to have a proper fortress with ramparts and battlements. This was demolished about 1870 for city expansion. From pictures and records it was not as tall as Galle Fort, but I imagine it was the height of Matara and Mannar Forts. There was a very ornate entrance at the Galle Face end till the dismanteling in 1870. The western wall side was taller than the rest, now this former wall footprint is Chaitya Mawatha. Lighthouses There was an older lighthouse almost at the location of the present one, this had to go with the fort walls being demolished. The light was shifted to the top of the clocktower and this served as the main lighthouse till about the early 1950s. The present lighthouse came up about 1952. The old clocktower lighthouse has only a CFL bulb now. The Railway System - in 1864 the first train ran out on a ceremonial trip to Ambepussa with Leopold, later the Duke of Brabant. In 1865 the Colombo Terminus was opened for all departures. Colombo Fort had its first station at the spot of the current Secretariat Halt, a few years later the station was shifted to the bend behind what is now Lake House. Colombo Terminus was discontinued about 1908 and for rail passenger activity stations were located at Baseline Road, Maradana, Pettah (discontinued about 1920) new Fort (the present one just outside the real Fort area -active from 1917), Slave Island, Colpetty, Bambalapitiya and Wellawatte. There was a junction to the harbour, called the Breakwater Line, the turnoff was just before the present over motor road bridge. This used to be a levelled crossing till 1920, with forward planning anticipating heavy traffic the road was raised from 4 directions to clear trains. That's why there are inclines towards the rail underpass. Breakwater line was located exactly on the present Lotus Road, and was lifted in 1924 when the Mutwal Railway was built in 1923 through Bloemendaal. Tramways and trolley buses The Colombo Electric Lighting and Tramways Co, a British company represented here by Boustead Bros operated tramcars from about 1899. The Pettah Power Station fed power to the system which radiated from the barn ar Gas Works Street and Saunders place. The routes were to the Colombo Port at York Street, Borella Terminus, and to the end of Nagalagam Street at Grandpass. The system was sold to the Colombo Municipality in 1943. From 1953 the system was gradually replaced mostly on the same routes by electric trolley buses. By 1957 almost all tramcars were off the rails, just one ran for the last time in 1960 from Main Street to the barn/shed. Till recently tram rails appeared where the tar has worn thin. Now the only bit of rail is exposed at the beginning of Nagalagam Street and the only Halt sign board hides along with its post in a temple on St. Joseph's Street. It is a blue enamel board with with the words "WAIT HERE FOR CAR " ...rarer than gold ! Trolley Buses, single and double-decker ran from a shed which is now the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. Early buses were CV registred and the last lot were 33 Sri as if they ran on petrol. There was a strike and 31st December 1964 was the last day for trolleys. The buses were used as dormitories and eateries of PWD and Irrigation Dept projects in the outstations. I remember as a kid being taken in trolleys, but the tramcar ride though I was taken I cannot remember - regretably. Lighting The first electricity system was from a shed between Bristol Street and Duke Street in the Fort. The old power house building was last seen as a CEB stores a few years back - it still exists. In 1895 it powered some lights and two fans of the Billiard Room of the Bristol Hotel. Subsequently this was augmented by the Pettah Power Station still run by Boustead Bros. (Cedric Boustead's house is now the Colombo Swimming Club). They had some ornate combination posts on the centres of streets where their tramcars ran. Later the Dept of Government Electrical Undertakings took over the distribution. The Stanley Power Station across Kent Road Dematagoda and Kolonnawa also boosted the ever increasing supply for the need. Kelanitissa Thermal Power Station came up around 1960. The Colombo Gas & Water Co had a laid out piping system for 4,000 lamps. The service is reported to have started in 1872. It also jumped the city border and stretched to S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia for its laboratory. On the way the seaside of Galle Road also had "town gas". The last lamps operated in 1962. The company got nationalized in 1972. Gas was "manufactured" in Pettah at the Gasworks. There was a massive tank - pressure moved vertically, at Greenlands Road. The municipality This was set up in 1865. The original Town Hall still exists and there is a CMC Museum (now a bit neglected) at this point. In 1928 the present Town Hall building was put up in the Cinnamon Gardens. Markets, department stores etc There is Manning Market and the Edinburgh Market in Pettah. The CMC also had a standard style of market building in every Colombo suburb. The last to remain was Kotahena. A Russian Inspired shop operated at Wellawatte Co-op, called Supunsala about 1972. This was considered to be the first supermarket. Dasa/Duro had their self service shop in Colpetty. The first real supermarket was Cornels set up around 1980 at the Methodist Church building. Before there were the great department stores - Cargills, Colombo Apothecaries. Millers, Whiteaways and Laidlaw and Simes among others. These were "high end" shops. Titus Stores, Abdul Rahims, Hunters, Don Carolis etc operated from the Pettah. Entertainment First there were theatres, some were converted to cinemas. Tower Hall was an early convert showing silent movies. Subsequently many companies operated cinemas all round Colombo. Airconditioning was provided at Liberty, New Olympia, Regal, Majestic, Empire and the Rio. Early dramas were at the Raquet Court next to Chalmers Graneries. The Lionel Wendt was a mid 20th Century thing. Presently the biggest complex is the Chinese built complex at Cinnamon Gardens. Clock Towers The major one is at Fort and the other the Khan Memorial in Pettah. The Kynsey Road Koch building had a working clock. Commercial The Chambers of Commerce was set up in the mid 19th Century. Assorted British registered companies and banks operated here. in the 1960s some were Ceylonised and had to downsize operations. Ports The Colombo Harbour was developed from about 1870. Now there is a major land reclaimation with the new Colombo South Harbour being built. The airport originally was at Ratmalana, and Katunayaka serves today for international flights. Security helicopters use specialised places in the city. The Kelani River is used for the Air Taxi service.
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