Formation | 1894 |
---|---|
Founder | Walter Pereira |
Purpose | Traditional Gentlemen's Club |
Location | |
Coordinates | 6°54′21″N79°51′35″E / 6.90583°N 79.85972°E |
The Orient Club is a private members' club, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Established in 1884, it was the first Ceylonese-only social club in the country. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.
The club was founded in 1894, by a number of leading Ceylonese, including Walter Pereira. [1] [2] It was formed by the Sinhalese elite in response to the restrictions on Ceylonese membership by the exclusive British Colombo Club, established earlier in 1871, and denied membership to Europeans. [3] [4] Founding members included Frederick Dornhorst, James Peiris, Wilmont Arthur de Silva, E. J. Samerawickreme and F. R. Senanayake. [5]
The club was initially located on Darley Road, before moving to "Lynden Hall" in Flower Road and then "Elscourt" in Turret Road before settling at its present premises in Racecourse Avenue (now known as Rajakeeya Mawatha). [6] [7] The Turret Road building now forms part of Bishop's College, an Anglican all-girls school. [8]
Colombo is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 in the Municipality. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is itself within the urban/suburban area of Colombo. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, in the British Crown Colony of Ceylon, the government of Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka assured the British king and his majesty's government of its continued support.
Ceylon Medical College was a public medical school in Ceylon. The college was established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School. The college was based in Colombo. The college was merged with Ceylon University College in 1942 to form the University of Ceylon. The medical college became the university's faculty of medicine. The college was also known as Colombo Medical College.
Charles Henry de Soysa Dharmagunawardana Vipula Jayasuriya Karunaratna Disanayaka popularly known as Charles Henry de Soysa, JP was a Ceylonese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a pioneering planter, industrialist and was the wealthiest Ceylonese of the 19th century. He was instrumental in the establishment of the first Ceylonese bank, the Moratuwa carpenters guild, the Ceylon Agricultural and National Associations. He is widely regarded as the greatest philanthropist of the island for contributions which includes the De Soysa Maternity Hospital, the Prince and Princess of Wales Colleges, the Model Farm Experimental Station and many other institutions and acts of charity, establishing infant-maternal healthcare and secular education for girls in the country. He would have been the island's first Knight Bachelor, but having died prior, his widow was given the rare honor of the use of the style and dignity of wife of the Knight Bachelor and was known as Catherine, Lady de Soysa.
Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, FRIBA was a Sri Lankan architect. He was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. He is the principal force behind what is today known globally as "tropical modernism".
The former Colombo General Post Office, at 17 Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo Fort, was the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Post and the office of the Postmaster General for over one hundred years, from 1895 until 2000.
The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of representative government in the island. The 1931 Donoughmore Constitution replaced the Legislative Council with the State Council of Ceylon.
Rugby union in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. In 2012, according to International Rugby Board figures, there were over 103,000 registered rugby union players in Sri Lanka, making it the second largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.
Fort (Colombo) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE operates. It is also the location of the Bank of Ceylon headquarters. Along the foreshore of the Fort area is the Galle Face Green Promenade, built in 1859 under the governance of Sir Henry George Ward, the Governor of Ceylon during British colonial era. Fort is also home to the General Post Office, hotels, government departments and offices.
The Royal Colombo Golf Club is the oldest golf club in Sri Lanka. Established in 1880, it is located in the capital city of Colombo at The Ridgeway Links also known as the Anderson Golf Course. It is home to the Sri Lanka Golf Union, the governing body of Golf in Sri Lanka and maintains links with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in Scotland.
The Hill Club is a gentlemen's club in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. Established 1876 by British coffee planters in the hill station of Nuwara Eliya.
Sir Hilarion Marcus Fernando, FRCP was a pre-independence Ceylonese statesman, physician and banker. He was a member of both the executive council and legislative council as well as the chairman of the State Mortgage Bank of Ceylon.
The 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots was a widespread and prolonged ethnic riot in the island of Ceylon between Sinhalese Buddhists and the Ceylon Moors. The riots were eventually suppressed by the British colonial authorities.
Gate Mudaliyar Jeronis de Soysa was a pioneering Ceylonese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a pioneer coffee planter and an industrialist who became the wealthiest Ceylonese of the 19th century by establishing the largest native commercial enterprise of the era. He was instrumental in the establishment of the first Ceylonese bank and is often referred to as a father of private enterprise in British Ceylon. He was the first Mudaliyar to be elevated in recognition of his philanthropy.
Reginald Abraham de Mel was a Ceylonese politician. Having served as the Mayor of Colombo, he served as the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees in the first parliament of Ceylon, until he was unseated by an election petition.
St. Peter's Church is one of the oldest continuously functioning churches in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is located on Church Street in Colombo Fort, on the northern side of the Grand Oriental Hotel.
Hubert Ernest Newnham CMG BA (Oxon) (1886–1970) was a Ceylonese civil servant and politician.
Dewan Bahadur Chevalier Ignatius Xavier Pereira was a colonial-era Ceylonese businessman and politician.
Dr. Amaradasa Ratnapala was a Ceylonese physician, a former member of Parliament and renowned scholar of Buddhist Philosophy, whose book on Abhidharmartha Pradeepeka is a highly regarded commentary on the doctrine.
James George Smither FRIBA (1833–1910) was an Irish architect and a Ceylonese public servant.
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