“The Mousagalla Factory was situated close to Pitakande and was run by a water wheel from a small dam. Water was scarce, and the planters had to work the rollers by hand.”

“Hunter Blair, received a letter from Earl of Glasgow the owner of Hoolankande Estate saying the tea brokers had complained that there was far too much of “red leaf” in the teas, and suggested that the tea bushes which gave the red leaf be cut and removed.”

About Clarendon Estate Dimbulla “ A planter named Black owned it. He allowed the place to become abandoned and it seemed that the tea, having grown up into more or less a jungle, was quite good. Many people wanted to purchase it, and went to see old Black at the bungalow. In the end, he threatened to shoot anyone who went there. Eventually he died, and Baur and Company purchased it.

Jenkins an old planter recalled that “Planters in those days got all their supplies from Nuwara Eliya, stinking beef and mouldy bread being their most frequent fare.” Bread generally reached the planter when it was about ten days old, mildewed and full of ants. “Toast was the best way of eating it, as this killed the ants and made them more digestible too.” The Danish butter that came in purple tins when opened revealed on top a lot of yellow liquid like oil, and beneath a layer of yellow grit, when all mixed a compound like that used for greasing the axles of railway wagons resulted.

Status symbols
“Earlier a gun, cart or hackery had been the sign of a well to do villager, they were soon replaced by sewing machines and gramophones.” These became the hallmark of respectability and wealth in the villages.

About sport
There is no sport to be had in Ceylon, at least the race week is the only sport I knew of. I have an estate in the interior, and I have never seen an elephant.

Government Expenditure :-
“ In 1933 - 1934 the country’s expenditure was Rs. 93, 299,498. In 1937 - 1938 the last year before the war, the expenditure was Rs. 115,370,075. In 1942 - 1943 it had reached the figure of Rs. 135,006,506. In 1945 - 1956 it became a 286 million budget, with a guarantee that the education vote will soon increase to Rs. 67 million.

Golden Tip :-
Small quantities have been sold in London for as much as Pounds 10 to Pounds 35 per pound. A parcel of this extraordinary tea was first sent from Gartmore Estate Maskeliya. Its unusual character was quickly recognised by the dealers and bidding began at a Pounds, but at a later date this tea was able to obtain 35 Pounds for a pound.

The Royal Mail Coach
“When a horse’s bolting propensities are found to be incurable, when its proneness to kick the tiles out of his stable roof has become a nuisance and expense, when he has completely smashed his owners carriage, and knocked down the columns of his portico, and, by way of varying his escapades, has tossed his rider over a cinnamon bush. And has escaped from the saddle without breaking the girths, with the additional trifle of driving his hoofs into the lungs of the muttu, or the horse-keeper, he is thereupon considered to have earned his promotion to the service of Her Majesty’s Mail coach.

Harbour Workers
“The tongue of the harbour workers seem to move automatically, but the Britishers are told that the soft tones which he ejaculates could not be translated into English, as the language has no words or phrases sufficiently shocking for the purpose. Since they do not understand him, they are not offended, but their methods and proceedings amuse them.”

The Post Office
“ Was the first building to be erected in the Fort in Queen’s Street.”

Kadugannawa Pass
“ For Centuries the Kandyans held this pass against all attempts of European to take their capital. Neither the Portuguese who occupied the maritime provinces in the 16th century, nor the Dutch by whom they were ousted in the 17th century, were ever able to conquer them. It is true that the Portuguese reached Kandy and even partly destroyed it, but were never able to hold it. At length, the British drove out the Dutch in 1796, and permanently later, but to gain possession of Kandy was by no means an easy task even for the British. This mountain stronghold was destined to give much trouble to its new assailants and to be the scene of much bloodshed treachery, and horrible barbarity before it was finally conquered.”

Food prices in 1894
An egg 1.5 Cents, Paddy Rs.1 per bushel, and rice Rs. 3 per bushel, Manioc was 1 cent a pound, and coconuts 5 cents each. Fish was 10 cents a pound, and oysters 20 cents per dozen. Large prawns were 5 cents each, ducks 50 cents each and beef 18 cents per pound. Mutton was 25 cents per pound, and venison 15 cents. A bottle of milk was 10 cents.

These high prices they claimed were due to the following rates of import duties prevailing in 1894.

Trade union leader
“The principal of Ananda College in 1894 was Mr. A. E. Buultjens an old Thomian. He was an educationist, historian, oriental scholar, and linguist. He was also a pioneer of the labour movement and helped to form the first trade union when the late Mr. A. E. Goonesinghe was then a three year toddler.”

Transport
“ 1894 was a landmark in the history of transport in Ceylon. The year saw the completion of work on the Kelani bridge, the river being spanned earlier by a bridge of boats.”

Carriages were the main mode of transport between towns, and in Colombo a ferry service was opened between Pettah and Slave Island. The ferry operated every five minutes and the fare was 2 cents.”

Electricity
“ Was introduced in the billiard room at the Bristol hotel in 1894.”

Telegrams
“ The Ceylon Telegraph office informed customers that the accuracy of massages was not guaranteed in the transmission of massages.”

Colombo Harbour
The dye was finally cast in Colombo’s favour when the Prince of Wales, later King Edward the V11 laid the foundation stone for a breakwater in December 1877. A choir of 1000 children sang an ode for the occasion and the Bishop’s Commissary, Rev. Ireland Jones recited a prayer composed for the event.

Work was finally completed in 1884 and the cost was Pounds Sterling 705,207. By 1891 expansion had become necessary and new arms were added to the break water at a cost of pounds Sterling 488,975. The tonnage of ships using the port, which had earlier been negligible rose to 606,200 tons in 1871 and 8,919,148 tons in 1911. Harbour revenue increased from Rs. 63,290 in 1871 to Rs. 259,949 by 1911.

The total cost of three million Sterling made Colombo “the most cheaply constructed artificial harbour in the world for its size, accommodation and equipment.”

Railway
“ The petitions, memorials, and letters in the press, editorials etc. on this subject during the period would have covered the distance from Colombo to Kandy several times over. Those were the days when Governors personally presided over debates and participated in them. A weary Sir Henry Ward is on record as saying “of those arguments and letters, petitions and resolutions in which they were embodied, I wish to speak with the most perfect respect. But I beg the council to recollect that that petitions are not infallible, public meetings are not infallible, Chambers of Commerce are not infallible.” And he added with obvious sarcasm, “Even Planters Associations are not infallible - Haven have mercy on us, if they are so.”

The cutting of the first sod for the Ceylon Railway on August 3ed 1858 by Sir. Henry Ward at the auspicious time of half past five, was one of the most glittering social events during the last century. The ceremony took place at Maligakande. The Bishop of Colombo as usual invoked blessings, the Royal Artillery fired a salute, and Governor Ward turned the first sod. The Company had constructed a special pavilion for 600 guests and this structure was compared to the Crystal Palace. The decorations bore the words “Railways,” “Roads,” Civilisation,” Progress,” and “God Bless Queen Victoria.”

“ the Colombo Kandy railway proved an instant success. The first year of operation in 1868 yielded a profit of Pounds Sterling 85,000. The following year the export duty on coffee levied during construction was repealed, and with the profits work on extensions began.”


Bad state of roads
“ The roads were so bad and travel was so slow that the Governor Viscount Torrington pleaded with the Colonial Secretary not to turn down his travel claims because “ To move, I am obliged to take everything, kitchen, cook, beds, servants, and often I may say house.”

“ Expenditure on roads increased steeply from Pounds Sterling %4,919 in 1650 to Pounds Sterling 207,203 in 1863. In 1863 the island had a total of 2,096 miles of roads, of which 564 miles were mettalled, 456 were gravelled, and 1,076 were un-gravelled.

Major Skinners own experience
Skinners contacted “jungle fever” and the treatment was as follows. “My doctor bled me till there was scarcely a drop of blood left in my body. He than gave me 40 grains of calomel and in the evening as the fever was still raging he ordered me to be taken out to the yard of my quarters, laid me on a bare rattan couch and buckets of cold water thrown over me for about twenty minutes. To make matters worse he heard the melancholy call of the owl, named by the natives as the “Devil Bird, “ because its cry is a precursor of death. Skinner survived the water treatment and the devil bird.

Horses are temperamental animals
“A planter recalls how a fire was started under a horse that refused to budge, but the carriage it as that caught fire.”

“Mr. C. Harn of Messes Bohringer was the first to import the first motor cycle into the country. Lack of patrol was his grievance. This favoured steam cars, and Mr. Money imported the first car, a Locomobile. Damages were claimed for a frightened horse and a pair of broken shafts. Importation of patrol driven cars followed, and among the Ceylonese, E. L. F, de Soysa and N. D. B. Silva figured among car owners.

Important dates to remember

Mini Iceberg
Sir Thomas Villiers in his work “Mercantile Lore” relates how a group of Colombo residents met on 26th June 1847 to discuss the import of ice, and the first shipment finally arrived from America on 11th April 1848. The ice was auctioned at the wharf and buyers of blocks folded them into thick blankets and sped home as fast as their horse carriages could take them. The purchase of ice by anyone was news that spread along the conventional grapevine and invitations to parties where iced drinks were served were the equivalent of this century’s cocktail circuit.

Signs of prosperity
Imported goods reached the remotest villages. Surveying the first decade of the last century, Mr. E. B. Denham observed in his Census report that earlier a gun, cart or hackery had been “the signs of the well to do villager.” These status symbols were gradually replaced by “sewing machines and gramophones as the hall mark of respectability and wealth in the villages. The gramophone is to be heard everywhere and has completely taken the place of the rabana.”

Tea caught on fast
The first account of tea reached the Arabs in 850 AD, the Venetians in 1559, the English in 1598, the Portuguese in 1600. The Dutch brought the first tea to Europe about 1610, it reached Russia in 1618, Paris in 1648, and England about 1650.

Teas were sold by the name of the ship which carried them.

The first of the season always carried a premium. In fact, the name of the ship became such a selling point that some agencies even commented that they were being asked to buy “named” teas before the ship concerned has been signalled past Deal.

The famous clipper race
In the great race of 1866, Ariel, Taeping and Serica sailed on the same day (28May) from Foochow. The Ariel signalled her number off Deal at 8 a. m on 6th September 1866. The Taeping ten minutes later, and the Serica at noon. All three ships docked the same evening. The Taeping at 9.47 p. m, the Ariel at 10.15 p. m, and the Serica at 11.30 p. m. The premium of 10 Shillings per pound was shared between the Ariel and Teaping and thereafter abandoned as an incentive. But the following year the successful ships were able to command extra freight.

Tea and Whisky
George Hamilton’s comparison of whisky and tea might seem incongruous today, says Serena Hardy in the “Tea Book”. In life it seems good sense. Tea started its career in the West as a favoured aristocrat. It was rare and expensive, an extravagant delicacy. Its costliness is evident from the rich silver tea caddies that now fetch very high prices in the sale-rooms. and the tiny porcelain tea-pot, enough for one or two cups that every lady craves to have.