The above book written by Avishka Seneviratne and Dr. Srilal Fernando, explore the setting up of the college in 1896 and the early history of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, the first catholic school in Sri Lanka. S. R. De Fonseka was a key benefactor of the school, and to date a marble plaque installed in the very first building (called the clock tower building), carries his name. The local names in the plaque however carries many mistakes, including that of S.R., where the ‘De’ has been omitted from the surname.
The account reproduced below is extracted from the pages which describes the key benefactors of the college.
13. Gate Mudaliyar Simon Richard de Fonseka (Page 46-48)
Simon Richard de Fonseka Warnasuria Wijethunga Samaranaya e was born in 1854 to Mohandiram Carolis de Fonseka (1814-1876) and Welhelmina de Fonseka (1836-1901), who was daughter of Mudaliyar Selestinus de Fonseka and granddaughter of Mudaliyar Johannes de Fonseka. S.R. de Fonseka hails from Adigar Don Michael de Fonseka, who is noted by early Ceylon writers such as Baldeus for his service to the Di tch.122 He received his secondary education from the newly established St. Benedicts Institute. In 1873, 19-year-old de Fonseka entered government service. He married Loisa, the eldest daughter of Juan de Silva Jayasingha in 1883. This union produced six children, Simon Richard jr., Lydia Florence, Lionel Stanley, Muriel Letitia, Louisa Bridget and May Elain. His two sons would enter St. Joseph’s College after 1896. Residing in ‘Abinger Walawwa’ Bambalapitiya, Colombo he also had a country residence called ‘St. Kevin’s’.
S.R. de Fonseka was appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Provincial and District Committees of the Western Province in 1886. Governor Sir Arthur Havelock bestowed on him the rank of ‘Mudaliyar’ for the Salpiti Korale in 1892.123 This was to succeed Mudaliyar Philip Perera. The Cinnamon plantation played a major role in the second half of the 19th century, and a few elites such as S.R. de Fonseka were involved in the running of these plantations.124 During the infamous Kara-Govi contest, S.R. de Fonseka was outspoken in his campaign for the Karava.125 In 1882, along with the leading capitalists such as Jeronis Pieris, Jacob de Mel, statesmen such as F.C. Loos, Hector Van Cuylenberg, P. Ramanathan and public officials like C. Brito and S.R. de Fonseka, the Ceylon Agricultural Association was formed. C.H. de Soysa was made its president. However, in 1888 upon the initiation of S.R. de Fonseka, Walter Pereira and Charles Peiris, the name of this organisation was changed to the ‘Ceylon National Association’.126 With its conversion to a political organisation, C.H. de Soysa would resign from his post. De Fonseka was the first Chairman of the Moratuwa Local Board, now called the ‘Moratuwa Urban Council’.127 Apart from his administrative roles, S.R. de Fonseka was a wealthy landed proprietor.
According to the data collected by Patrick Peebles, de Fonseka had 451 acres of Crown ‘waste land’ worth Rs. 11,421.128 According to the 1927 statistics of non-European plantation owners, de Fonseka’s heirs owned 5 properties covering 510 acres, which included 90 acres of rubber and 388 acres of coconut.129
On June 22, 1911 S.R. de Fonseka was invested as a Mudaliyar of the Governor’s Gate by Governor Henry McCallum on the Birthday Honours list of King George V. De Fonseka was involved in many activities of the Church, and also was a benefactor of some leading schools and parishes in Colombo. In 1913 he embarked on a tour of England with his two sons. Through his friend, Lord Crewe, the Secretary of the Colonies, he and his sons had the honour to meet King George V.130 Upon his return to Ceylon in January 1914, he retired after an excellent service in Salpiti Korale. At the occasion of his retirement, he was bestowed with the Long Service Medal. After a period of illness and with failing eyesight, he passed away on April 12, 1926, aged 72. S.R. de Fonseka is buried in the Borella Cemetery.
S.R. de Fonseka’s two sons were actively involved in the affairs of St. Joseph’s. S.R. de Fonseka jr. (1887-1969) and Lionel de Fonseka (1889-1961) were among the first students to join the newly established St. Joseph’s College. When they were in the Vth form, 16-year-old Lionel edited the first volume of the College magazine, Blue and White in 1905. The magazine printed for a mere 50 cents was of a high literary standard. His elder brother S.R. de Fonseka jr. was an associate editor of the same magazine.131
“The present pupils of the Sixth Form, with a lurking fear lest any suspicion of reproach should attach to their fair names, have resolutely broken through all the restraints of their wanted shyness and reserve, and have endeavoured to edit and publish a journal, which they hope, will fulfil all requirements of a School Magazine, and contain worthy specimens of the literary talent and culture imparted by a college training.”
{Blue and White, 1905, p.l)
Lionel was sent to Baliol College, Oxford by his father and would subsequently live and work in France and Belgium. Lionel wrote a book entirely in French tided De La Verite dans I’ art’ in 1912. A year later in 191 3, this book was translated to English and titled, On the truth of decorative art. This was a criticism against the corruption of Sinhala art by Western Influence. Lionel’s well-researched paper on the “Karava Flag” published in the 1921 Ceylon Antiquary and Literary register has been h highly referred to by scholars and readers. Lionel was married to the daughter of Sir Marcus Fernando, Noel Fernando. The couple returned to Ceylon in the 1950s.132 By then he was a renowned author, writer who had published locally and overseas.
122 Baldeus, P., (1672) p. 800
123 Twentieth Century impressions of Ceylon, pp. 537-538
124 Roberts, Michael, (19: 3) op. at, p. 266
125 See Roberts, Michael, 1982) op. cit, p. 166
126 See Jayasekera, P.V.J., 1970) Social and Political Changes in Ceylon 1900-1919, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Lone an, p. 126
127 From correspondence with Jayashantha de Fonseka.
128 Roberts, Michael (1997), op. ext., p. 237
129 Ibid., p. 239
130 See Ceylon Catholic Messenger, April 13,1926, p. 3
Reproduced with the permission of the authors