Dr. Clarence Pedro Fonseka of Palm Grove, Panadure, is the son of Francis Fonseka, Merchant, of Panadure, and Appolonia Goonewardene Fonseka. He was born in 1856 at Moratuwa, and educated primarily at St. John’s, Panadure, and afterwards at St. Thomas’s, Colombo. In 1876 he gained the government scholarship, and thereupon entered the Ceylon Medical College, and in 1881 he passed his final examination as Licentiate of Medicine and Surgery. In 1888 he married Leonora Fernando, daughter of Simon Fernando Sri Chandrasekera Mudaliyar and is now the father of three daughters and six sons.
The doctor has held many important positions, among which may be mentioned that of First District Surgeon at Pussellawa, in 1881; District Medical Officer at Lindula, in 1883; Sub-Assistant Colonial Surgeon at Beruwela, in 1889; and Sub-Assistant Colonial Surgeon and Judicial Medical Officer at Panadure in 1889. From this last official post he retired in 1903, and he now enjoys a large private practice. Dr Fonseka has always been a liberal supporter of charities and charitable institutions, and not the least of his many benefactions is the gift of the outdoor dispensary to the Government, which establishment has been the means of supplying a long-felt want to the public of that place. He is a member of the British Medical Association, the Panadure Association and the Agricultural Society.
Dr. Fonseka is the owner of two estates, one at Panadure on which cinnamon is grown, and the other named Higahalande, in the district of Ratnapura, which produces rubber. He is a landed proprietor in Colombo and Panadure, the premises now occupied by Messrs Lewis Brown & Co, belonging to him.