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Galle Face Green
Galle Face is a ocean-side urban park, which stretches for along the coast, in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward, although the original Galle Face Green extended over a much larger area than is seen today. The Galle Face Green was initially used for horse racing and as a golf course, but was also used for cricket, polo, football, tennis, and rugby. History Galle Face Green originally extended over a much larger area than exists today. Records indicate that it was bounded to the north by Beira Lake, the Defensive wall, ramparts of Fort (Colombo), Colombo Fort and the city's cemetery (established in 1803), to the west by the Indian Ocean, whilst to the south by the Galle Face Hotel (established in 1864, although the original building on the site was a Dutch villa) and to the east by St Peter's Church (consecrated in 1821). The Galle Face Green was initially laid ...
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Urban Park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality. The design, operation, and maintenance is usually done by government agencies, typically on the local level, but may occasionally be contracted out to a park conservancy, "friends of" group, or private sector company. Common features of municipal parks include playgrounds, gardens, hiking, running and fitness trails or paths, bridle paths, sports fields and courts, public restrooms, boat ramps, and/or picnic facilities, depending on the budget and natural features available. Park advocates claim that having parks near urban residents, including within a 10-minute walk, provide multiple benefits. History A park is an area of open space provided for recreational use, usually owned and maintain ...
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Henry George Ward
Sir Henry George Ward GCMG (27 February 17972 August 1860) was an English diplomat, politician, and colonial administrator. Early life He was the son of Robert Ward (who in 1828 changed his surname by sign manual to Plumer Ward) and his first wife Catherine Julia Maling, daughter of Christopher Thompson Maling of West Herrington, County Durham; and the cousin of William Ward and William George Ward. He was born in London on 27 February 1797. Educated at Harrow School, and sent abroad to learn languages, he became in 1816 attaché to the British legation at Stockholm, under Sir Edward Thornton. He was transferred to The Hague in 1818, and to Madrid in 1819. He was appointed joint commissioner to Mexico in October 1823, and returned to England in 1824 and he married Emily Elizabeth Swinburne in London on 8 April. Emily was the daughter of Emma Bennett and Sir John Swinburne, 6th Baronet. The Wards went together to Mexico in 1825, as ''chargé d'affaires'', and two daughters wer ...
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Royal Colombo Golf Club
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. History On 13 March 1880 ten founding members, led by Edward Aitken (founder of Aitken Spence), met at the Colombo Club and held the first General Meeting of the Colombo Golf Club. The first Chairman and Captain was W. Law and the Committee consisted of W. Somerville, F. A. Fairlie and R. Webster. The competitive trophy of the club dates back to 1887. In 1888 the Calcutta Golf Club presented a silver medal to the club; the Calcutta Medal is a permanent challenge medal still contested at the club. The club was maintained at Galle Face Green until June 1896, when the club was told by the Colonial Secretary that the Gov ...
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British Ceylon
British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between 1796 and 4 February 1948. Initially, the area it covered did not include the Kingdom of Kandy, which was a protectorate, but from 1817 to 1948 the British possessions included the whole island of Ceylon, now the nation of Sri Lanka. History Background Before the beginning of the Dutch governance, the island of Ceylon was divided between the Portuguese Empire and the Kingdom of Kandy, who were in the midst of a war for control of the island as a whole. The island attracted the attention of the newly formed Dutch Republic when they were invited by the Sinhalese King to fight the Portuguese. Dutch rule over much of the island was soon imposed. In the late 18th century the Dutch, weakened by their wars against Great Britain, were co ...
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Taj Samudra
Taj Samudra, trading as TAL Lanka Hotels PLC, is a five-star luxury hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The hotel is a listed company on the Colombo Stock Exchange since 1982 and the majority of the shares are held by Taj Hotels. The hotel is located right opposite Galle Face Green facing the Indian Ocean. The hotel is one of the oldest five-star hotels in the city of Colombo. Brand Finance ranked Taj Samudra 78th amongst the 100 most valuable brands in Sri Lanka for 2021. History The hotel company was incorporated in 1980 and in 1982 was listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Admiral Clancy Fernando, the commander of the Sri Lanka Navy was killed in a suicide bombing in front of the hotel on 16 November 1992. The New Zealand national cricket team was staying at the hotel at the time. After a renovation amounting to US$20 million, the hotel reponed in March 2018. 71 rooms and 15 suites have been renovated with the aim of increasing the occupancy rate by five to eight per cent. Taj Samudr ...
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Colombo Club Building
The Colombo Club Building, now known as the Grand Crystal Ballroom at the Taj Samudra Hotel, is one of the oldest buildings in Colombo. Dating back to the British colonial era it was built in the early 1860s as the grandstand for the Colpetty Race Course by Assembly Rooms Company Limited. In 1871 it was leased by the Colombo Club as its club house and underwent much refurbishments. The building boasted one of the finest ballrooms in the country. Following independence of Ceylon the building became home to the Hotel Training School housed the Samudra hotel, which became the Taj Samudra Hotel after it was taken over by the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces Taj Hotels is a chain of luxury hotels and a subsidiary of the Indian Hotels Company Limited, headquartered in Mumbai, India. Incorporated by Jamsetji Tata in 1902, the company is a part of the Tata Group, one of India's largest business conglom .... The building is currently serves as the ballroom for the hotel. External li ...
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Colombo Club
The Colombo Club is the second oldest gentlemen's club in Sri Lanka. The Colombo Club was established on 4 March 1871 by prominent British colonialists in the island at the Colombo Club building, Colpity Race Course Grandstand. The original resolution stating, "''That a club be formed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining reading, billiard, card and refreshment rooms in Colombo for the benefit of the members and generally for the carrying out of all purposes incidental to social clubs of the above description. And that the Club be called The Colombo Club.''" On 15 July 1871 the club received the official seal approval when the Governors of British Ceylon, Governor Sir Hercules Robinson agreed to become the club's patron and president. The Colombo Club was the most exclusive club in the country, its membership was limited to British and Europeans until Ceylon gained independence in 1948, thereafter membership was extended to Ceylonese. In 1956 the first Ceylonese membe ...
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Grandstand
A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap all or most of the way around. Grandstands may have basic bench seating, but usually have individual chairs like a stadium. Grandstands are also usually covered with a roof, but are open on the front. They are often multi-tiered. Grandstands are found at places like Epsom Downs Racecourse and Atlanta Motor Speedway. They may also be found at fairgrounds, circuses, and outdoor arenas used for rodeos. In the United States, smaller stands are called bleachers, and are usually far more basic and typically single-tiered (hence the difference from a "grand stand"). Early baseball games were often staged at fairgrounds, and the term "grandstand" came along when standalone baseball parks began to be built. A covered bleacher may be call ...
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Cadjan
Cadjan are woven mats made from coconut palm leaves, used for roofing and walls. Cadjan houses were available in many Asian countries in past, but with development these houses are now limited to very rural areas in India, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ... and a few other Asian countries. Building materials Coconuts {{material-stub ...
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The Courier (Hobart)
''The Courier'' is a newspaper founded in 1827 in Hobart, Tasmania, as ''The Hobart Town Courier''. It changed its name to ''The Hobart Town Courier and Van Diemen's Land Advertiser'' in 1839, settling on ''The Courier'' in 1840. By 1830 the newspaper was printing 750 copies per issue. In 1859 it merged with '' The Hobart Town Daily Mercury''. ''The Mercury'' is a daily newspaper, published in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, by Davies Brothers Pty Ltd, part of News Corp Australia and News Corp. The weekend issues of the paper are called '' Mercury on Saturday'' and ''Sunday Tasmanian''. *Title- ''The Hobart Town Mercury'' lectronic resource *Publisher- John Davies, 1857. *Description- Digitised as part of the Australian Newspapers service which allows access to historic Australian newspapers. Also available on microfilm. Electronic reproduction. Canberra, A.C.T., : National Library of Australia, 2008–2009 (Australian newspapers). Vol. 4, no. 379 (Feb. 2, 1857)-v. 6, no. 640 ...
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Colombo Racecourse
Colombo Racecourse ( si, කොළඹ තුරඟ තරඟ පිටිය) is a historical harness racing course in the Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo. During the Second World War, it was used as a temporary airfield. In 2012, it was redeveloped as the Colombo Racecourse Sports Complex to become the first International Rugby Union ground in Sri Lanka to host all the national rugby union side's home matches. In 2014, the ground went through a major renovation, which included installation of floodlights and the conversion of a substantial part of the grandstand into a shopping and dining complex. The ground hosted the 2022 SAFF U-17 Championship. History Horse racing Officially opened for horse racing in 1893 after it was moved from the Colpitty Race Course, as one of the best in terms of design, facilities, and size in the East. In 1922 a totalisator was installed becoming the first race course in the East to have one. The Colombo Turf Club was based here with its own pavilio ...
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Esplanade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress's guns. In modern usage, the space allows the area to be paved as a pedestrian walk; esplanades are often on sea fronts and allow walking whatever the state of the tide, without having to walk on the beach. History In the 19th century, the razing of city fortifications and the relocation of port facilities made it possible in many cities to create promenade paths on the former fortresses and ramparts. The parts of the former fortifications, such as hills, viewpoints, ditches, waterways and lakes have now been included in these promenades, making them popular excursion destinations as well as the location of cultural institutions. The rapid development of artificial street lighting in the 19th century als ...
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