The Colombo Club is the second oldest
gentlemen's club in
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 ...
.
The Colombo Club was established on 4 March 1871 by prominent British colonialists in the island at the
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
Governor Sir
Hercules Robinson
Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, (19 December 1824 – 28 October 1897), was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Gover ...
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 member, Dr. H. C. P. Gunawardene, was admitted to the Club and until 1958 the office bearers of the club were all European.
In 1995 membership was extended to include women, with Chloe de Soysa become the first female member.
Following Sri Lanka's independence the
club house was returned to the government and the club moved to the
Grand Oriental Hotel, then to Ceylinco House, then to the Hilton International and after that to the Oberoi Hotel before in 2003 it moved to its present location within the
Taj Samudra hotel, which is a member of the
Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.
The club premises contains a sixty seat dining room, four meeting rooms, a bar, a business centre and a billiards table. The club has 425 members, including 31 life members and has reciprocal arrangements with 52 other similar clubs around the world.
Past chairmen
*
Robert Singleton-Salmon
Robert Singleton Salmon, (24 October 1897 – 1970) was a British tea planter, businessman and a member of parliament.
Robert Singleton Salmon was born on 24 October 1897 in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, Lancashire, the youngest son of Frederick ...
* Mallory E Wijesinghe (first Sri Lankan chairman)
* R. M. Canekeratne
* T. M. Moy
* B. R. Jesudason
* R. S. R. Candappa
* Deshamanya Dev Rodrigo
* T. K. Bandaranayake
* Hemaka Amarasuriya
* Dickie Juriansz
* Sega Nagendra
* G. Manik Pereira
Further reading
*
See also
*
List of Sri Lankan gentlemen's clubs
This is a list of gentlemen's clubs in Sri Lanka, including those no longer functioning and from the further regions of British ruled Sri Lanka and those formed after British ruled.
Gentlemen's Clubs
{, class="wikitable sortable" , style="te ...
References
{{Authority control
Colombo society
1871 establishments in Ceylon
Gentlemen's clubs in Sri Lanka
Organizations established in 1871