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Old Park ( ta, பழைய பூங்கா ''Paḻaiya Pūṅkā'') is a 27 acre
British Government Agent Percival Ackland Dyke purchased a 27 acre land in Jaffna using his own funds to serve as his residency and gardens/grounds. Dyke served as Government Collector for Jaffna for four years (1829–33) and Government Agent for the Northern Province for 32 years (1833–43; 1843–60; 1861–67). Dyke was known as the "Raja of the North". He was buried at St. John's Cemetery at
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 r ...
in the city of Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...
in northern Sri Lanka. It was originally built in the 19th century as the gardens and grounds of the residency of the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Government Agent for the Northern Province.
History
British Government Agent Percival Ackland Dyke purchased a 27 acre land in Jaffna using his own funds to serve as his residency and gardens/grounds. Dyke served as Government Collector for Jaffna for four years (1829–33) and Government Agent for the Northern Province for 32 years (1833–43; 1843–60; 1861–67). Dyke was known as the "Raja of the North". He was buried at St. John's Cemetery at Chundikuli
Chundikuli ( ta, சுண்டிக்குளி, translit=Cuṇṭikkuḷi; si, චුන්දිකුලි ''Cundikuli'') is a suburb of the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. Chundikuli means "the pond of the cunti plant" in Tamil a ...
, Jaffna after his death on 9 October 1867. Dyke bequeathed
A bequest is property given by will. Historically, the term ''bequest'' was used for personal property given by will and ''deviser'' for real property. Today, the two words are used interchangeably.
The word ''bequeath'' is a verb form for the ...
Old Park, via an irrevocable deed of gift
A deed of gift is a signed legal document that voluntarily and without recompense transfers ownership of real, personal, or intellectual property – such as a gift of materials – from one person or institution to another. It should include a ...
through Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, to his successors rent free.
The residency building was in one corner of the land and the rest of the woodland consisted of trees. Old Park had some rare trees ( mahogany, nedun, ironwood
Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in E ...
, baobab
''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Trop ...
, lignum vitae
Lignum vitae () is a wood, also called guayacan or guaiacum, and in parts of Europe known as Pockholz or pokhout, from trees of the genus ''Guaiacum''. The trees are indigenous to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America (e.g: Col ...
) as well as trees common to the region ( mango, tamarind
Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae ...
). The income earned from the mango and tamarind fruits was used to maintain the park. The park also contained a variety of fauna including bats and butterflies.
As militancy
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
increased in northern Sri Lanka in the late 1970s/early 1980s the army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
stationed troops at Old Park. When the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
controlled Jaffna in the late 1980s/early 1990s they occupied Old Park. A large army camp was once gain based at Old Park after the Sri Lankan military recaptured the city in 1995.
After the end of the civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
the provincial administration
Provincial may refer to:
Government & Administration
* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country
* Provincial city (disambiguation)
* Provincial minister (disambiguation)
* Provincial Secretary, a position in C ...
was moved from Varothayanagar, Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
to Old Park in Jaffna. In July 2011 Minister of National Heritage Jagath Balasuriya declared the old Kachcheri
A kachcheri or district secretariat is the principal government department that administrates a district in Sri Lanka. Each of the 25 districts has a kachcheri.
The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and a ...
building in Old Park to be a "Protected Monument". In September 2011 it was alleged that parts of Old Park had been destroyed on the orders of Major General G. A. Chandrasiri, the Governor of the Northern Province. Chandrasiri denied the allegations. It was also alleged that Chandrasiri was building himself a Rs.
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
190 million bungalow at Old Park.
The renovated Old Park was opened to the public in July 2012.
Notes
References
* * {{refend Parks in Jaffna Archaeological protected monuments in Jaffna District