Features
THE STORY OF THE NORTHWAYS, PIONEERING PLANTERS IN CEYLON
by Hugh Karunanayake
The four generational link that the Northways had with the plantation enterprise in Ceylon ended with the death of the last of the Northways in Sri Lanka, that of Michael Northway, in 1995. The progenitor of the family in Ceylon was Samuel Northway who together with the Winters, Bowmans, Hawkes, and Gotteliers, and others were induced to come over to Ceylon to establish the sugar industry in which these families were successfully associated with in the Mauritius where they lived previously. All, or most of these families. were of French extraction including the Northways.
Governor Edward Barnes was the fifth Governor of Ceylon to be appointed by the British. He served as Governor for two terms which added up to him being the Governor with the longest period of administration in the country. Governor Barnes was a distinguished soldier having served as adjutant to the Duke of Wellington in the battle of Waterloo where he was severely injured. Although a military man Barnes had within a year of his appointment gathered sufficient knowledge of the island for him to plan the development of the country.
He had two major areas of focus, viz building a network of roads, and establishing a sound base for economic enterprise. He embarked on a road building programme creating a network of roads connecting the principal towns in the country including the main road from Colombo to Kandy. When he took up office, the coffee industry was in a nascent stage, and he soon set up a plan for encouraging British investment in opening up a large extent of forest land in the central province for the cultivation of coffee.
(North)FRED NORTHWAYof DEVITURAI , (South)ROBERT S NORTRHWAY OF ORION
Barnes himself invested in a large tract of land in Gannoruwa to be tried out first in sugar cane. He also encouraged successful sugar cane farmers in Mauritius to settle down in Ceylon and give the sugarcane industry a kick start. Samuel Northway was appointed by Barnes to manage his property in Gannoruwa. While sugar cane did not thrive in Gannoruwa, the subsequently planted coffee was a success and was partially responsible for the coffee boom that took British investors by storm. A few decades later however the coffee industry crashed with the onset of leaf blight. Gannoruws Estate was later to be acquired by the Government, to form part of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Peradeniya.
Samuel Northway born in 1803, although manager of the Governor Barnes’ coffee estate, invested in opening up coffee plantations himself. He was a man of certain means himself having contributed £2. 2sh towards the George Turnour Memorial Fund in 1844. That equates to over £200 in today’s terms. However the coffee crash that devastated the coffee industry of Ceylon in the mid 19th Century, rendered Samuel Northway near penniless.
Samuel Northway was married to Amelia Hawke, daughter of James Hawke a fellow sugar cane planter from Mauritius. Samuel Northway had ten children by this union. They were Robert Swithin, Louis Charles, Leon, Rebecca Margolina, Mary Alick, Prosper Arthur, Marie Emilie, Lawrence Aurelia, Maria Catherine, and Francis Charles. Almost all the male issues became successful pioneer planters who opened up estates in many parts of the country.
Notable among them were Louis Charles, later to open up Deviturai Estate, Leon who pioneered Hulandawe Estate, Akuressa, and Robert Swithin who opened up Orion Estate, Gampola. The family could be considered as one which contributed significantly towards the establishment and development of the plantation enterprise of Ceylon.
Samuel Northway’s three daughters were all educated at the Female Seminary in Colombo. One of his daughters, Maria Catherine, together with Lucy Roosmalecocq and Emma Piachaud passed in the First Class from the Seminary in 1845. Maria married Lieut Thomas Dawson of the Ceylon Rifles in 1849. She was for some time employed by Governor Barnes in the Governor’s household staff.
Marie Emilie married EC Waring aa planter, in Kandy in 1862. Their descendants include Mike Waring better known as a rugby player in the 1950s/60s. The eldest daughter Rebecca married Herbert Towgood, also a coffee planter in 1858. Samuel Northway passed away at his home in Gannoruwa at the age of 47 on July 29, 1850.
Charles, son of Samuel was a qualified dentist, but chose to manage plantations as a career. He was working as an assistant on an estate in Deltota near Gampola when he was appointed to open up Deviturai Estate in Ambalangoda. Originally only 50 acres in extent, Charles expanded the acreage to 2,150 acres, planting it with 700 acres of low grown tea and 1,400 acres of rubber. Charles was a pioneer in the art of rubber tapping and designed the Northway/Bowman tapping knife, still in use on rubber estates.
(Below the Samuel Northway home,now used as a guesthouse)
Norah Roberts in her encyclopaedic book “Galle as quiet as asleep” 1993, describes Charles riding his bicycle all the way from Rakwana to Galle with his Tamil servant running beside him carrying Charles’ trunk on his head! Most of the expansion of Deviturai involved acquisition of adjoining uncultivated lands from village gentry. The wheel ran through its full circle nearly two centuries later, when following Land Reform in the country , much of Deviturai was used for village expansion and settlement schemes, and what was left including the tea factory is now managed by Elpitiya Plantations.
While managing Deviturai, Charles Northway invested in a 400 acre block of forest land adjoining the Wirawila tank. He had plans for developing the property in his retirement in 1933, but sadly died of cancer within a year of his leaving Deviturai.
Fred Northway, son of Charles, was born on Deviturai estate in 1902. As was customary among pioneer British planters, he was sent for his education to England where he studied for eight years. He returned in 1924 to take over the running of Deviturai from his father, Charles. Both Charles and Fred were great shikaris gathering much experience by shooting wild life around the estate, and later using their furlough to travel to India and Africa for big game hunting. The Northway home in Deviturai was adorned with hunting trophies including elephant heads, tusks and feet, tiger and lion skins all excellently preserved by the expert taxidermist of the day Van Ingens who later retired to India.
Fred Northway who managed Deviturai since the retirement of Charles, himself retired in 1958. He lived for a couple of years in Elpitiya before retiring to his Wirawila property. His mother Marie Northway outlived his father Charles and lived for many years in Upper Dickson Road, Galle. She was one of the first to own a motor car in Galle, a single cylinder Rover which was a familiar sight in the town.
Robert Swithin Northway was a brother of Fred and of Cyril who opened up Hulanduwa Estate, Akuressa. Their descendants are scattered around the world leading successful lives in their chosen careers.
THE LAST OF THE NORTHWAYS IN CEYLON- MICHAEL NORTHWAY
Fred Northway’s son Michael was born in Ceylon in 1941 and sent to Australia for his education. The plan was to induct him to planting life as was the experience of generations before him. Mike was not a planter at heart however. Perhaps modernisation and changing social values had influenced him. I first met him when he was Asst. Supdt. on Gonakelle Group in Passara in around 1961. He was not the least interested in planting matters, was a collector of vinyl records, and a motorcycle enthusiast fond of his Ducati motor bike.
It was not much long after that he settled down in the family property in Wirawila. In true family tradition he was an excellent marksman and an intrepid visitor to the jungles and nature reserves in Sri Lanka. Part of the Wirwila property was sold to Gamini Fonseka the film actor, who built a hotel called Senasuma there, and Mike earned a living taking tour groups on safari. In later years he was an ardent conservationist and a great admirer of the land of his birth.
Often described as the ” last great white hunter” of Ceylon, he married Daphne Lover also descended from one of the pioneer British families in Ceylon. Michael fell victim to cancer and passed away in in 1995 aged 54. . Daphne too died of cancer three years later. Their ashes were interred in a grave under a kohomba tree beside their house in which they lived out their last years.
Thus ended the line of Northways in Ceylon,a dynasty which through four generations was closely associated with the development of their country of adoption, and the rise and decline of British interests in Sri Lanka.
(This article was based a previous version from the writer, and published in The Ceylankan No 16 of November 2001)
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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