TCK FAMILY NEWS The Newsletter of the TCK Family Foundation (Founded in Australia in 1978)

Volume 20, Issue 2 November 1999

MELBOURNE

TCK Family Carol Service

Saturday 4th December at 5:00 P.M.

Venue: St Andrews Uniting Church, Serrel Street East Malvern

Collection: to be sent to the Trinity Social Services Union

Plate: will be appreciated for after service get together

Required urgently: choristers please contact Ana on 03 9802 9377

THE MANAGEMENT 1998 TCK Family Foundation, TCK Conveners Group Inc. and OBA Committee

Address all correspondence to: Ana Paranavitana, General Secretary TCK FF 44 Larch Cres, Mount Waverley Vic 3149 Australia. Phone 03 9802 9377

DONATIONS: To the Dust to Dust Fund, payable to TCK FF;To the Old Boys Account, payable to TCK OBA; To both by single payment, please specify amount paid to each account. Trustees General Secretary Secretary Hilary Abeyaratne 03 5975 7732 Ana Paranavitana 03 9802 9377 Sanjivan Gnanaratnam 03 9776 1700 Percy De Zilwa 03 9557 6518 Asst Secretary Ivor Brohier 03 9560 8693 Treasurer OBA Rukshan Wijeyanayake 03 9312 6176 Rodney Geddes 02 9418 7789 Rajan Jebamoney 03 9776 9052 Committee Dust to Dust Funds Manager Editor Tissa Kodituwakku 03 9764 9509 Arjuna Dharmakirti 03 9802 5747 Mahendra De Silva 03 9806 0981 Rajan Jebamoney 03 9776 9052 Fax 03 9888 1594 Paul Robinson 03 9872 3222 Auditor E-Mail [email protected] Arjuna Dharmakirti 03 9802 5747 Rodney Frank 03 9830 1417 Haran Nagendran 03 9807 6400 Social Committee Chairman K. Saravanan TBA Dirk D’Silva 03 9855 8075 1 TCK EDITORIAL The Trinity Legacy Extract of an article by Kavan Rambukwelle

125 years ago the founding fathers of Trinity, in their wisdom, gave us a legacy and set a high stan- dard for the school and all connected to it.

They wanted a Trinitian to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in suc- cess. Not to substitute words for actions; not to seek the path of comfort but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm but to have compassion for those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is pure and a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future yet never to ne- glect the past; to be serious but never to take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will re- member the simplicity of true greatness - the open mind of true wisdom, the weakness of true strength, a temper of will a quality of imagination, a vigor of the emotions; a freshness of deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure over love of ease which will create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next and the joy and the inspiration of life.

As always the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak- they never said it was going to be easy.

People of the Legacy Former principal the late Norman Walter and Mrs Walter. The Late Mr Duncan White and Mrs White in Melbourne 1997

In this issue.... News of College 3 TCKFF – Dust to Dust Fund 10 Trinity College Rugby Scrummage 6 A Valesca Reimann Scholarship 10 Other News from College and OBA’s 7 Obituaries 11 Vintage Batch Gatherings 8 Tributes 11 Old Trinitians Sports Club 8 A brief visit to Trinity 12 Trinity’s Halimdeen – A great half Century 9

2 TCK NEWS OF COLLEGE

Academic

From the A’level examinations of 1998 – 80 of the 195 candidates qualified to apply for University admission. K M S P Jayawardena obtained distinctions in all four subjects and was ranked 1st in the District. (editor; obviously not related to P. Jayawardene, my classmate and good friend, who gave even the practical class a bad name).

The O’Level examinations of 1998 resulted in 90% of the 204 candidates qualifying for A’Level studies. Six students got 8 distinctions, fourteen got 7 Ds and eleven got 6 Ds. A very good result in- deed.

The 1999 A’Level exams commenced on 2nd August. In preparation for this mock exams were held for the year fourteeners. ( how many years in school do they have anyway?)

The Principal invited parents of students from year 12 & 13 to a meeting to brief them on the new A’level programme and what is expected of the students.

Activities

The annual visit of the Bishop for the Confirmation Service and fellowship breakfast was held on Sunday the 6th June.

The Student Christian Movement celebrated its 51st anniversary with the theme “reaching the needy is our strategy”. Four members of the of the SCM have produced a documentary film “ the Church of and it’s approach to the 21st Century”. A challenging effort on their part.

In the All-island Inter-School Western Music competition our Senior Choir was placed 1st. Randika Gunawardena gaining top position in the instrumental section (Piano)

In the All–Island Shakespeare Drama competition we staged “Macbeth”. Sidath Samarakoon as Macbeth won the best actor award for outstation schools.

The Senior Scouts hiked and camped at Mooloya estate whilst the juniors attended a three day camp at the Pal- lekelle rugby grounds. ( by the way- chaps who were a part of Mr. C.J.S. Daniels well organised scout troop may be in- terested to know that “Danny & wife’ are now residing in Melbourne, contact through son Rohan.).

The Senior Cadets attended a ten day battalion camp at Rantebbe with 28 schools, we were place 12th. Only the 1st and 2nd are eligible to take part in the Herman Loos trophy.

The Archaelogical project at Manikdena continues. A team of students have visited the site to do the following studies, C.J.S. Daniel Geography, Geology, Fauna & Flora. It is intended to carry out two surveys- Socio-economic & farming on the fifty

3 TCK families in the village.

The Junior School has re-introduced Soccer and house matches have been played.

Sports

Cricket- pretty much the same old story- won against Kingswood, lost and drew the rest. The big match was a draw and we lost the limited over match quite tamely. The Captain Kaushalya Weera- ratne hit a well compiled 142 in the big match and was our main-stay for the season..

Rugby- The 1st XV went through a difficult season but emerged victorious in re-gaining the Bradby, winning both games. We also beat- Vidyartha 15/8,St Sylvesters 16/nil, St Josephs 28/12, Wesley 28/nil. Lost to St Anthonys nil/3, Issipatana 22/25, St. Thomas 5/15. The U 17 lost the Simithra- arachy trophy (both games) but won all other games.

In the Milo Trophy knockout tournament we reached the final and lost to Royal in that final.

The Schools tournament is highly disorganised and we feel more comfortable playing the old tradi- tional fixtures.

Edit; It will be nice to see a resurgence of our former rugby glory- try helping through rugby scrum- mage, article follows

Athletics- In the Zonal meet we were overall champions. In the Provincial meet we were runners-up M H M Riyaz was adjudged the best athlete and he went to represent the country (Schools team) in the Arafura games in Darwin –Australia and won a Bronze in the 400 m hurdles and a Silver in the 4 x 400m relay

The Squealery House Athletic team of 1954 Seated – Front Row – L to R – S.A. Silva, Satchi, Van Culenberg, R Medena, Saliya Rannawana, Marzook, Tissa K Middle Row – L to R – Kumar Fernando, ?, ?, Molligoda, Munasinghe, Maheswaran, ? Standing Back row – L to R – Cuddy Bennett, S.P. Swamidasan, Derrick Jukes, C.J.S Daniel

4 TCK Swimming- The pool has been in existence for 14 years. Garret were the winners of the inter- house meet. At the Outstation Novices meet held at Royal College, we were winners with 200 points. In the Public Schools meet H K C Perera U 16 was judged Champion swimmer (nationals); The U 19 relay team was placed 2nd and the U 16 relay team 1st with a new record. Although Swimming has been encouraged and is a subject from year 1, attendance is only around 50%.

Tennis- invited us for an inaugural one day tournament and this will be an annual feature. Four age groups were represented and we won three of them and clinched the Challenge tro- phy.

At the Schools tournament held at the SLTA courts, we entered the same age teams and fared satis- factorily, especially the U 16 team which won 90% of their games.

Badminton- The U 19 team won the National Championship The members of the team have repre- sented college from a young age and they have been runners-up or champions since 1991.

Staff

The School bid farewell to the following members Ms D M S Samarawickrema, Mrs K G Paul, R M Abeyratne Bandara, R A D Sumanasekera A Si- vakumaran, F J Wickremage, J Weliange

Mr Wickremage has served the College for the past 33 years.

Achievements

Mr Nissanka Udalagama promoted from High Court Judge Kandy to the Appeal Court – .

Prof. Ralph Panabokke- Chancellor Sabaragamuwa University

Mr. J B Kelegama- Chancellor Ruhunu University

Dr. Sarath Illanganthilake- Director –Asian Potato Cultivation Centre

Wilson Gnanadas-News Editor Sunday Leader

Ajith Samaranayake- Editor in Chief, Lake House Group

Suren Jayasinghe Direct Marketing Manager- Ceylinco Life Insurance

Prasad Galpothawela- a past student has been awarded a prestigious scholarship for Computer Engi- neering to Maryland College Park Campus in USA.

Congratulations to all above- it never ceases to amaze how such a small place in small town Kandy (was small anyway) in Sri Lanka can produce such illustrious people not only in the home country but all over the world. With people at the World Bank and the IMF and the UN and other prestig- ious places, now we have Sarath feeding the populace- Ralph & J B controlling the minds-Wilson and Ajith controlling the news- Judges fine tuning the law and in case of failure Suren Jayasinghe will, I am sure, advise you through financial trauma. We have a Bishop around (Sydney Knight?) who will cater to that last of all calls- the beyond.

5 TCK Visitors

Nicko de Silva ( Australia) M L M Shamil ( Germany) Prof Derrick, Frewin ( Adelaide) Athula Unantenne ( Brisbane) Kishan Wattagedera (Sydney) & Anushka Seneviratne (California), Rev. John Elliot ( Chaplain 1952-1961), Rev. A Harkness ( chaplain 1973- 1977) Myron Ratnavale () H.E David Tatham (British High Commisioner), George Vanderpoorten (Toronto) Ravi Wijeratnam ( Victoria) Arlene Boteju ( wife of late Vernon-Toronto) Shantelle Geddes (daughter of Rodney- Sydney) Sepala Munasinghe (UK) and last but not least Melbourne OBA patriach Dr.Percy de Zilwa after 25 years.

———————————————————————————————————————— TRINITY COLLEGE RUGBY SCRUMMAGE From Ravi Balasuriya

Friends, we have an association called Trinity College Rugby Scrummage. The sole intention of the association is to help the college rugby side. The association works with the Principal and the cur- rent chairman is Wilhelm Balthazzar, Jayantissa Ratwatte & I are co-vice chairman. Among the committee members are Ashan Ratwattte, Tikiri Ellepola, Ravi Pillai, Devapriya Perera, Ken de Joodt, Ajith Abeyratne, Mano Ganesar, Brig ‘Japana’ Jayawardena and Udeni Mollegoda. The asso- ciation was formed a couple years ago.

Membership is open to anyone who represented college at rugby in either the 1st XV or U 17 side and also the 2nd XV.

In 1998 the scrummage got down the services of former New Zealand All Blacks coach Mr.George Simpkins- doing a two week stint with the U 13, 15 & 17 sides.

His visit certainly helped our U13 & 15 sides become all island champions.

The rugby scrummage is responsible for meeting a major share of the salaries being paid to the re- spective coaches namely- U 13 -Alex Lazarus, U 15 -Ikram Odayar, U 17- Bimal Fernando, 1st XV- Quentin Israel.

We also hope to get a rugby coordinator, preferably for the year 2000 for a period of one year. All this costs a lot of money. Whilst the Scrummage would love to have some donations from fellow Trinitians this personal message from me to you is the following. a) if eligible , please become a member. b) Distribute the message about the association

The fee is only Rs 500/- for life membership. Please make cheques payable to Old Trinitians Rugby Scrummage and cross it a/c payee only. Please give the following details with it. Full name, address, telephone/email number, period at Trinity, name of house, years played and what team, position played, Colours or Lion awarded & year, present occupation.

Address is Ravi Balasuriya No 27, 17th Lane Colombo 3. Email number is [email protected]

6 TCK

Would any fellow teammates from the unbeaten 1977 side contact Ravi.

Editor suggests that a few people get together and arrange to send money to avoid small cheques.

Talking of money, I am out of money for the newsletter, anyone like to sponsor one? They cost about AUD 400/- per time. The money is lodged with the Melbourne treasurer.

———————————————————————————————————————— OTHER NEWS FROM & ABOUT COLLEGE & OBA’S

The Nuwara Eliya branch accommodated the 1st XV rugger team for a coaching camp at Dar- rawela.

The Pussellawa Branch supplied the 1st XV rugger jerseys and also provided financial assistance to a student in need.

The Colombo branch held its AGM where the Principal made his first address to the membership after assuming office. The new President of the OBA there is Jayantissa Kehelpannala and the Sec- retary is Sanjeeva Jayawardena. An old boys service preceded the meeting.

The Sydney chapter has donated a sum A$ 7,500/- to be used for the development of the rugby sta- dium.

From OBA Washington

From “ Slim” Perera – We would like to invite you all to the Washington OBA dance. Saturday the 27th November is the date- “Thanks Giving“ week-end. proceeds of the dance is in aid of the TCK lab refurbishment and modernisation program.

There is a footnote- Sundere the black American Trinitian ( Chief of intelligence for the US Army in Kosovo)is to be Chief guest.

From OBA New York

Roy Balasuriya writes- The NY branch had a meeting (again). They have postponed their dance un- til the year 2000, they are all going for the Washington dance instead. Dr Raji Satchi suggested that surplus computers be sent to Trinity if this was suitable to Trinity. Jayantha Dhanapala suggested developing a student exchange program between a school in the US and Trinity for a duration of about 3 months. The class of 1948 – 1962 Gifted a computer with accessories, for which the school is most grateful

The Archives continues to receive various historical artefacts and Dharmaraja sent a delegation to study ours as they intend starting one themselves..

The Seylan Bank- Kandy Branch- has gifted the school with an overhead projector and screen valued at Rs 50,000/-.

7 TCK From OBA Toronto

The Trinitians in Toronto are going to see the New Year in with the “Millenium Dance 2000”.

The children are having a separate party on the same day. December 31st will be a memorable one for that branch of the OBA. A great way to see the Millenium in- in the company of fellow Trintians.

A nostalgic occasion sure to be remembered for a life- time.

———————————————————————————————————————— “VINTAGE BATCH GATHERINGS” a letter from Ajith R de Silva

Dear Mahendra, I was very happy to find in my mailbox a copy of the TCK family news, which Nawaz Bin Sadoon had dropped by. The news was most encouraging and I am happy to see that that you have an active lot of Old Boys down under.

It might be of interest to you and other Trinitians of our vintage to know that we have formed a batch of 1952, 53 , 54 which have been meeting twice a year regularly for the past 3 years or so. You may ask why the 3 different years- mainly because some failed their exams, some passed and some got double promotions, which eventually resulted in our being more or less the one batch at the time of leaving school in the late 60s.

We always meet one the evening of the 50 over match with St.Anthony’s and this is a “stag do” in Kandy with drinks and dinner, etc. The majority of our Batch are doing well extremely well and holding high posts in various profes- sions. The 2nd meeting each year is spaced out about six months after the Stag Get-Together and is meant for wives and children as well. Last time, we had a weekend out at the Club Dolphin in Waikkal. We are keen to locate others of this same batch.

Hello Ajith, nice to hear from you, last met you about 27 years ago on the Kandy train with a very attractive young lady- later heard that it was your wife or wife to be-. The newsletter goes to all the guys mentioned and also to Canada and the States which have a big crowd from our vintage so you should hear from quite a few. I look forward to been there one day myself.

Contact; Tel 941- 599163 direct/ gen line 592068/ res 634702/fax 592069/ Email @ [email protected] 3, Sri Gnanaratna Mawatha Ratmalana SL Or contact Ranjan Edirisinghe(Bada)- tel 941 519023, 518896 or 0722 66320 Fax 518896. 20, 1st lane Abeyratne Mawatha, Borelasgamuwa SL

______OLD TRINITIANS SPORTS CLUB

The club was a donation by the old Trinitian and Entrepeneur Nahil Wijesuriya. For those of that era we know as it Roger Abeyratne’s old residence. The club has come a long way in the short period of its existence (about 17 years at a guess). Recently the bar area has been refurbished and air condi- tioned. They are looking for money for new furniture, Several Old boys may have got letters asking for assistance with the buying of the furniture. Anyone seeking membership or to make a contribution to the club can

8 TCK contact The President Palitha Ududrawana at Vijitha Walauwa, Peradeniya road Kandy. Tel 08 234475 or on mobile 071-24407 ( 94 71 24407 from overseas). Monthly club nights are taking place every third Saturday of the month and is sponsored by Bimal Fernando. The OTSC is grateful for his unstinted support. Pillars like Huthaifa Halimdeen continue to the guardians of the OTSC.

Roger Abeyratne, Abey Ekanayake and Franklin Jacob at the

PS. The mahogany furniture has been installed at a cost of Rs 448,000/-, the financial support is still needed though.

Talking of Halimdeen...

———————————————————————————————————————— TRINITY’S HALIMDEEN – A GREAT HALF CENTURY! By M V Mushin Washington DC

It is not often that Sri Lankans in this part of the world find time to spend a Saturday afternoon indulging in the pleasures of cricket. When we do, it is a big deal and there is much to look forward to. So when a group of Old Trinitians decided to wield the willow on a sunny afternoon in Washington DC there was much fun and revelry. Regretably there is not much to write home about the standard or quality of the game, for none of us had cricketing credentials! So I will confine myself to the celebration after the match when we toasted from afar- a sportsman who has done so much for Trinity, the network of Old Trinitian Associations and for sports in Kandy. The glasses were raised deservedly to celebrate Huthaifa Halimdeen.

1999 marks a full fifty years of unbroken and selfless service from Huthaifa as an active member of the committee of the TCKOBA in Sri Lanka. During this period he has contributed much to the to the alma mater. Generations of Trinitians all over the world will pay tribute to him as we did at our gathering. When the late Gamini Dissanayake took on the challege of converting the picturesque Asgiriya grounds to an International standard, he turned to Halimdeen to lead the project. Huthaifa was determined to bring back to the hallowed grounds the same aura as when when the cricketing greats of old played there.: Jack Hobss, Keith Miller, Frank Worrel, Ramadhin, Tom Graveney, Brian Close & Bill Lawry. That, Halimdeen’s project management skills led to the timely completion of the project is a story that should be recounted lest we take such sterling contributions for granted. And then there is the OTSC which stand at the periphery of Asgiriya grounds and owes its sustainability to the stewardship provided by Huthaifa. The famous “rugger ball” in Kandy was the brainchild of the late Harry Goonathileke and Huthaifa, who many years after its inaugaration in the early ‘60s ensured that it was Kandy’s premier social event. Several educational and extra-curricular developments in Trinity owe their suc- cess to the entrepreneurship and fund raising abilities of this capable man.

Old Boys Associations in Sri Lanka continue to play a very active role in the life and times of our schools . In the case of Trinity, with the possible exception of Sirisena Bandaranayake, I cannot recall anyone who has given so much, for so long with such dedication as Huthaifa Halimdeen. A great and eventful half-century and more runs to score.

9 TCK

TCK FAMILY FOUNDATION- DUST TO DUST FUND VALESCA REIMANN SCHOLARSHIP

As predicted in my review for this year ended December 1997 the cost of the scholarships exceeded income by Rs 8,775/-

We have written to the principal to withhold a fresh scholar in the year 2000, by the end of which year, we expect a saving of three scholars as the two students in year 13 & 14 would have left the college by then.

The trustees /management have requested the new Principal the review the scholarship fund and let us have his views on the long term future of the fund.

We appeal to those who have not contributed to the fund to earnestly consider joining up and to those cur- rent donors to update their donations as early as possible. A matter of concern is the drastic drop in receipts for the year been reviewed- $ 414/- against $ 1084/- in 1997 and $ 1518/- in 1996.

Attached is the list of donors, updated to 10th September 1999, the Statement of Income and Expenditure for the year ended 31.12. 97 and details of money held with the Advantage Credit Union.

As done in the past years, Rodney Geddes has updated the the donor list and Rodney Frank has audited our accounts. My thanks to them, the committee of management/Trustees and the donors.

Aju Dharmakirti.

A Valesca Reimann Scholarship An extract from an article in the Sunday Times by Wathsala Mendis

Fourteen year old Kamal Rathnayake is at Trinity sponsored by the dust to dust fund. He was born with his arms malformed. The son of poor parents from a remote village in the Kurunegala district, it was never going to easy with his disability. Especially, in places like SL where the social service for people with disabilities is not highly developed like here in Australia and the West.

The tireless efforts and love of his parents bore fruit and the child caught up fast excelling in his studies and caught the attention of the then President of SL R. Premadasa, who gave him a grant of Rs 100,000/- .Kamal made a moving speech at the SAARC summit in 1992 in both Sinhala and English, in which, he appealed to the delegates to look after disabled children in their countries.

Not long after, Kamal was accepted by Trinity- under the Valesca Reimann scholarship fund sponsorship. This was ma- jor breakthrough for the family. True to his fighting spirit, Kamal continues to make the the grade not only in his studies, but also in art, carrom,and chess. He also learns th computer as a subject.

Given a pen and paper he readily obliges with a beautiful scene. It is heartening to see him at work, head bent in earnest over the drawing with the pen poised between his “ hands”. What he needs is not sympathy but understanding to see him through his dreams- he wants to be a lawyer. Cheerful, bright and always looking ahead, this smart lad has never let any- body feel sorry for him. Rather, he inspires hope and courage. His limbs are deformed but never his spirit, as the Trinity motto says, this brave youngster will, no doubt, ‘look to the end”.

This is surely a call to arms for the donors- the fund cannot do this excellent work without your support. What we really need is for you pay up, either A $ 13/- per year or better still a perpetual payment of A $ 260/-. College was never part of the “me” generation, we shared everything, shirts, boots, food, homework, pocket money,showers, riotous living- I think we may have drawn the line with jock straps (?????). Are we of the older generation- who are, mostly, doing very well thank you- starting to suffer from donor fatigue?

10 TCK OBITUARIES We extend our sympathies to the families of the following.

Princely Indigahawela, S P de Soysa, Ranjit Wijesurendra, L B Werapitiya Dr. Mackie Ratwatte, Jim David, Sirisena Bandaranayake, Dr A. Karunananthan (ex-staff) Hector Kulugammana, Gamini Ellepola, Chandra Dissanayake, Tissa Bandaranayake, Ananda Thalgodapitiya and Dr Trevor Williamsz ( founder & President of the Sydney Chapter).

Late news- Duncan Congreve (aged 47) passed away at the end of September- we in Melbourne think of him travelling down all the way from Queensland to grace our functions he will be missed. Duncan Congreve

———————————————————————————————————————— TRIBUTES

Trevor Williamsz By Robert Sourjah on behalf of the TCKOBA

I first met Trevor in the early ninteen thirties in the Kindergarten. I remember even at that tender age he was a calm and collected child. He did quite well in the lower school. When he came to the upper school he came under the influence of two remarkable teachers- Edna Wells, who taught Botany & Zoology, and the other, strangely enough, an Australian, Valesca Reimann, who took Latin and Greek classes. So well did Trevor blossom that he completed the latin paper in half and hour and obtained a distinction. He gained entrance to the Faculty of Medicine, from which he graduated with an honours degree. He then went on to serve in the Department of Health. He sat the primary FRCS, which he passed effortlessly, and was appointed Surgical Registrar at the General Hospital Colombo. Very early in his surgical training he became known for his skill and competence. He won a government scholarship to the U.K. and passed his FRCS examinations of the English and Edinburgh colleges. He was appointed ENT Surgeon on his return to Ceylon, where he quickly gained a reputation as an outstanding Surgeon. He left Ceylon for Australia, much to the regret of his pa- tients and colleagues. His work in Australia soon gained him recognition.

He remained always ‘the same old Trevor” modest, with a subtle sense of humour and ever ready to help anyone in need. He was deeply religious. He kept in touch with his alma mater and was the current President of the Sydney branch of the OBA.

We feel the loss of our friend immensely, and convey to Daphne and the children, Malvina and Dennis our deepest sympathies.

In conclusion I would like to quote a part of the second letter that St. Paul wrote to Timothy “ my life has al- ready being poured away as a libation. The time has come to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end. I have run the race to the finish. All that is left is for the Good Lord to crown me with the wreath of righteousness.”

Rodney Ferdinands- Trustee of the TCK FF. By Dr Percy De Zilwa Rodney enjoyed life to the full. Restless energy flowed into all his undertakings. There were no half measures. A shrewd observer and judge of character he could detect the slightest hint of hypocrisy, even, as he confessed, (with a mischievous smile), in himself.

11 TCK In Trinity he excelled in his studies, winning the Napier Clavering prize for English. He learnt car- pentry –under Arthur Deane-and became a 1st class craftsman.

He became an accountant on leaving school and worked in the hydro electric scheme at Norton Bridge and then the Shell company of Ceylon. He joined the Ceylon Navy as a volunteer and rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant.

He married Persis Brohier, daughter of Dr Eric Brohier of Colombo. They migrated to Sydney and moved subsequently to Melbourne, where he worked for the Ford Motor Company and then Alcoa. On retiring he continued working as a consultant to the Housing Commission of Victoria. He was a past president of the Internal Auditors’ of Victoria. Bored during his retirement- he enrolled in La- Trobe University and obtained a degree in Social Studies.

Persis and Rodney’s passion were (are) their children- Stewart & Suzanne and grandchildren. Of several ideas in his head, one kept recurring. How would his family understand who the Burghers were unless he told them? So began the book “ Pride & Prejudice- the story of the Burghers in Sri Lanka”. Widely acclaimed as a classic, it was completely sold out. Many bouquets and some brick- bats( the truth hurts-he said) were handled with grace, humour & tact. He and his wife were tireless workers in the Ceylonese welfare Organisation. They were also supportes of the “80 club” and he became its auditor.

Rodney was “true” Trinitian, a loyal supporter of the college and the TCK FF, in which, he served well as a trustee. He maintained that Trinity taught him all he needed to know to live and get on in this world .

A lateral thinker he could see points that eluded many of us-at times at meetings of the management, it was hard for us , but in the end it turned out well. Many fine tributes were paid at his funeral. He went as he wished, his coffin was draped with the college flag and he was farewelled by his fellow Trinitians to the strains of the chorus of the college song.

———————————————————————————————————————— A BRIEF VISIT TO TRINITY – AUGUST 1999 By Dr Percy De Zilwa

The place was quiet, after the turmoil in the town- Perehara crowds, traffic congestion, Police, Army,, road blocks….. Trinity was an oasis. I had a similar feeling once, over sixty years ago when the boarders went home for the holidays after a raucous last week of term “No more Latin no more Greek No more standing….cheek” We sixth formers had to stay behind in our dorms for the Cambridge Senior examinations. The si- lence was inspiring. So it was when we went up to the Chapel with the Principal Professor Brecken- ridge & College Secretary Franklin Jacob, who the previous day had arranged lunch for us and oth- ers at Trinity. I was most disappointed to have missed it. Prior information did not reach me – it rained on the road from Giritale- the journey was slow- traffic congestion in Kandy was inevitable. We arrived too late.

The Chapel in its garden setting evoked memories of Rev John Mcleod Campbell and his wonder- ful staff including the famous “RR”. There was no garden then-only the sheds where the craftsman lived, and the horizontal monoliths which were being carved into the pillars of strength and beauty which we now see. I have vivid memories of sitting on the bank watching the elephants hauling the

12 TCK stones & “pillars” up the drive to the “best site in the College”. There was an article in a travel magazine, which I read in Colombo…. extolling the unique beauty of the building, and recommend- ing it to visitors. I hope it never becomes a tourist attraction. To Mr Campbell it was always the “Chapel of the Light of the world.”

Asgiriya was being prepared for the international cricket match- Australia- Sri Lanka- it is a beau- tiful ground-looking its best. One influential gentleman would like it to be the upcountry stadium… others say it is not big enough… quite rightfully I think. Many favour a new cricket stadium in Pal- lekelle or even Dambulla where it may not rain so often! I hope it will always remain a Trinity pitch

The Rugby Grounds - Abey Ekanayake who with Franklin took me to Asgiriya, showed me this lovely spot. There are flowering trees surrounding the ground. The pavilion is half way up.The ter- races on the ‘Gandhi side’ are taking shape. At one goal post end are two Paulownia trees recently planted by mates in memory of Vernon Boteju and Nimal Maralande.

At Pallekelle Rugby Grounds: There is one for Vernon Boteju as well

The Farm- Only a small area of the old farm (about 11 acres) is now above ground- the rest is under the Mahaweli reservoir. The higher ground given to the college as compensation is arid, rising to a hill with a magnificent 180 degree view of the reservoir. I visualise a site for the TCK Astronomical Society- some day- or should we say night.?

Part of this land has been leased to an organisation – The Lanka Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine Re- search(pvt) Ltd. The consultant is our” Abey “with his passion for sustainable agriculture. He has al- ready cleared the scrub and fenced the property using concrete posts, wells have been dug and ter- races prepared for planting. The serious drawback is water…..” if only I could get bowser…to get the water from the river…” .Abey says he will collect rain water flowing down the hill and over the large rocks in the area and channel it into the plantation. He has already built cisterns round the base of the rocks and dug a well.

Young Poholiadde- who worked on the old farm, lives in a house on the premises and works with Abey on the project. ( Young compared to Dr Percy I presume! mind you if you met Dr Percy at 80 + he looks younger than some of us and has the energy of a 40 year old)

13 TCK Trinity Western Michigan Institute of Higher Education

The old Trinity Agricultural Institute has now been vested in the above. Preparations are underway for a two year tertiary course leading to two further years for a degree at the University of Western Michigan USA.

There is thus a significant Trinity presence in Pallekelle, a fast growing industrial suburb. Perhaps a second Trinity campus here could take the strain off the overcrowded campus in Kandy.

I received a heart warming welcome from Professor Breckenridge and Franklin Jacob in Trinity. We had a most interesting chat in his office. From what I heard, there are great days ahead of Trinity if his plans succeed. Attitudes and discipline are now what they were in the past. The culture in Sri Lanka (and around the world) has changed. The policy of English as second language appears to many to have failed the students for life after school in the modern world. The problem could be over come. There are several “old boys” with academic experience and other expertise in Australia, Europe, USA… who could consider assisting the school by joining the staff at Trinity for short “stints” not only to impart “overseas” experience but also to act as role models and teach values…. “ the secret of Trinity was that it taught us values…” wrote Gordon Burrows. Please write to Breck if you can help. The TCK family foundation can help. We need to look beyond the annual Valesca Reimann scholarships to resources for the library, computer equipment etc etc. We need more do- nors- and we need to increase our annual donation of A$ 13/-(a miserable 25 cents a week) to at least A$ 20/- a year. We look forward to your co-operation.

Addition to Achievements.

Dr David Ratnavale appointed as Chairman of the President’s National Programme on Human Dis- aster Management

TCK Old Boys Club and and sight screen

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