When ships carrying passengers and goods circled Sri Lanka

BY PRINCE Casinader

The Daily News in its issue of July 13 carried the news item - Inland passenger boat service from December and that this project had received the green light from the Government and the BOI.

Many may not be aware that in the nineties, there was a regular shipping service where several ships named after the names of past Governor's wives did a regular run touching at Hambantota, Galle, Batticaloa-Kalkudah, Trinco, Point Pedro, Jaffna, and what is more these ships even called on the Indian ports of Negappattinam and Karaikal.

This shipping service was run by the Ceylon Steam-ship Company Ltd. with the managing agents being Walker and Sons Ltd.

The ships carried the names: - Lady Blake, Lady Gordon, Lady Havelock, Lady Maccalum, and as a grim reminder, on the beach at Kalkudah stood the boiler of this ship Lady Havelock for the past 89 years, when in the 1907 cyclone as the ship started on its journey from the Kalkudah Port, the ship got caught to this cyclone and the Captain of the ship Capt Whitely took a snap decision and beached the ship where its wrecked boiler stood in the estate of the late Grand Old Man of Batticaloa S. V. O. Soanader the veteran Principal and Wild Life enthusiast, till the recent Tsunami gave the coup d'etat to this historical boiler.

It's a matter of interest to know the cost of passage at that time;

The cargo rates charged were quite modest;

Between any two ports for cows or bullocks - Rs. 7.20, Dogs - Rs. 4.32. For copra per cwt 72 cents.

Cotton goods of English and native manufacture there was a difference, where for English cargo rate per bale was Rs. 4.32 while for native cotton it was Rs. 2.16.

The then Ceylon Government paid the shipping service a sum of 5,750 pounds sterling by way of subsidy annually and a sum of Rs. 5750 by way of compensation for the port and harbour dues payable by the Company.

One of the earliest ships the Lady Blake had registered and gross tonnage of 531.46 and 1,097.08 tons respectively.

Accommodation in the 1st class for 15 passengers, 2nd class 12 and as much as 200 deck passengers.

In one of the oldest newspapers to be published in Batticaloa the 'Lamp' by the Methodist Missionaries here, I came across an issue of this newspaper dated January 12, 1910. and it carried the following advertisements;

Ceylon Steamship Company Ltd

The steamers Lady Blake and Lady Macculum are appointed to sail round the island from Colombo on the undernoted dates taking cargo and passengers for Galle, Hambantota, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Point Pedro, Jaffna and Paumben.

Lady Macculum - Southabout 8th January.

Lady Blake 12th January Northabout, 17th January Lady Macculum, 19th January Southabout, 22nd January - Lady Blake 26th Jan, Northabout 31st January.

Shippers are kindly requested to have cargoes alongside early, on the day before sailing date, to prevent cargo being shut out. Port of destination to be clearly marked on every package and old port marks obliterated.

Messrs Arambamoorthy & Sons Agents

Before the advent of the railway to Batticaloa, people from here travelled in these ships. Depending on the monsoon, for six months of the year, people embarked from the Kalkudah Port where the remains of the old jetty is still there, where on a side is engraved that the engineer was H. F. Tomalin.

For the next six months the port of embarkation was the Sand Bar, where still stands the Bar Light House 99 feet high.

Copra was the main export product from all the large coconut estates, copra was taken chiefly to South India, and in return Calicut tiles were the main products brought back.

In fact after the Black July it was in boats that from Colombo that those affected were taken to the North and East.

Port		Miles		Cabin		Deck
Colombo to	
Galle		69 miles		Rs. 25.20	Rs. 4.32
Hambantota	129 miles	Rs. 50.40	Rs. 5.76
Batticaloa	261 miles	Rs. 72.00	Rs. 10.08
Trinco		323 miles	Rs. 86.40	Rs. 14.40
Pt Pedro		433 miles	Rs. 144.00	Rs. 14.40
Jaffna		491 miles	Rs. 158.40	Rs. 18.00
Negappattinam	597 miles	Rs. 172.80	Rs. 21.60
Karikal		607 miles	Rs. 172.80	Rs. 21.60

Children under five were given free passage