Nagoda Jayasinghe Walawwa - Galle

 Nagoda Jayasinghe Walawwa - Galle

Located in a serene setting on a large  estate bordering the Galle–Mapalagama Road, near the beautiful Gin Ganga Valley in the Galle District, stands a house built in the British colonial architectural style. This residence, known as Nagoda Walawwa, was constructed in the latter half of the 19th century by Don Elias Amarasiri Jayasinghe, a prominent first-class industrialist and planter in Sri Lanka at the time. Villagers referred to him as "Seeni Mudiyanse" a title reflecting his major role in the sugar industry during the British colonial period.

Mudaliyar Don Elias Amarasiri Jayasinghe 

Among the leading sugar producers in the country during that era were:

Mudaliyar D.J. Amarasekara of Hanwella,

George Winter, a British entrepreneur and the founding editor of what was then known as the Ceylon Observer and Commercial Advertiser, now known as the Observer newspaper,

And Elias Jayasinghe.

After George Winter passed away in 1853, his wife Sarah Winter and Elias Jayasinghe continued to develop the business centered around the Gin Ganga. Before tea and rubber became Sri Lanka’s most profitable plantation crops, sugarcane cultivation thrived in the Gin Ganga valley. However, with time and increasing foreign imports of sugar at lower costs due to global market changes, sugarcane cultivation gradually declined.

George Winter, who played a pioneering role in introducing sugarcane cultivation and the sugar industry to Sri Lanka, established his first commercial sugar plantation and factory around 1840 in a place called Sunnyside in Baddegama, Galle. He cultivated sugarcane on hundreds of acres of land such as:

Baddegama Estate,

Pilagoda Estate,

Sunnyside Estate,

Akuratiya Estate, and more.

Later, he also started a Alcohol producing Factory. The sugar and sugarcane products produced by Winter were transported from the estates through the Gonantara canal to a dock near his residence in Baddegama. From there, they were floated down the Gin Ganga and then transported via the Keppu Ela (also known as the "Moda Ela"), a canal system constructed during the Dutch era, to the harbor, and then shipped by sea.

British Entrepreneur George Winter 

During this period, the dock used by George Winter on the Gin Ganga resembled a small harbor and was very active, eventually becoming widely known as "Winter’s Dock." The Winter family estate and sugar operations remained active until the late 1960s.

Before Elias Jayasinghe popularized sugarcane cultivation around Nagoda, the rural farming community primarily engaged in paddy and root crop farming. Initially, encouraging villagers to adopt this new crop was a challenging task. He faced many difficulties in the course of this enterprise, especially due to the limited infrastructure available at the time. Except for a few gravel village roads, tarred roads were virtually nonexistent.

The Gin Ganga was the most effective transportation route for goods to Galle. Through it, items could be offloaded at Mahamodara, near the Galle Harbour, via the Keppu Ela canal. One of the key reasons for the success of this business during that era was the availability of sufficient labor. Mudaliyar Elias Jayasinghe recognized that the villagers’ spare time between planting and harvesting seasons could be effectively used to support this industry.

Thanks to his dedication and determination, almost all the vacant and lowland areas near the Gin Ganga were utilized for sugarcane cultivation. Due to his close ties with the British administration at the time, importing the necessary technology and machinery for the sugar industry was not difficult. Sugarcane crushing machinery was imported from Birmingham, England, and the factory was located on the land where the current Nagoda Police Station now stands.

Since these machines were steam-powered, the locals popularly referred to the factory as “Dummola” (the smoke mill). The harvested sugarcane, grown by local farmers, was transported by ox carts to the factory. Sugarcane brought by river routes along the Gin Ganga was unloaded at a dock known as "Disowita."

Considering the level of technological advancement at the time, it may come as a surprise to hear that Mudaliyar Elias Jayasinghe’s factory even produced white sugar. In 1892, Sir Arthur Havelock, who was Governor of British Ceylon from 1890 to 1895, visited the sugar factories of Elias Jayasinghe in Nagoda and Sarah Winter in Baddegama. Impressed by the industrial activity, he famously referred to the Nagoda–Baddegama region as “Little Manchester”, comparing it to the then-industrial powerhouse of Manchester, England.

Governor Havelock also participated in a tea party at the Nagoda Walawwa, where the tea was sweetened with sugar produced by Elias Jayasinghe. At the British Colonial Industrial Exhibitions held in London in 1886 and 1912, his white sugar won bronze and silver medals, respectively.

Eventually, due to cheap sugar imports and severe damage to the main axle of the Nagoda sugar factory, which could not be repaired, Elias Jayasinghe was forced to abandon the sugar business during the latter part of his life. Later, the remaining machinery and other assets of the factory were sold to the business enterprise of George Winter.

This remarkable entrepreneur, widely known as “Seeni Mudiyanse" spent his final years at Godewatta Walawwa, which had belonged to his son. According to the descendants, Mudali Don Elias Amarasiri Jayasinghe also made numerous philanthropic contributions. His family possesses documents confirming his financial support for the construction and development of Mahinda College in Galle. The Nagoda "Jayasingharamaya" Temple was also built by the Jayasinghe family.