Southlands College in the surroundings of the World Heritage Zone inside the Dutch Fortress, Galle has completed 140 years’, according to the historical data collected from 1885.
Although it is believed that the origin of the college goes back nearly 40 more years, finding a detailed trail to that period has been difficult.
Originally, Southlands College was identified as “Girls’ High School”. It was renamed as Southlands in 1929 under the Methodist Missionary management.
According to a policy decision, the College was vested in the State on March 15, 1962, ending nearly eight decades of Missionary management. The ideology of Missionary Principals was to provide a fruitful education to girls, enabling them to become good mothers. All Missionary Principals have done wonders to put a solid foundation to the school during the 20th century. The excellence in studies and extra-curricular activities elevated the institution to a prestigious position.
Respect for local languages and culture
On September 24, 2023, I had the privilege of stepping on to the school premises, after a period of sixty years, as an eighty-year old Southlander, to participate in an event titled “Mathaka”. It was well-organised by a group of past Southlanders (from 1991- 2000) to get together at the College Auditorium.
While watching the numerous items performed on stage, my mind went back to the history of the school under British Principals Mabel Freethy and Edith Ridge during the Missionary period.
The school functioned as an English Medium institution mainly promoting Western methods of education. Mabel Freethy and Edith Ridge developed the school academically and added many extra-curricular activities, which were considered as special features at Southlands during the era.
The students honoured local languages and cultural values, a rare feature during the colonial era, where the urban middle class who received their education in English medium imitated and embraced the western culture. British Principals at Southlands provided special emphasis to promote the Sinhala language and literature and also Pali during the Missionary period.
The College magazine states:
“We are glad indeed to find that many of our girls in the higher forms are taking a deep interest in the study of Sinhala. For the first time in history a senior Cambridge candidate passed with Sinhala as a subject. We trust that our young readers will follow in their footsteps, and make the best of their opportunities.”
History of the Methodist Church by Rev. W. T. J. Small states:
“……Study of Sinhalese had always been taken seriously in the school …a rare feature of such schools; and the indigenous art too was encouraged by the school.”
Principal’s report of 1939 states:
“ …..Practically all our classes are working on a time table which gives an average of a Sinhalese lesson a day…..”
A week of festivities
The “Southlands week”, comprising a variety of events, including academic assessment, prize giving, sports and western and eastern music, handicraft and stage drama, were another unique event. It was introduced by Freethy in 1924. It became an enjoyable friendly gathering among students, tutorial staff and parents.
The most delightful event that brought down the curtain to a week of festivities was a show of traditional Sinhala drama. The school magazine in 1928 described a Sinhala play “Prince Chandra’s Quest” performed by the old pupils.
Southlands gained fame by staging Sinhala plays from the beginning of the 20th century. Staging a Sinhala play became a novel experience to the students, who were used to performing Western drama, especially Shakespeare’s plays, in order to widen their knowledge in English literature.
In 1924, the first Sinhala play “Asoka Mala” was produced by the school and the tradition continued throughout the Missionary period up to 1962 as the most outstanding event in the annual College calendar.
R.G. Senanayaka (Erin Subasinghe), a past pupil of Southlands, said that Southlands produced quality Sinhala drama when John de Silva and Tower Hall drama was popular.
Many manuscripts used for the plays were based on Jathaka stories or historical legends of Ceylon and India. The British Principals fostered an interest in oriental music and Saranaguptha Amarasinghe, a famous musician during the era, visited the school to give the students weekly Violin and singing lessons in Sinhala.
Ridge recruited Herman Perera, a qualified Music and Dancing Master from Payagala, rewarding the students with a rare opportunity to learn eastern music, dancing and singing. Thus the British Principals promoted “Swabasha” amongst Southlanders commandeering innovative methodologies well before the tumultuous cultural upheavals of 1956.
School anthem
The college did not have a motto at the start. When the school was renamed, Freethy introduced a school motto “Knit together in love and service” with a Sinhala version “Premayenda sevayenda bendi sitimuwa”. It also became unique since all English medium Colleges managed by missionary groups had their school mottos in English, Latin or Pali.
The College completed 50 years in 1935. Celebrating the jubilee, Freethy decided to compose a song in Sinhala, which later became the school song. The lovely melody chosen for the song was a composition by Rabindranth Tagore for a song sung at the Indian National Congress in 1919.
The melody used for the school song was the same melody chosen for the Indian National Anthem “Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jayahe” when India gained Independence. Thus Southlanders enjoyed the lovely melody long before the same was used for the Indian National Anthem in 1950.
This melody was taught to a group of southerners by Tagore when he visited Sri Lanka in 1934. It was a rare feature to find a Sinhala school song in English Medium schools during the colonial period.
Educating Muslim girls
Another commendable service extended to the society by British Principals was the effort taken by them to educate the Mohammedan girls in their homes since most of them were not allowed to attend school when they attained puberty.
The idea of continuing the education of these girls in their homes originated in Freethy’s heart and was implemented with the voluntary assistance extended by E.A. Jansz.
The special program was continued during Ridge’s period too. Thus young Muslim girls were fortunate to educate themselves within their residencies under the care of British Principals’ and the assistance given by the tutorial staff voluntarily.
The usual school subjects were taught with an emphasis on hygiene. The project was recognised by the Education Department.
An extract from College Magazine- Jubilee Number 1935:
“It is a well- known fact that the education of Mohammedan Girls comes to an abrupt end early in life. Very rarely is a girl of this faith allowed to attend school after she has passed her twelfth year. Though for years we have had large numbers attending Southlands, only two or three have been permitted to go as the Cambridge junior form, but these have proved that, given the opportunity, the Mohammedan girl will do as well as other girls in public examinations.”
Past pupils
Southlands College had produced distinguished and renowned personalities to the nation as pioneers of various professional fields. In the first quarter of the 20th century, girls were not encouraged to follow higher studies.
Mabel Freethy and Edith Ridge, with their liberal ideas on women’s education, guided many students to continue their higher studies. Some students entered the Medical College or the English Teacher Training College with the assistance provided by the British Principals.
The entire Roberts family in Fort, Vidyajothy Prof. Stella de Silva, Dr. Buddimathi Kulatunga, Dr. Yvette Brohier, Prof. Daphny Attygala, Noelene Jayawardena entered the University, while Fidelia Samarasinghe, Estelle Jurianz, Lolita Ranasinghe and Clara Nanayakkara had the opportunity to enter the Teacher Training College with the guidance offered by the Southlands Principals.
Prof. Stella de Silva had the privilege of becoming the first lady in South Asia to obtain both degrees MRCP (Edinburgh) and MRCP (London) at the first sitting.
Prof Stella de Silva in the felicitation journal dedicated to Edith Ridge states:
“My choice was Medicine, an unheard of career for women at that time, certainly for Southlands. I was ill-equipped for medical studies with no knowledge of Physics, Chemistry or Biology. Yet Ridge and Freethy encouraged me. I entered the university at the age of 17 years and qualified as a doctor.”
Dr. Buddhimathi Kulatunga (Jayawardena) was the first Resident House Officer at the Castle Street Maternity Hospital at its opening.
Dr. Nevill Kanakarathna in his message to the felicitation journal says:
“My sister Daphny Attygala was Professor of Pathology at Colombo University, a beneficiary of Ridge’s teaching and guidance.”
Joyce Goonesekera introduced the Maria Montessori method of teaching to Sri Lanka. Professor E.F.C. Ludowyke, pioneer in the field of drama, and Dr. Neville Kanakarathna are among the few males who had their primary educational foundation at Southlands.
In the recent past, Southlands College produced Kelaniya University Prof. Janitha Liyanage. She joined the diplomatic service and was appointed as the Ambassador to Russia.
Malini Weeramuni is another distinguished past pupil of the school. Along with her husband Namel Weeramuni, she contributed to the development of stage drama in Sri Lanka. They jointly set up the Punchi Theatre at Borella.
Erudite bhikkhu Ven. Ghanasinha Thera of Vijiraramaya, who completed his 90th birthday on February 19, also had his primary education at Southlands.
