By the first half of the 19th century, Colombo had become a popular port of call. It was a common sight to see many steamers berthed in the harbour particularly from December to March when the waters of the ocean of the western coast were calm and placid.
Drunken seamen in rowdy groups or riding rickshaws were seen everywhere in the city. Occasionally the more adventurous and inquisitive types ventured out of the city and were seen mingling with the village folks.
On February 27, 1854, the Colonial Secretary, who with the then police chief Macartney had been monitoring the activities of seamen roaming the villages, received a bit of information that aroused his curiosity. An excited seaman informed the Colonial Secretary that two of his colleagues had been on an expedition into the interior, not far from Colombo, in search of gold and had returned, saying that their search had been successful.
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| The banks of the Maha Oya: Scene of the
gold rush |
The informant had also told the Colonial Secretary that they had left Colombo again with four other English seamen who had earlier been gold diggers; and that the whole group was armed, equipped and provisioned with food to camp out for six weeks.
The Colonial Secretary ordered Superintendent Macartney to make inquiries. Macartney set about his task enthusiastically. To him gold was a tempting prospect. Within a week, on March 7, Macartney was able to produce before the Colonial Secretary, one of the party, a man by the name of Bradley who had returned to Colombo with samples of gold in just a few days of prospecting.
The Colonial Secretary and Macartney questioned Bradley in detail. The latter sounded truthful and reliable. He swore that he had experience of gold mining in California and Australia; and being struck by the similarity of appearance of the land in Ceylon to other auriferous districts he had decided to go prospecting for gold with a few of his companions. To cap his story, he produced specimens of gold dust which he claimed to have found forty five miles from Colombo in the bed of the Maha Oya on the borders of the Seven Korales in the North Western Province and Hapitigam Korale in the Western Province.
The Colonial Secretary and Macartney keeping the find as confidential as possible discreetly got the gold dust analysed by several reputed goldsmiths and got confirmation that the samples were genuine gold. William Blackwell, a coffee planter and friend of Macartney, a chemistry graduate from Cambridge had also confirmed the opinion of the goldsmiths.
The wheels of government began to move fast. Macartney and the Assistant Government Agent of Kurunegala were ordered to go to the scene with Bradley and send daily reports to Colombo. They found that the sailors had made a camp on the banks of the Maha Oya at Yattalgoda where they had excavated several pits in the riverbed. They were busy washing the sand using crude cane baskets and clay pots. The Asst. Govt. Agent and Macartney also joined the prospectors and found for themselves several specs of gold.
By this time the news had leaked out. "A gold rush began and large numbers of people including seven deserters from H.M.S. Sybil which was lying at the Trincomalee harbour hurried to the scene of discovery."
Macartney as the head of the police force feared that the few policemen who manned the force would desert and go in search of gold. He returned to Colombo in a hurry and obtained the government's sanction to frame a rule under the Police Ordinance making it an offence to leave the force without the written authority of the Superintendent himself. He then sent an armed party of one Head Constable and fifteen men to maintain law and order where the gold diggings were taking place. He also established temporary police stations at Kegalle, Ambepussa, Veyangoda and Mahara to patrol the Kandy Road. Macartney himself was so excited with the find that he returned to the scene and stayed on in the camp with the policemen.
The credibility of this discovery of gold was such that the Governor published the following notification in the Government Gazette of March 18, 1854; "Whereas it has been reported to government that a small quantity of gold has lately been found near the Maha Oya, notice is hereby given to all whom it may concern that the Superintendent of Police has received instructions not to allow any person to dig or excavate or to carry on any mining operations under whatsoever name or pretext with the exception of the individuals already so engaged with the cognizance of government and of any others that may hereafter be specially licensed for that purpose."
The Assistant Government Agent of Kegalle was made the licensing authority. Licences which cost 10 shillings were issued valid for one month only. In the meantime mining continued and small quantities of gold were found daily.
But sadly all operations came to a sudden and unexpected end. On the afternoon of March 22, a heavy downpour flooded the pits and the gushing waters of the river made work impossible. The prospectors had to abandon the pits and move to Ambepussa. The rain continued for several days.
By March 24, Bradley and his friends and Macartney himself were laid up with fever. They had all to be brought down to Colombo. The first 'gold rush' thus ended and the police were withdrawn from the scene.
Bradley and his companions were not totally discouraged. They went to Nuwara Eliya and began prospecting in the streams assisted by Samuel Baker. Here too they found gold in minute quantities.
It is surprising indeed that there appears to have been no prospecting for gold thereafter. Using the crudest of methods over one and a half centuries ago, if Bradley could find specs and traces of gold within a mere two to three weeks of prospecting, modern technology holds out great hope indeed. This is certainly another avenue for our oil prospecting minister to pursue! Sri Lanka badly needs a gold rush today.
(Source- G.K. Pippet, 'History of the Ceylon Police,' Times of Ceylon Co. Ltd. 1938) |
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