Tarawa (CV 40) - Naval Cruise Book

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f2'1 lJe'r'rrrzI1f'1' 1948-2 january 19492 The TARAWVA eased through the narrow entrance to C0lombo's harbor in the early morning of 29 December 1948: and our visit to Colombo, Ceylon was oflicially begun with a 21 gun salutg t0 the Dominion of Ceylon, followed by a 15 gun salute to Admiral C. H. L. Xvodehouse, R.N. Commander in Chief, East India Station, aboard his flagship NORFOLK anchored in the harbor. Colombo, the capital of Ceylon, is a seaport on the southwest coastnear the mouth of the Kelani River. It is a handsome town and a portion of it, comprising most of the best houses, is within the walls of its very extensive fort, which occupies a projecting point of land and embracing a circumference of nearly one and one-fourth miles. The houses of the Europeans outside the city are beautifully situated, especially those near the sea. There are several bazaars or market places. The public buildings comprise the govern- ment offices, government house, Hall of the Supreme Court, the Valuable Museum, etc. Some of the noted buildings are an old Dutch church, Presbyterian, Angelical and Roman Catholic churches, hotels, orphan asylum, military hospital and barracks, the town hall, the railway station, the Colombo Royal College, Saint Thomas' College and Wesley College. The Moors have two handsome mosques with min- aretsg the Hindus also have their temples, rudely sculptured. Colombo boasts a big. beautifully-planned, and busy harbor, with an area of over 640 acres, making it one of the best man-made harbors in the world. Colombo is one of the most important coaling stations for British and foreign steamers on the Aus- tralian and Asiatic routes. It is connected by rail with Kandy and the north of Ceylon. The natives are mostly artisans and laborers, while the Europeans are either owners of large plantations or merchants. Ceylon was occupied in 1517 by the Portuguese and named in honor of Christopher Columbus. It was taken by the Dutch in 1656 and by the British in 1796. III 1948 Ceylon became a full-fledged dominion in the British Commonwealth. I..ifc in Colombo is scarcely representative of the true atrnosphereof the island, since the bulk of the population is Singhalese. Of Aryan-Dravidian stock, the Singlialt-se claim origin from Vijaya, who, with 700 Iollowc-rs is believed to have invaded Lanka from India about 500 BC. and married a daughter of the aboriginal Vetldas. 'llicse 'T i ' invaders called themselves Sinhalas, or Lion People, after Vijaya's father Sinhabahu fLion Army a legendary ruler in North India. A lion resembling Chinese and Burmese design is still a favorite emblem. In the fastness of the eastern jungles are remnants of the aboriginal Veddas, probably a pre-Dradidian race of great antiquity. They continue to hunt with bow and arrow, collect wild honey and grow yams. Their numbers are fast dwindling, soon to disappear as they become absorbed by Moor, Tamil, and Sin- halese trading groups. A chance to see life in the interior at first hand was afforded TARAWA men when a local transport com- pany organized a conducted sight-seeing tour to Kandy, a city seventy-two miles from Colombo, in the heart of Ceylon. The city is situated in a cup of hills at a height of 1,300 feet. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese and is still considered the cultural center of the island. It is the Sacred City, where in a picturesque, old- world Oriental building, rests the Holy Tooth Relic of the Buddha, worshipped by Buddhists all over the world. Nearby Kandy are the great Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya and the site for the new University of Ceylon. A special train met the sight-seeing party at the harbor's passenger jetty, and transported them through the verdant hills and valleys to Kandy, returning them in the late afternoon. During the recent war, American troops manned two airbases in Ceylon. The l3l0th Base Unit of the China-Burma Air Transport Corps operated one base as a way station on the route from India to Australia and the Philippines: the other was used as a shuttle point for tactical aircraft. Each had a 6,000 foot strip. Perhaps the most lasting impression of the city was gained by TARAXVA men from the abundance of precious and semi-precious SlOllCS. Of the latter group, the star sapphire was the most popular and the most publicized. Numerous purchases were made by crew members. with the star and white sapphires leading the list. At a banquet attended by several of the TAR.-XXN'A's officers, a cat's eye was displayed. which was re- putedly worth thousands. Altogether, an interesting visit. Our only other comment on the visit: too brief.

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a M001'6d nearby can be ,l'C'l 71 lflff Brztub liner Empire llal1'aJa1'.gf if m the ffireground, and ll ,H S. Nflrfolk. Sbortly after dropping ancbor in Colornbo'J barbor, tbe Tarawa fire! a 21-gun Jalute to lbe Dominion of Ceylon, followed by a I5- gun Jalnle to Admiral Wodeboufe, R.N., aboard bif flagfbip Norfolk, ancbored in tbe barbor.