SL Galle Bimble 2 - Part One
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 15 Mar 2019 23:47
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Our Second Bimble in Galle, Sri Lanka – Part
One   After a hearty breakfast we set off down the road and saw someone’s pride and joy complete with resting dog. We headed for the seaside to bimble the top
end of Galle.  Loved this lady
sporting membership of the AA.   A very pretty
house to our right, the sea to our
left.  Looking down at what we first thought to be
rubbish was actually someone’s washing drying in the
sun.   On the sea wall the ruins of a watchtower, to our right a small, white
stupa.  Bear points out where cannon used to
stand.  Loved the elephant
detail on this wall.    A couple romancing at a
lookout, heading toward an old building
and I see no
ships.  We could now see the
clock tower peeing out to the
right.   Up some steps
and looking over the roof of a
barracks.   Another lookout. We had hoped to visit the slave barracks (below) but they were undergoing
maintenance.  Another couple romancing, thrilled to have their picture
taken.   We rounded the corner to see a cricket match in progress and headed to the clock tower.  The Galle Clock Tower (or Anthonisz Memorial Clock
Tower) is located within the Galle
Fort in Galle,
Sri
Lanka. The Clock Tower
is a popular landmark and overlooks the central Moon Bastion, on the
site of the former guard room. The Clock Tower was constructed in 1883, paid for
through public subscriptions by the people of Galle, in recognition of Dr. P. D.
Anthonisz. The clock
itself was the sole gift of a grateful patient, Mudaliyar Samson de Abrew
Rajapakse. The plate on the clock tower carries
the inscription: "This tower erected by public subscription to the perpetual
memory of Peter Daniel Anthonisz (born in Galle) in testimony of his skill and
benevolence in relieving human suffering. MDCCCLXXXIII".
Dr Anthonisz (1822-1903) was a renowned Burgher doctor, who served as the Colonial Surgeon for the Southern
Province and as a
representative on the Legislative
Council. The tower is
roughly four storeys high and is situated immediately inside the fort ramparts.
Burgher
people,
also known simply as Burghers,
are a small Eurasian
ethnic group in Sri Lanka
descended from Portuguese,
Dutch,
British and other European men who settled in Sri Lanka and
developed relationships with native Sri Lankan
women.   The cricket match was in full
swing with an enthusiastic crowd (they take their cricket very seriously
here and these chaps were obviously ardent fans as
they didn’t take their eyes off the
game. CONTINUED
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