Dawson Monument - 1832 - Kadugannawa
Kadugannawa Pass, Kadugannawa.
Representing a triumph of British engineering feats over the topography and natural obstacles of Ceylon, this 125ft column is situated at the summit of the Kadugannawa Pass (1,690ft above sea level). It commemorates Captain William Dawson of the Royal Engineers who supervised the construction of the road in 1822 from Colombo and the flat lowlands to the hill country of Kandy and beyond. The road pre-dated the arrival of the railway line which was completed in 1862.
To me, Captain Dawson represents those legions of British engineers, architects, soldiers and administrators whose sense of duty and adventure brought them to the service of the Crown in the far-flung corners of the Empire. Roads, bridges, railways, buildings, infrastructure projects were planned and completed by the likes of Dawson, frequently at huge personal cost. Captain Dawson may have laid a road to Kandy, but he was himself laid to eternal rest in 1829 by dysentery whilst surveying the Paumben and Mannar channels. In true British spirit, despite being seized by dysentery, his "well-known zeal prompted him, notwithstanding, to continue his exertions until the object he was engaged in was completed, thus enabling the disease to gain such an ascendancy as to baffle every effort of professional skill, though aided by the strongest constitution".
The inscription on this largely forgotten monument reads:-
"Captain W. F. Dawson, during the Government of General Sir E. Barnes, G.C.B., Commanding Royal Engineer, Ceylon, whose Science and Skill planned and executed this Road and Other Works of Public Utility. Died at Colombo, 28th March, 1829. By a subscription among his friends and admirers in Ceylon this monument was raised to his memory. 1832."
Dawson Monument - 1832 - Kadugannawa
Kadugannawa Pass, Kadugannawa.
Representing a triumph of British engineering feats over the topography and natural obstacles of Ceylon, this 125ft column is situated at the summit of the Kadugannawa Pass (1,690ft above sea level). It commemorates Captain William Dawson of the Royal Engineers who supervised the construction of the road in 1822 from Colombo and the flat lowlands to the hill country of Kandy and beyond. The road pre-dated the arrival of the railway line which was completed in 1862.
To me, Captain Dawson represents those legions of British engineers, architects, soldiers and administrators whose sense of duty and adventure brought them to the service of the Crown in the far-flung corners of the Empire. Roads, bridges, railways, buildings, infrastructure projects were planned and completed by the likes of Dawson, frequently at huge personal cost. Captain Dawson may have laid a road to Kandy, but he was himself laid to eternal rest in 1829 by dysentery whilst surveying the Paumben and Mannar channels. In true British spirit, despite being seized by dysentery, his "well-known zeal prompted him, notwithstanding, to continue his exertions until the object he was engaged in was completed, thus enabling the disease to gain such an ascendancy as to baffle every effort of professional skill, though aided by the strongest constitution".
The inscription on this largely forgotten monument reads:-
"Captain W. F. Dawson, during the Government of General Sir E. Barnes, G.C.B., Commanding Royal Engineer, Ceylon, whose Science and Skill planned and executed this Road and Other Works of Public Utility. Died at Colombo, 28th March, 1829. By a subscription among his friends and admirers in Ceylon this monument was raised to his memory. 1832."