The Bolgoda lake situated in Moratuwa is the largest natural
lake of Sri Lanka. It is a tributary of the Kalu Ganga which
originates at Adams Peak and is a popular resort for swimming,
angling and boating. Blogoda lake spreads, twisting from
Ratmalana via Moratuwa and Panadura till it meets the sea
at Wadduwa and Moratuwa via the Moratu ganga.
The two-storey colonnaded building on Prince Street, Pettah (Colombo
11) which houses this museum was constructed during the Dutch
occupation of Colombo (1656 - 1796) and was the formal residence of
the Governor of Dutch Ceylon Thomas van Rhee (1634 - 1701) during
his term of office from 1692 to 1697. The building has been used for many
different purposes over the years. It was a teacher-training college and
an institute for the instruction of clergymen between 1696 and 1796. It
was also used as a hospital. It became a barracks in the second half of
the 1800s and 1900 it was used as a police training school, set up by
the British. In 1932 it was converted to the Pettah Post Office. In 1971
following heavy monsoon rains one of the exterior walls collapsed and
the building was abandoned. Following protests by the Royal Asiatic
Society and the Dutch Burgher Union against plans to demolish the
building, in 1973 a committee was established with representatives
from the Ceylon Tourist Board, the Department of Archaeology, the
Netherlands Alumni Association of Lanka and the National Archives,
to restore the building and establish a museum covering the Dutch
colonial period
The Hamilton Canal was in use during the Dutch era with
the purpose of connecting the capital Colombo with
Puttlam. The canal, which is 14.5km long runs parallel to
the West coast of Sri Lank through Negambo town. During
the British era the canal was extended and was used to
drain the salt water out of Muthurajawela wetland