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MY EXPERIENCES INTEA & RUBBER PLANTATIONMANAGEMENTINCEYLON1952 - 1969
Ian Gardner 2004
Illustrated July 2010Cover photo “Somerset Tea Factory” by Dominic Sansoni
 
CONTENTS
Foreword
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3THE COMPANY
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4GLENLYON
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6CARLABECK (SOMERSET)
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14CYMRU (TANGAKELLE)
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23SCRUBS (SOMERSET)
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32CYMRU (TANGAKELLE)
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33DEWALAKANDE (DEWALAKANDE)
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37WEST HOLYROOD (HOLYROOD)
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43FORRES
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50INGOYA
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53HOUPE
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56FORRES
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57RADELLA
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60ALTON
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65DEWALAKANDE
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75
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Foreword
I attempt to write this account as it happened and from my point of view at the time, making minimalcommentary from my current point of view at the age of seventy. I hope I have remembered the failures andlapses as well as the successes.When I was in High School I remember saying to myself or to a friend, 'I will never be a rickshaw- puller. This was in the context of my lack of interest in most of the subjects in the academic curriculum andmy awareness that, academically, I did not expect particularly good results. As a child I used to come withinthe top three in class, but as more application became necessary I moved to progressively lower positionsuntil, in my late teens, I was tucked away somewhere at the bottom. This was because I only got high marksin the subjects in which I was interested, such as English Language, to some extent English Literature, and inBiology where I excelled. In Physics and Chemistry I was top of the class in "practicals" but right at the bottom in "theory" - the latter was of little or no interest to me. At no stage in the future was I adverselyaffected by this absence of academic stardom.My entry into planting was completely fortuitous. My brother was selected by connections of TheCeylon Tea Plantations Pty. Ltd., a London Company but, as he had been selected as an officer in the Ceylon Navy and was shortly due to leave for Dartmouth for officer training, reference was made to the CareersMaster at our College, and he recommended me. I went up to the General Manager's
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residence and office onScrubs plantation, Nuwara Eliya and was interviewed, the General Manager being on furlough, by the ActingGeneral Manager, who was later to be my PD on my first stint on Tangakelle plantation.For the sake of convenience, and sometimes tact, in this document I will not refer to most people byname but by their titles in abbreviation as follows:Manager/Superintendent = PD for Peria Dorai (Big Master) {Executive Staff}Asst. Manager/Superintendent = SD for Sinna Dorai (Small Master) {Executive Staff}Visiting Agent/Agricultural Adviser = VA
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George Steuart & Co. = GSFactory Manager/Rubbermaker = RM
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Factory Manager/Teamaker = TM
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Head Clerk/(Office Manager) = HC
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Conductor/Field Officer (Non-executive plantation/division manager)
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Kanakapillai (Overseer/Foreman) = KP
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Kangany (Leading Hand) = None
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Clerical/Supervisory Staff.
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His official title was Manager but I have used the term General Manager as some plantation PDs are known asManager.
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A Visiting Agent was literally that; an agent of the owner who visited once or twice a year to oversee the managementof all aspects of the property and advise on policy in general and agricultural practice in particular. Prior to 1950, and insome cases for a time since then, VAs generally had a reputation of being autocratic, tactless and much to be feared. Inthe CTP, the General Manager, stationed in Nuwara Eliya, was the VA until the time when GS was given the job of general management. From this time, various experienced planters were given the job of VA and the term VA started to be superseded by the term Agricultural Adviser although general management was still included in his duties. Thoseenlightened individuals amongst these modern VAs were, it seems, less inclined to be dogmatic and more inclined totake into account the resident PD's views. My experience with VAs ranged from good to excellent as will be seen later.
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John Gibbon

Thank you Ian a good read. With kind regards. John Gibbon

reply1 day ago
Ian Gardner

Well I'll be damned! Who would have thought we would make contact after over fifty years! How ar you both keeping? Email me at basilian11@gmail.com and we can do more!

1 day ago
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