Location! Location! …. and Now Renovation! The DBU in Colombo

The Dutch Burgher Union’s ‘home’ with a restaurant, bar, billaird tables and meeting rooms has been located centrally in Colombo for over a century at the junction of Bauddhaloka Mawatha (ake Buller’s Rd) and Havelock Rd running south-north across colombo — and thus withina sotone’strow of many faciltiees including the University of colombo, Nomads cricket ground, the SL braodcasting Corporation, Archives, et cetera.  I have used it as a meeting spot often and in mid-September 2020 held a THANK YOU party for friends and relatives who had sustained me over a five-month covid-informed stay in Lanka.

So, its is a delight to feature its further growth in pictorial form…. Michael Roberts

 

A NOTE received:

The DBU, which you must have visited when you were in SL has been refurbished and upgraded now. Refurbishing started in 2012 by Mr. T. Speldewinde who was the president of DBU. It’s a beautiful place now with comfortable rooms and two good restaurants. I have attached a few photos for you to see. Also have forwarded a link

to Fiona about the history of DBU.

There had been a Dr. V.R. Schokman who was the President of DBU in 1940’s, I have attached a picture of him too.

The room rates are between 40–60 $ per day.

DBU GENERAL COMMITTEE 2022/23  …. elected on 31 May 2022

PRESIDENT: Mr. David Colin-Thomé

DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Mr. Timothy Speldewinde

SECRETARY:  Mr. Sean Van Dort

TREASURER: Mr. Malory David

GENERAL COMMITTEE

Mr. Stephen LaBrooy

Mr. Joachim Caspersz

Mr. David Martenstyn

Mr. Dallas Martenstyn

Mrs. Julia de Mel

Mr. Bill Deutrom

Ms. Leann de Zilwa

Mr. Tony de Livera

Mr. Chris Quyn

Mr. Marlon Jansen

Mr. Sven Muller

CUSTODIANS

Mr. Nigel Austin

Mr. David Grenier

Dr Stephan Anthonisz

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4 Comments

Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, photography, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people

4 responses to “Location! Location! …. and Now Renovation! The DBU in Colombo

  1. Kandiah Suntharamoorthy

    Used to play Bridge on Tuesday and Fridays in the sixties at DBU

  2. Lam Seneviratne

    The only place to sell Milk Wine.

  3. EMAIL COMMENT from Joe Paiva in Adelaide, 13 November 2022: “The DBU has suddenly returned to its original splendor in recent years, after some decades of neglect. I understand it is now a top end boutique ‘hotel’ with a old world charm.”

  4. Jeremy Johnson

    Whatever happened to Mr Tousaint who I met last year as GM?(

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