Thurburn House (Public Trustee Department)

Thurburn House (Public Trustee Department)

Thurburn House , presently the Public Trustee Department , is a government office situated on the corner of Bauddhaloka Mawatha and Bullers Lane in Colombo 7, Sri Lanka. It was the property of Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka (b.1868-d.1944), an educationalist, scholar and statesman. History Don Baron Jayatilaka Sir D. B. Jayatilaka was a Sri Lankan Sinhalese educationalist, statesman and diplomat. He was also the Vice-President of the Legislative Council of Ceylon ; the Minister for Home Affairs and Leader of the House of the State Council of Ceylon and the Representative of the Government of Ceylon in New Delhi, India. An ardent scholar of Buddhism, he was instrumental in establishing the Young Men’s Buddhist Association (YMBA), one of the key Buddhist movements in the country to promote the teachings of the Buddha Dhamma to the youth. He helped uplift Dharmaraja College, Kandy and Ananda College, Colombo, during his time as their principal. D. B. Jayatilaka was also a key personality in the estab…