Look for Sri Lanka’s connections to Southorn Playground in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai on a trip around the island nation, ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’

The story of Southorn Playground goes back to Sri Lanka in the early 1900s, and diplomat Sir Wilfred Thomas Southorn and his future wife, Bella Woolf

We retrace Woolf’s journey from Colombo to Kandy, with its Temple of the Tooth, and Jaffna, and her brother Leonard’s to Hambantota in the south

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The story behind Hong Kong’s Southorn Playground can be traced back to early 20th century Sri Lanka. Above: The Royal Palace and Sea of Milk lake at Kandy. Photo: Stuart Heaver

Stuart Heaver

Published: 1:15pm, 25 Dec 2023Updated: 7:08pm, 26 Dec 2023

Corrected [4:48pm, 26 Dec, 2023]

[4:48pm, 26 Dec, 2023]
A previous version of this story said that Jaffna Fort was built by the Dutch.

A curious connection exists between a popular recreation area in the heart of urban Hong Kong and the lush jungles, undulating tea plantations, ancient temples and reef-fringed beaches of Sri Lanka, some 3,900km (2,400 miles) away.

Southorn Playground, sandwiched between busy Hennessy Road and Johnston Road, Wan Chai, was opened in 1934 and named after Sir Wilfred Thomas Southorn, Hong Kong’s then colonial secretary.

Southorn had spent much of his early diplomatic career in Sri Lanka, where he met his wife, Bella Woolf, who became a high-profile and gregarious figure within the colonial elite during her husband’s 10-year tenure in Hong Kong.

Southorn was introduced to Woolf by her brother, the English literary figure Leonard Woolf, when the two men worked as colonial administrators in what was then British Ceylon.

Southorn Playground in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, is linked to colonial Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). Photo: Jonathan Wong

Bella Woolf was an accomplished writer in her own right and in 1914 had published a travel guide to Sri Lanka, How to see Ceylon. By retracing her steps, visitors to Sri Lanka can enjoy a uniquely Hong Kong connection to the shimmering Pearl of the Indian Ocean.

Look for Sri Lanka’s connections to Southorn Playground in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai on a trip around the island nation, ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’

The story of Southorn Playground goes back to Sri Lanka in the early 1900s, and diplomat Sir Wilfred Thomas Southorn and his future wife, Bella Woolf We retrace Woolf’s journey from Colombo to Kandy, with its Temple of the Tooth, and Jaffna, and her brother Leonard’s to Hambantota in the south

The story of Southorn Playground goes back to Sri Lanka in the early 1900s, and diplomat Sir Wilfred Thomas Southorn and his future wife, Bella Woolf

We retrace Woolf’s journey from Colombo to Kandy, with its Temple of the Tooth, and Jaffna, and her brother Leonard’s to Hambantota in the south