W. D. S. Abeygoonawardena

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Wijesekera Don Simon Abeygoonawardena (3 October 1907 – 30 December 1975), commonly known as W. D. S. Abeygoonawardena, was a Ceylonese businessman and politician.^[1] He served as a member of Parliament of Ceylon for its Galle electorate, representing the United National Party.

Wijesekera Don Simon Abeygoonawardena was born on 3 October 1907 in Naotunna, Matara, and was the third son of Wijesekara Don Diyonis Abeygoonawardena and Gimara Podi Hami (née Kaluarachchi). He was educated at St. Aloysius' College, Mahinda College and St. Peter's College.

In 1934, at the age of 27, he started the country's first independent bus service, and by 1945 he was the managing director of the Galle Motor Bus Company. The company had a fleet of 126 buses, with most of them being American-manufactured Chevrolet buses, which were assembled in Abeygoonawardena's garage located at Pettigalawatte.^[2]

Abeygoonawardena entered politics by joining the Sinhala Maha Sabha in 1945 at the request of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, and was the first regional president from Galle District.

He ran for the seat of Galle at the 3rd parliamentary election held in April 1956, where he was defeated by the sitting member, Wijeyananda Dahanayake, by 10,956 votes.^[3] He subsequently defeated the Prime Minister, Dahanayake, at the Ceylonese parliamentary election held on 19 March 1960. Abeygoonawardena received 10,480 votes (49% of the total vote), defeating Dahanayake by 483 votes. ^[4] He lost, however, to Dahanayake a few months later at the 5th parliamentary election held on 20 July 1960 by 444 votes. ^[5]

Six years later, Abeygoonawardena was elected, uncontested, to the Bazaar Ward of the Galle Municipal Council, and went on to become the Mayor of Galle, serving in this position from 1965 to 1970.^[6]

In 1970, following the United National Party's refusal to nominate Abeygoonawardena as the party's candidate for the seat of Galle, W. T. Wijekulasuriya, the chief district organiser of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, invited Abeygoonawardena to contest the seat as the party's candidate. He toured the country in the company of Sirimavo Bandaranayake, and his speeches contributed to that party's victory at the general election. He was unsuccessful in the seat of Galle, losing to the United National Party incumbent, Dahanayake, by 1,400 votes.^[7]

Abeygoonawardena was the first to have tickets on his buses printed in Sinhala, and for special seats on the buses to be reserved for Buddhist clergy. Clergymen were not charged for their travel, no matter the distance. An ardent Sinhala Buddhist all his life, he devoted his time, money and attention to Buddhist affairs, including the restoration of the Chaitya at Mahiyangana.

He donated 2.0 ha (5 acres) of land that he owned, and fully funded the construction of the Naotunna Junior School.

When he was Mayor of Galle, he organised the centenary celebrations of the council, at which he made a public request to the Prime Minister, Dudley Senanayake, to solve Galle's acute and long-term water supply issues. Abeygoonawardena became commonly known to as the "Patty Mahathmaya of Galle".

Abeygoonawardena died in Galle on 30 December 1975, at the age of 68, and his wife died in 2009. They had seven children - the youngest, W. D. Shanthilal, still lives at his father's house, Inland Hills, with his children and grandchildren.^{[citation needed]}

• Galle Motor Bus Company