Lake View Park International Scout Centre (Sinhala language: ලේක්විව්පාක් ජාත්යන්තර බාලදක්ෂ මූලස්ථානය.), is a scout campsite, Scout Activity Centre, training and conference center for Scouting groups, which belongs to the 1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout Group. This 57-acre site is located in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Lake View Park International Scout Centre is modeled on Gilwell Park in London and consists of rally grounds, campsites, a campfire circle, a den, a kitchen complex, lecture rooms, and dormitories.
The 57-acre land, belonging to Dharmaraja College, was allocated for the scout group by P. de Kularatne, the college principal, in 1924. The founder of the Scout Movement, Robert Baden-Powell, visited the site twice during the 1920s. In 1984, the scout center was named the Lake View Park International Scout Centre, and its highest point was named Baden Powell hill to mark the historical visit of Baden-Powell.
Parallel to the RISGO – Centenary celebration of the 1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout Group, Lakeview Park International Scout Center was renovated with several new constructions. A memorial statue of J.H. De Saram – founder of the 1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout Group was unveiled on 18 February 2013, at the RISGO by his son J.H. De Saram Jr.
The center is located at a summit approximately 2.5 km away from the heart of Kandy Town. This is surrounded by other mountains like Knuckles Mountain Range, Hanthana Mountain Range, Hunnasgiriya, and Alagalla and provides a panoramic view of the surroundings, including the Temple of the Tooth and Kandy Lake.
Lake View Park International Scout Centre consists of rally grounds, campsites, a campfire circle, a den, a kitchen complex, lecture rooms, and dormitories.
1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout Group
Lake View Park International Scout Centre is owned by 1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout Group (Sinhala: පළමුවන මහනුවර ධර්මරාජ බාලදක්ෂ සමූහය) is the Scout Group of Dharmaraja College, Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is known to be the oldest continuous scout group in the Sri Lanka Scout Association.
History
In 1913, six years after Robert Baden-Powell introduced scouting to the world, scouting arrived at Dharmaraja College. The 1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout Group is the second Scout Troop in Ceylon and the 1st group in Kandy District founded by the late Mr. John Henry De Saram under the Principalship of late Mr.K.F. Billimoria.
1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scouts had the rare opportunity to honor the founder, Lord Baden Powell when he paid a visit to Dharmaraja College in 1921. Dharmaraja scouts had felicitated the founder on three different occasions when he visited Sri Lanka.
As part of centenary celebration, 1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout group established a Guinness world record by creating the world largest neckerchief measures 53.7 m x 37.1 m x 37.1 m (176 ft 2.4 in x 121 ft 8.4 in x 121 ft 8.4 in) and the largest woggle measures 1.03 m (3 ft 4.55 in) in diameter and 1 m (3 ft 3.37 in) in height on 20 February 2014.
Group Scout Leaders
2023 – Present Mr. R.M.S.Rathnayake
1913 – 1931 Mr. J.H.De Seram
1931 – 1934 Mr. J.N.Thomas
1934 – 1967 Mr. B.A.S.Wimalachandra
1967 – 1970 Mr. S.Rajakaruna
1970 – 1978 Mr. B.N.B.Dolapihilla
1978 – 1993 Mr. M.B.Weerasekara
1993 – 2007 Mr. S.K.P.Mataraarachchi
2007 – 2008 Mr. S.M.Keerthiratne
2008 – 2009 Mr. S.K.B.Weerakoon
2009 – 2015 Mr. M.Wijesiriwardhane
2015 – 2017 Mr. R.M.S.Rathnayake
2017 – 2019 Mr. I.B.Pulasinghe
2019 – 2023
2023 – Present Mr. R.M.S.Rathnayake
International Expeditions
Dharmaraja scouts climbed the Himalayan mountains seven times from 1985 to 2007
In 2017, a team of 12 scouts from Dhramraja Scout Group conquered the K2, the second-highest peak in the world at 8,611 m (28,251 ft). This is the first time that a Sri Lankan Scout Group has taken part in climbing the K2.
Awards and recognition
The 1st Kandy Dharmaraja Scout Group’s very first great achievement was the “King’s Flag” which they won for three consecutive years, that is in 1917, 1918, and 1919. This flag was traditionally awarded to a troop in the British Colonies that had the largest number of King Scouts on 30 September each year. In those years the number of colonies in the British Empire was quite a considerable number and no other troop in the Colonies could emulate that achievement.
From 1993 up to 2006, Dharmaraja Scouts won the Island Merit Flag for being the Best Scout Group in Sri Lanka, consecutively.