Ceylon, noted: "James Edward Corea Abhayaratna Vijayasekera Mudaliyar Pitigal Korale, North Chilaw was educated at Colombo Academy (now Royal College, Colombo), and entered Government Service in 1887." He was attached to the Provincial Road Committee at Kurunegala. He was appointed to the District Roads Committee in 1888 in Chilaw and in 1899 he became Mudaliyar of Pitigal Korale North. Also he was inspector of coaches and inquirer into crimes of the Chilaw District and in charge of the Rural Police of Pitigal Korale North. He was the chairman of the Village Committee and also the president of the Council of Irrigation. Also he owned extensive estates being a landed proprietor and planter. He owned Karrukkuwa, Tittakada and Tambagalle coconut estates in Chilaw district as well as large tracts of paddy lands. He was also a member of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society. ' Gate Mudaliyar Recognising his influence in the world of trade and commerce on the island, the Governor of Ceylon appointed James Edward Corea, a Gate Mudaliyar of Ceylon. Mudaliyar was a colonial title & office in Sri Lanka. When the British governed the island of Ceylon, they re-introduced the 'Mudaliyar Class,' first set up by the Portuguese and then the Dutch colonial rulers. All these appointments were made by the Governor of Ceylon. The Governor delegated special duties to Gate Mudaliyar J.E. Corea. Meeting Mahatma Gandhi When Mahatma Gandhi, the 'Father of India,' visited Ceylon for the first time in 1927, he travelled to Chilaw and met with the Corea Family including Gate Mudaliyar J.E.Corea. Gandhi was hosted in a Corea home called 'Sigiriya,' in Chilaw. The family organised a huge banquet for Gandhi who had been invited to Chilaw by J.E.Corea's kinsemen, Charles Edgar Corea and Victor Corea, leading figures in the independence movement. Both brothers were elected members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. They also founded the Chilaw Association and the Ceylon National Congress. Gandhi stayed for several days in Chilaw at the request of the Corea family. Family One of the sons of J.E.Corea, J.C.A. Corea who was born in 1904 in Chilaw, created education history on the island, when he was appointed the first ever Sri Lankan Principal of the Royal College, Colombo, by the Government of Sri Lanka. Mudaliyar Corea died in the 1950s in Chilaw, Sri Lanka. See also Family # 3070 - Corea Dominicus Corea J.C.A. Corea List of