Journey back to their childhood
View(s):Family of the founding governor of the Central Bank in memorable trip to Sri Lanka
By Feizal Samath
To a point, the Exter family must rue the day fighting broke out in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s.
John, George and Janet at the Central Bank
“My parents and the rest of the family wanted to visit in the late 1990s and we had made elaborate plans but sadly the war was an issue,” John Exter, son of the governor (with the same name) who founded the country’s Central Bank (CB), recalled. They had never returned to Sri Lanka since leaving in 1952.
Some 15 years later – in April 2013 – the children sans the parents who had died by them, made a memorable visit which included a sweaty climb to the top of Sigiriya rock, admirable for a group of elder citizens. “This was my second climb to the top, first as a 10-year old (in 1952),” laughed John, now 70 years old.
The memorable 10-day visit starting March 20 was undertaken by John, his sister Janet Butler and younger brother, George who was born in Sri Lanka shortly before the family left 1952, and their spouses. A second sister, Nancy Downs didn’t come. They all live in the US now.
For John, it was a journey back to his childhood. Returning after 60 years, he still found some familiarity with the people, the vegetation, faces and the countryside.
John (left), George (centre) and Janet (second from right) with their spouses on top of Sigiriya rock
“I remember meeting N.U. Jayawardene (the first Ceylonese governor of the CB) and Dudley Senanayake (prime minister),” he said by telephone while holidaying down south, just before their return to the US.
The Exter family wasn’t able to trace the home they once lived in at Wijerama Road (formerly McCarthy road), much to their disappointment.
“We drove down McCarthy road and 3-4 houses looked like ours but we were not sure,” he said.
The visit which took them to Anuradhapura, Kandy and Habarana. Bandarawela – many places frequented by their parents – also included a trip to the CB headquarters in Colombo where they were warmly welcomed by CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal and his staff and treated to a sumptuous lunch. Taking pictures beside the John Exter conference hall and a photo of the father was the order of the day.
“That was very warm and they treated us well,” he said.
John Exter, Jr. retired after a career in market research while George continues as a finance professional.
US economist John Exter founded the Central Bank of Ceylon in 1950 and was its first governor.
He graduated from Harvard University as an economist, joined the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and went on the serve first as adviser to the Secretary of Finance of the Philippines and then to the Minister of Finance of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on the establishment of central banks. The CB was created during the time J.R. Jayewardene was the Minister of Finance. Exter (senior) died in 2006 at the age of 95.
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