 The members of the society were drawn from the ranks of the journalists of the "Lake House" publishing group and of the professors of the University of Ceylon.The housing estate was established on land granted through the offices of T. B. Ilangaratne in the Welikada area (Rajagiriya postal area) of Kotte, now the capital of Sri Lanka but then a suburb of Colombo.Originally within a large cinnamon and coconut plantation known as "Marandaan Kurunduwatte", it was named "Welikadawatte" – the Sinhala for "Welikada Gardens".