‘There is a natural curiosity as to the origin of the name
Elephant Pass, and the explanations given are plausible enough. Jaffna is a
peninsula joined to the mainland by a long causeway, which at one time was a
shallow ford. By this ford herds of wild elephants were in the habit of
visiting Jaffna during July and August, the ripening season of the Palmyra
fruit. Palmyra palms abound here, and the elephant is particularly fond of the
fruit, which grows in luxuriant clusters, each of which is a good ‘cooly load’.
If a sufficiency of fruit had not fallen from the mature trees the elephants
would pull down the younger plants for the sake of their tender leaves. This is
the theory adopted by Tennent, but it is equally reasonable to attribute the
name to the use made of this ford by the natives in bringing elephants from the
mainland to the fort as tribute to the Portuguese and Dutch, who shipped them
to Indian markets. There is no railway station at Elephant Pass, but the train
stops for passengers. There is a quaint and picturesque old building at the
edge of the lagoon, facing the sea on one side and the lagoon on the other,
which was once a Dutch fort. Formerly it was a rest-house in the days before
the advent of the railway, but it is now closed to the public and converted to
a "circuit bungalow" for the Government Agent of the Northern
Province. By the courtesy of that officer it is at times lent for temporary
occupation to those who desire a short residence in the vicinity and who are
prepared to bring their own equipment, servants and provisions. Duck-shooting and
fishing can be indulged in to any extent, and the salubrity of the place is
beyond question’.
From - THE CEYLON GOVERNMENT RAILWAY by H.W. Cave
