The paper, which was established in the present-day format in 1928, has roots that date back to 1834 when Sri Lanka was under the British rule.

[5] In 1829 the Colonial Office appointed the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission to evaluate the administration of the country under the Governor of Ceylon, Edward Barnes, and to recommend reforms.

[9] As a result of the commission's recommendations the newly arrived governor, Robert Wilmot-Horton, started to publish a newspaper named the Colombo Journal in January 1832.

[11] The paper was charged with libel in the same year for criticising the superintendent of police, but the case was rejected by the courts.

At the time of the 1848 Matale Rebellion the newspaper even reported that the sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy had been destroyed by the British forces.