The history of the Temple began more than 150 years ago - in the 1850s - with the discovery of a statue of Lord Vinayagar by the side of a pond. A Senpaga tree, Senpaga in Tamil, stood on the bank of the pond and gave the identifying element to the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple. The word Sri is a respectful prefix. A Ceylon Tamil, Mr Ethirnayagam Pillai pioneered the building of the first structure, a modest shelter with an attap roof with the help of Indian workers. This humble abode under the Chempaka tree became the temple of Sri Senpaga Vinayagar.