uct legacy society · following is a letter from the vc dr max price to the uct community: dear...

UCT Legacy Society

diversion of attention and escalation of conflict that would have occurred if we had brought the South African Police Services into the Bremner building - which would have been the only way that we could remove the occupiers. (We can, of course, and w ill, take disciplinary action against those who have behaved in an intimidating way.)

Our task has been to defend the idea of a university as a space of debate and not to allow the future of the statue to be determined prior to the conclusion of that discussion. We believe that this deliberative process to engage UCT stakeholders on the issue of the Rhodes statue and on w ider issues of transformation at UCT was successful. Having started w ith a campus and convocation that was thoroughly

We are 1/3 through 2015 and already we had our fair share of excitement.

Just these past few weeks had UCT on the front pages again w ith all the publicity surrounding the removal of the Cecil John Rhodes statue from its prominent posit ion at the centre of the 'Green M ile'

Follow ing is a letter from the VC Dr Max Price to the UCT community:

Dear colleagues, students and alumni,

I write to update you on the Rhodes Statue and the prevailing situation in the Bremner Building. Please read this urgently.

Follow ing the protest action at Bremner Building on 20th March in support of removing the Rhodes statue, the SRC and other students and staff occupied parts of the Bremner Building. This occupation was w ith the prior written agreement of UCT management. Although the terms of agreement were breached, the protest remained generally peaceful and dignif ied, w ith numerous educational activit ies taking place in the Mafeje Room at all hours of the day and night. The persistence of the students to live and sleep in Bremner for nearly three weeks, in large numbers, is testimony to their commitment.

Despite this severely disrupting the work of UCT administration, including, from time-to-t ime, behavior that had the effect of harassing staff and evicting some from their off ices, and disrupting meetings, management has up to now not acted on the student occupation. We have moved staff to work in other buildings and some have worked from home. We have tolerated this disruption to allow the process of consultation and decision on the removal of the Rhodes statue to run its course w ithout the

Newsletter | May 2015

May 2015

Newsletter

Rag toboggan race, 1977.

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Image: Cape Argus

perpetuation of oppression ...", that "our only regret is that we did not take the statue down ourselves. Going forward we w ill no longer compromise. Management is our enemy." They also state, "let it be known that Azania House is ours and we w ill not leave." Amongst other non-UCT issues they

raise, they state that "the Constitution (is) a document which violently preserves the status quo".

This group also crossed a line of acceptable protest, ignoring the SRC's pleas, when they stormed into the Council meeting on Wednesday evening and forced the Council to interrupt its meeting for about an hour. Council only agreed to continue after the majority of students w ithdrew leaving about 15

who agreed to remain quiet observers. This continuation was only possible, and was adopted by the Council, because all debate had already been concluded and the meeting only had to vote by secret ballot on one amendment and on the substantial resolution itself. This behavior was completely unacceptable, challenged the authority of Council, could have risked preventing Council from completing its business, and w ill result in prosecutions of the students involved.

I am also aware of the incidents of chants of "one sett ler one bullet" as was heard at both the Council meeting on 8 April and at the occasion of the removal of the statue on 9 April. I w ish to express my dismay that this has happened, condemn all acts of intimidation and reckless utterances as they have no place in our democracy and are in serious conflict w ith the values of the University. They create a hostile environment for many members of the campus community. We are investigating referring these cases to the Human Rights Commission.

On the other side, we have been disgusted by the volume and vitriol of racist comments made primarily in the on-line social media, but also some graff it i on the boards assembled for people to write comments on. We are investigating every one of them. Most are under pseudonyms and cannot be traced. Where there are names, we have not been able to link any such postings to any UCT students or staff. But if we can, we w ill be determined in prosecuting the authors.

We had understood that the removal of the statue would have seen the student occupiers of the Bremner Building end their occupation. As is clear from the above, the group that now claims the 'Rhodes Must Fall' label continues to occupy the building. In this context, today we issued a notice to those UCT students and others who continue to occupy the

Newsletter | May, 2015

divided on the issue, and probably a majority against removing the statue, the suff icient consensus that we eventually achieved ? across the many race, class, generational, and professional divides ? is a vindication of the process and of the university as a space for rational discussion.

The deliberative process of consultation over a three week period culminated in a special meeting of the University Council on 8 April. Council noted that (a) the location of the statue of Rhodes at a focal point of the Upper Campus may be seen to imply an institutional valorisation of Rhodes and his values, a valorisation that is inconsistent w ith the values of the Council and of the University; (b) it had a responsibility for ensuring an institutional climate that is inclusive for all its members; and (c) the statue of Rhodes was an obstacle to achieving this inclusivity.

Council took further note of the extent of support of staff, of student bodies, of alumni and Convocation, of the Institutional Forum, and the recommendation of the Senate, and resolved unanimously, as an expression of Council' s renewed commitment to the project of transformation at UCT, to (a) apply to Heritage Western Cape for the permanent removal of the statue and (b) authorise the administration to arrange for the temporary removal of the statue for safe keeping.

In terms of the above Council resolution, the Rhodes Statue was removed from the upper campus on 9 April. In recognising the seminal role of the student protests in surfacing and accelerating the Rhodes statue debate, we felt it was appropriate to allow the Student Representative Council, the students, and particularly the Rhodes Must Fall campaign, to manage and own the ceremony. Whilst there were thousands of students and staff w itnessing and celebrating the statue's removal, we condemn the behaviour of a handful of students who broke through a cordon and vandalised the statue as it was being taken away. We w ill investigate charges against them.

The SRC had always indicated that it would end the occupation of the Bremner building follow ing the removal of the statue. They have honoured this commitment. However, the student-staff groupings that occupied Bremner have now splintered and there remain a group under the banner of 'Rhodes Must Fall' that have declared that they w ill not vacate Bremner, that "transformation is the maintenance and

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Statue of the CJ Rhodes statue removed from its plinth on the "Green Mile"


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building, requiring them to have vacated the building by 14h00, and to desist from any action that obstructs the rendering of administrative services by the Administration. We have informed students that failure to comply w ith the requirement that they end their occupation of the building w ill be unlawful, w ill be a contravention of the rules of conduct and w ill have disciplinary consequences. We also informed the occupiers that should they not comply, we w ill have no choice but to approach the high court for an order compelling them to do so. We remain open to mediation and stand ready to engage w ith the occupier group should they accept our invitation regarding mediation.

I want to emphasize that our f irm action against this group w ill not in any way diminish our renewed focus on the transformation issues that clearly challenge us. We w ill f irst ly create a forum where students, staff and the university leadership co-determine the agenda for action. Secondly, we have committed to concluding the review of symbols and names by the end of this year. Thirdly, we have created a space for black academic staff, in particular those who aff iliat ing themselves w ith 'Transform UCT' , to engage w ith academic heads of departments to develop a programme w ithin each academic department that addresses the issues of staff transformation. We already have a Curriculum Review Task Team which w ill be expanded to include students and

The Tales of Nicholas EllenbogenNicholas John Ellenbogen was born in Bulawayo ? as he w ill tell you ? one of the cultural capitals of the world! He had a wonderful childhood. He rode a horse his father Monty bought for him at the age of 12, from Botswana (Bechuanaland) to Zimbabwe; became a scratch golfer w ith, the then pro, George Harvey and helped his Dad do an animal count of hundreds and hundreds of buffalo in the Wankie area before it became a National Park. He always had a vivid imagination and good debating skills, w inning the Commonwealth Championships when he was 16.

He left home at 17 to go to study his f irst love, theatre. First

other interested staff, to intensify the programme of curriculum review. There w ill be much more to follow ? we must not lose the energy and w idespread commitment of this moment to proffer change.

I again w ish to thank colleagues for their understanding and the helpful comments and advice we have received. I w ish to especially thank the staff in the Bremner Building for their patience, as they have been most directly affected by the occupation.

Yours sincerely

Dr Max Price, Vice?Chancellor

Image: http://goo.gl/sOcHDt

Image: Mike Downey

Aeriel view of UCT.

at UCT and then at Arts Educational Trust in London. After being deported from the UK, where he had been signed to star in the movie Fiddler on the Roof , for being a Zimbabwean, he returned to Cape Town to work w ith CAPAB as a senior art ist.

Nicholas has always had a wonderful sense of humour and a deep passion for the environment. He started the Amstel Play-writ ing Competit ion in 1978 and found incredible gems such as Zakes Mda and Paul Slabolepsky.

In 1980 he performed his f irst play, Precious Remnants in London to notable acclaim. In 1984, he took up the posit ion


UCT Main Campus 1930's UCT Today

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as Head of the Loft Company for NAPAC, the f irst truly mult iracial theatre company. He wrote many of his iconic plays there, like Kwamani, Horn Of Sorrow and A Nativity (which became the much loved South African movie, The Angel, The Bicycle, And The Chinaman?s Finger) Horn Of Sorrow did three international tours and helped to save the then (and sadly again, now) much endangered black rhino.

Nicholas was involved in the school programme ENVIRO VISION and ENVIRO TEACH sponsored by Southern Life.

In 1989 he and his w ife Liz founded THEATRE FOR AFRICA to bring the works of Africa to the international stage.

Four t imes they took shows to the Edinburgh Festival w inning Scotsman Fringe First Awards, and w ith Guardians Of Eden, they won the Herald Angel Award too for the best show on the Main Festival. Guardians Of Eden, the play Nicholas feels is the f lag ship of his environmental work, changed the mind-set of the f irst world about the rights of communities to govern their own resources. At CITES in Harare in 1997, ivory was downgraded and many stock piles were sold to generate funds for rural communities.

In 1997 he worked on a Global Environmental Forum project on Lake Malaw i w ith actors from Mozambique, Tanzania and Malaw i on plays about bilharzia and overfishing in the Lake. He also worked on a Community Outreach Project in 7 SADAC counties and was nominated for the World Bank Best project in Africa.

From 2001 he built theatres in Cape Town - the Olympia Bakery Theatre, the Post Box Theatre and the Zoo Theatre to name but a few.

With Guardians Of The Deep (2002), Nicholas and his w ife Liz

went around the world to source actors to perform a play about the health of the oceans at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. Actors came from 8 regions in the world to represent their f ishing communities. In 2008 they went to Nepal to research a play w ith the national theatre company in Katmandu about rhino and t iger poaching in the communities abutt ing the Chitwan National Park. Thereafter taking the play, The Silence Of Bardiya to the IUCN World Congress in Barcelona.

In August 1992, Nicholas was given the supreme honour when his company performed Kwamanzi for the Queen and her family at her Castle in Balmoral.

Last year, in 2013, he directed the African Opera, Okavango Macbeth, for Artscape, using many celebrated opera singers.

Recently, he built The Rosebank Theatre in Alma Road in Rosebank. The building was bought for him and Liz to use as a

theatre for their lifet ime by his friend, the renowned author Alexander McCall Smith.

Nicholas, truly a theatre maker ?making the theatre, writ ing the plays and performing in them - we salute you!

Nicolas Ellenbogen and Sandile Kamle in Silly mid-on

Nicholas Ellenbogen with Rob van Vuuren


MBA 1975 Memories

As we approach the 40th (YIKES! ! ! ) reunion of our MBA class of 1975, I was thinking of all the good times we had together. Luckily the long hours of lectures and studying have receded in my memory. There was one particular fun incident that was typical of the t ime. The way I remember it was as follows.

We were at the Business School campus for a Saturday morning set of lectures. At that t ime the Business School was between De Waal Drive and the Main Road in Rondebosch. We worked hard and played hard, so probably the night before, as we did most Friday nights, was spent drinking to excess in the student?s lounge (I think that was what it was called).

One of the lecturers, the late David Wright, had a M ini M inor car. To ease the boredom before the lectures started, we decided to physically pick up his car which was in the car park and carry it into the lecture hall. I wonder to this day if the back trouble we are experiencing in our later years can be traced back to that incident. I cannot recall what David?s reaction was to our prank or how he moved it from its new parking spot. Perhaps we the perpetrators were not awarded the Old Mutual Gold (was it 24ct?) Medal as punishment.

Had we known where the price of gold would be many years later, we may have had second thoughts - NOT.

Here in the USA we have a well-known and previously respected newscaster, Brian Williams, who has just been suspended by NBC for stretching the truth. Someone may recall this incident differently, but what could you suspend me from - our reunion that I am so looking forward to attending this March?

Parking Struggles

I was studying part-t ime towards my BSocSc(Hons) Workplace Change & Labour Law in 2005 or 2006. I did not completely harmonize w ith the normal hustle and bustle of campus (because of the t imes I had to visit) but one thing is for sure: parking is a huge headache at the Upper campus. Every t ime on my visit ing the Upper Campus, as I take the bend off the M3, you can see the cars parked from there all the way up to the buildings. Then the search begins to f ind a ?legal? parking anywhere. Did I mention that I was not a t icket holder? The t ime you have to be in class determines your t ime to search for parking. I can still recall that sickening feeling when I received my first parking t icket when I parked illegal on some or other zone. And so it was every t ime I visited the campus.

One day I was running a bit late and on my way I started praying for a place to park. Yes, I am a f irm believer that a

sincere prayer can move mountains. But my astonishment had no limit when I took the bend going up to the Upper Campus. No cars! I could not believe my eyes! The parking areas were desolated and I found a perfect parking near my class. I was so thankful that my prayers were answered and I was walking w ith my head in the clouds. As I was walking towards my class I asked one of the security off icers where all the people were. He then told me that the university had a recess. That brought me back to the ground but still: my prayers were answered weren?t they?

Eric Joffe

Renier Venter

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Building A Sustainable Future

Well, thinking about the future of my kids and the world they w ill inherit from us, I got interested in sustainability a few years ago and started the One Planet Foundation. This is a catalyst and nursery for projects to promote sustainability. At the moment we have an interesting project, shown in the picture (to the right), to realise the f irst truly climate-neutral and fossil free building in The Netherlands.

We start w ith a 40-year old outdated government building (the thing under all the greenery in the picture.) Then we jacket the outside of the building in a thick layer of cork and double glazing and lots of plants. We build a huge wooden climate-shell over the whole building to create a warmer micro-climate inside. Then we cover the climate-shell in 1800m2 of solar panels to drive the big air-air heat exchangers to regulate the internal climate.

In the summer the shell can open to let out excess warmth and keep the inside cool. And in the w inter we close the shell to keep in the warmth. In this way we hope to become completely self-suff icient in energy and also become entirely fossil free. We?ll also collect rainwater and grow some of our own food in the extensive internal gardens.

This is a mult ipurpose building containing 26 eco-apartments, off ice space for businesses, many f lexible meeting and networking areas, cafe?s and restaurant and a mobility pool w ith 24 electric cars that everyone may use (charged from the solar roof.) We hope to start building during the second half of this year and be f inished after the summer 2016.

It all has a normal business case for hires and investors and the present building has the worst possible energy label. So, if one can reuse an old building start ing w ith this as a base, then one can do it anywhere.

"UCT has a great role to play in training people to build a

sustainable world, and I am very grateful for the springboard UCT

gave me."

There is no excuse to make any other non-climate-neutral building anywhere! What a huge saving in CO2 emissions this would produce if we reused old buildings like this, giving them a whole new and sustainable life.

As a Mechanical Engineer from UCT 1977 and an MBA 1983, I think sustainability is the new frontier for innovative people everywhere. We need to move to a sustainable economy and society if our children are to inherit a healthy and liveable world.

But of course behavioural change is the most important factor in achieving a sustainable world. We need to learn to be happier w ith fewer material goods, and to change diet right away to have less impact on the environment (less meat and dairy products.)

Sustainability is great fun and offers endless opportunit ies. UCT has a great role to play in training people to build a sustainable world, and I am very grateful for the springboard UCT gave me.

Business Garden is a state-of-the-art and sustainable office building with a mission; creating a flexible environment for various parties, who inspires, facilitates and connects.

www.oneplanet.org

Paul Heistein


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Keeping it in the family: Sue Rijsdijk receiving her Masters in 2003.

Forries endures.

Which is good, because it?s the reason I came to Cape Town: as a callow 18-yr-old in January 1974, I thought it was the nicest place I?d ever been ? so I stayed. I?ve never regretted it, either.

As I qualif ied in 1965 it makes our MBCHB class now the class of 50 years ago! I joined the class in second year w ith 3 small children and was rather older than the rest of the class. I think they looked at me as the mother of the class. It was good joining the youngsters and I was fortunate to be able to join Robert Jedeiken and Neville Pokroy at the cadaver. They did not mind that I was so stupid after having left a university

11 years ago! We became great friends and the two Jedeikens were constant visitors and my children enjoyed them.

Regrettably I could not join in the fun of being a student but they were kind to me and in later life in was great to have classmates like Solly

Benater and other colleagues.

To this day I am proud to be able to say I graduated at UCT. Working at GSH in Radiotherapy and partaking in world lung cancer trials while being at the Veterans in Washington and elsewhere it was great the way one was offered jobs in the USA when they learnt that you did internship at GSH.

My grandson has joined Prof. Rob Dunn for the year and also remarked that the atmosphere at GSH is so much more pleasant than where he qualif ied.

Best of luck to my classmates although some of them have also departed and many are strewn over the world, albeit in wonderful posit ions. Best of luck to my alma mater and my colleagues.


Keeping It In The Family

My w ife Sue, son, Dr Ian-Malcolm Rijsdijk (currently teaching f ilm at UCT) and I are all alumni of UCT. Quite late in life my w ife decided to do a Masters in Music, which she successfully completed (w ith distinction) in 2003. At the graduation ceremony in December that year, my son, who was then completing his PhD whilst teaching at UCT, capped his mother! I think that this is an unusual occurrence. Parents capping their children does happen, but I can' t recall it happening the other way round - it would be interesting to f ind out if it has!

Sue was working at the Mowbray College of Education and I was at the SA Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and we were both very active w ith assorted outreach programmes. We took early retirement around 2004, (well actually ceased formal employment! ) but continued w ith our activit ies. I was also very involved w ith the National Science Festival in Grahamstown, and every year we stopped off in Wilderness on the way back to Cape Town, to relax and walk on the beach whilst seeing friends living in Wilderness, which by the way, is exactly halfway between Grahamstown and Cape Town! In 2006 we decided to move to Wilderness and are very happy and still busy. Sue is running the local U3A and involved w ith Music in George and I st ill do some Physics Education projects for the SA Institute of Physics/IoP and happily dabble w ith some physics and astronomy.

Changing Times

I have now been at UCT exactly 41 years: as my friend and UCT alumnus Rob Verkroost reminds me, we arrived on 4th February 1974, w ide-eyed and apprehensive and got sucked into UCT life.

Of course, there was no Internet and no TV either; residences were whites-only; the Sunday Observance Act (or whatever it was) meant we could only have movies on Saturdays or midnights on Sundays; the Pig & Whistle was our second home, w ith La Perla a necessary stop for a 50c steak special after the Pig.

We have come a long way since then: UCT is FAR bigger (I think we had 6000-odd students then?); I am a full Professor in the Department I majored from in 1976 ? and the internet changed everything. Oh, and cellphones! And now both my children are at UCT ? Computer Science Honours and 1st year BA Fine Art ? and my w ife has been working at Med School since 1987 as well. I?ve been in the same off ice since 1981, and it STILL looks directly onto the RW James Bldg, but it is now tw ice the size and far better decorated than it used to be. The Pig and La Perla are long gone, sadly; however, Barrister?s is still around (albeit in a different place), and

"We have come a long way"

Paul Rijsdijk

Cato Van Wyk

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ObituariesOur thoughts are w ith the familes

and friends who lost a loved one over the past few months.

Dr Catherine van Niekerk

PHD 1976, BSC(Hons) 1971, BSC 1970

Mr Peter Graham Meredith

CTA 1972

Mr Gerald Vincent Kraak

BA 1956

Mrs Diana Georgia Shaw

BA 1967

Mr Derek Stuart Franklin

BA 1948

Mr Keith Harold Osterloh

BCom 1972

Dr Suzan T Robinson

MBChB 1949

Prof Dr Johannes William Raum

BA 1953, MA/LLB 1954

Ms Trudi Linder

SEC T CERT 1949, BA 1948

Mrs Hilda Shotland

Mr William Homan Turpin

BA/LLB 1952, LLB 1954

Mr James Leopold Seftel

BSC 1941

Prof John Briscoe

BSC (ENG) 1969

Em Prof Sandra Beatrice Burman

BA/LLB 1962, LLB 1964

Em Andre Phillipus Prof Brink

International School, an internationally accredited school.

"I owe a lot to Ms Linder; she thoroughly grounded me in the knowledge of French. I am fluent and super confident and most people assume that I am from a French speaking country. I am called to functions to translate and interpret. I am 100% Zimbabwean and African at that. It was hours of discipline and grilling and fun and laughter in Ms Linder class.

She had tapes and magazines in French and also Newsweek issues that we had to read to keep abreast w ith current events. I got a polit ical consciousness and orientation w ith Ms Linder.

She did NOT teach a subject. She taught a whole person. I do similar for I saw it modelled so well. She was an amazing woman. May her soul rest in peace."

Remembering Trudi Linder

My sister, Trudi Linder, received her BA majoring in Latin followed by a teachers diploma, f inishing top in her class in, I think, 1948. She then taught Latin at the Convent School Harare and from about 1955, French at Mutare Girls High School until she reached her eighties. She died in Mutare on 12 September 2014.

Below is a glow ing tribute by one of her pupils, Nunudzai Ngorora, which would make any teacher proud.

"My name is Ms Nunudzai Ngorora, she taught me French up to A level 1989 and my younger sister Tinaanai Ngorora, the head girl in 1993, up to O Level. I went on to do an Honours in French at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ). The Modern Languages department at the UZ has been fed by her healthy graduates over the years. I reckon she has single-handedly produced the highest number of graduates in that department, more than any other teacher.

The French government recognised her contribution to the development of the teaching of French by awarding her The Palmes Academiques, the highest honour given to a civilian in recognit ion of outstanding excellence.

"I went on to do a postgraduate to teach French and languages. From 2004-2007, I was the President of the Zimbabwe French Teachers Association and also a member of other similar regional and internal associations. . I also was part of the team that created, in 2003, the f irst ever Zimbabwean Schools French Resource Centre in collaboration w ith the government of Zimbabwe and the Government of France at Prince Edward school Harare where I was teaching w ith the largest number of students in the country learning French at the t ime in a government school.

I currently teach at Celebration

Adolphe Linder

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substantial body of research on plant pathogens in some of the best known journals dealing w ith this topic. The impact of this work can be judged in various ways including for example citation metrics.

Brenda is well recognized nationally and internationally for her excellent science and for the mentorship of students. She has received the important excellent Achiever Award of the University of Pretoria for 10 consecutive years. She is one of South

Africa?s few scientists holding an ?A? (the highest) rating from the National Research Foundation of South Africa and enjoys signif icant national and international recognit ion for her work in plant pathology. She has received numerous signif icant awards for research including the 'Women in Water Sanitation and Forestry' award in 2007, the Department of Science and Technology (South Africa) Distinguished Women in Science Award in 2008, and in 2014 she

received the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF, South Africa) award for mentorship and human capacity development. Brenda was the Programme Leader for one of South Africa?s f irst seven Centres of Excellence identif ied by the Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation, the Centre of Excellence in


Professor Brenda Wingfield with Joyce Jakavula, University of Pretoria, looking a a fungal culture of a tree pathogen - an organism that causes diseases in trees.

a Professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of Pretoria. Her research during the course of the past 20 years has focused on the global movement and evolution of fungal pathogens and particularly those on trees. She has been deeply involved in developing tools to study the phylogenetic relationships between tree pathogens. In recent years, she has expanded her research focus to study fungi at the population level. In so doing, she has developed the molecular

tools to make this possible. Her research group is one of the most active internationally using DNA based markers to examine the distribution and population dynamics of tree pathogens. She has supervised and continues to advise large numbers of postgraduate students working on plant pathogens and together w ith her students, has produced a very

Celebrating Brenda Wingfield

Prof. Brenda Wingfield was awarded the Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Medal during the awards ceremony at the 49th biennial congress of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP) in Bloemfontein on January 22nd. This gold medal is the highest award that the SASPP can make to one of its members. The award honours the famous mycologist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (1761-1836) who was born in the Cape Province of South Africa before being sent to Europe at the age of 13 to pursue his education and later to be recognised as one of the ' fathers of mycology.' The Persoon medal was f irst presented to the globally recognised epidemiologist and member of the SASPP, Dr. J.E. van der Plank in 1979.

Brenda Wingfield received the award for her outstanding contributions to Plant Pathology. This is only the sixth t ime that the award has been made in 53 years and Brenda Wingfield is the f irst female member of the SASPP to receive this honour.

In receiving the Persoon Medal, Brenda Wingfield is recognized as a plant pathologist of substantial international standing, having been an active member of the SASPP (an aff iliate of the International Society for Plant Pathology) for two decades. Importantly, in this t ime she contributed substantially to plant pathology in South Africa as well as globally. Perhaps the clearest view of these contributions are seen via the fact that she has been a supervisor of some of South Africa?s most active and best recognized scientists working w ith plant pathogens, and numerous of these, including a past President of the SASPP, are now working in countries beyond the borders of South Africa.

Brenda Wingfield is the Acting Dean in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and concurrently

"Brenda has provided an example of what is

possible for women in science to achieve

scientif ically."

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Image: http://goo.gl/kCfO2Ley

programme is internationally recognized and the post graduate students who have graduated from her programme have shown themselves able to compete successfully at a global level. Some of these graduates are leading scientists in their own right nationally and internationally. She has been a PhD supervisor / co-supervisor to more than ten women, all of whom are now successful scientists in their own right. She is currently involved in the PhD studies of numerous other female PhD students. In addit ion she has advised many female Masters studies and is currently part of the mentorship team of numerous MSc student programmes. Such role models are essential in terms of promoting scientif ic excellence and plant pathology in Africa but also globally.

Brenda is one of the Founder Members of FABI and she has played a very active role in building the reputation and global footprint of the institute since it was founded in 1998. Her receipt of the Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Medal is not only an apt recognit ion of her scientif ic accomplishments, but it is a great honour for FABI and the University of Pretoria.

Reflecting On The Past

In 1966 I applied to UCT to study for a secondary teacher?s diploma. American-born, I seemed always to be challenged to prove that I had permanent resident status, that my academic qualif ications were authentic, and so on. UCT inspected my CV and challenged my claim to be married! My husband, who hoped I could get a job and top up our income, was elated: at that t ime, married women could not secure permanent posts as teachers and he pointed out that, if UCT prevailed, I would be eligible. Alas, the admissions off ice changed its mind and ?

deemed married - I went on to experience the usual diff icult ies w ith the Department of Education.

However: my failed career as a teacher produced interesting spin-offs. The Department of Historical Studies was generous in its outreach to lay persons who carried out their own research and produced work regarded as

relevant. I was taken on briefly as a tutor (1986 -91) and made to feel at home on campus. Thus encouraged, I secured a master?s degree and a doctorate. Against the odds, the secondary teacher's diploma proved a satisfactory start ing point for a focus on South African history and writ ing.

Tree Health Biotechnology [CTHB]) in South Africa for the f irst f ive years of its existence and essentially won the bid to establish this CoE, which she also led through its developmental stages.

Molecular techniques have become vital tools in fungal taxonomy and phylogeny. Brenda Wingfield?s research group published some of the f irst DNA phylogenies of fungal tree pathogens anywhere in the world.

She has had tremendous successes in the development of these molecular techniques for a w ide variety of tree pathogens, and has gained international recognit ion for this work. She reviews publications for most of the journals in her f ield and has been an editor for the journal Mycological Research (now Fungal Biology) for many years. She effectively introduced DNA-based techniques for the study of fungi to the plant pathology community of South Africa, beginning w ith a keynote address to promote the topic to the SASPP in 1992 ? 'Future Prospects for the molecular characterization of Plant Pathogenic fungi.'

Brenda has provided an example of what is possible for women in science to achieve scientif ically. Her research

"Such role models are essential in promoting scientif ic excellence"

Vetress C. Malherbe


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productions and what a great way this was of adding onto our training as young dance students. It was the real cherry on the top being chosen as a young student to perform w ith the CAPAB Ballet Company. We, of course, learnt so much from watching the company perform and during this golden era of ballet in SA. There were approximately 65 dancers in the company at this t ime. The company for some ballet seasons had guest art ists or producers joining the company for a ballet season so this was an added treat for us all.

Being at the UCT Ballet School was so very special, as all the staff and the company dancers one had read about in ballet books were there and it was just so amazing being part of this wonderful and very excit ing world of the dance.

Our teachers were: Cecily Robinson, who was a member of the Rambert Company in London in 1935. She then joined the Woizikovsky Company that eventually became the Colonel de Basil?s Russian Ballet. Cecily was a brilliant teacher and producer of ballets.

Dudley Tomlinson was one of the best male teachers in this country and had also had a professional career as a dancer in the Royal Ballet Company at the end of the 60?s. Dudley taught at the Royal Ballet School and then went to Ankara, Turkey where he was ballet master to the Turkish National Opera Ballet. He then taught for the Ballet Company in Turkey, teaching the full length classics as well as choreographed short works for opera and operetta. Dudley joined the UCT Ballet School in 1968. Dudley had a great influence on all the male students in particular as we had a male class every afternoon, as well as pas de deux classes tw ice a week w ith him that were wonderful and so strengthening.

June Hattersley was a very good ballet teacher especially for younger students and we had June teach us for

Founder of Dance For All, Philip Boyd, teaching.

same premises. As dance students we had the privilege and treat of seeing the professional ballet company at work every single day during our years at UCT right on our very own doorstep. We were able to watch the ballet

company dancers doing their daily ballet classes and rehearsals every day, and this was all such an inspiration to us as young dance students at UCT.

The founder of the UCT Ballet School and CAPAB Ballet, Dr Dulcie Howes used to come in to watch classes and rehearsals sometimes, this was quite a daunting experience having this legendary woman being in our presence and in our dance classes or rehearsals. Some of us were lucky enough to been chosen to have been on a bursary from the Dulcie Howes Trust, so had lots to prove.

Some were also lucky enough to partake in the CAPAB Ballet

Student Days At The UCT Ballet School

My student years at the UCT Ballet School, now the UCT School of Dance from 1974 ? 1976, were some of the best years of my life as I know they were for many other students at this t ime.

How extremely fortunate we all were having this life changing opportunity in our lives as young adults entering a new and excit ing world in the performing arts in this incredible environment of art ist ic excellence and professionalism. The UCT Ballet School had such a great reputation all over the world steeped in so much dance history in South Africa, and it was a dance institution many dance students hoped to join if possible.

The, then, Director of the UCT Ballet School was Professor David Poole, was also the Artist ic Director of CAPAB Ballet Company who worked on the

"Being at the UCT Ballet School was very special"

Philip Boyd, Chief Executive OfficerDance for All


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Image: http://goo.gl/AGac1l

Above: Children undergo ballet training in a hall in Gugulethu township, outside Cape Town.

in the greater Cape Town areas that UCT supported and continues to support. As part of our ballet course at UCT and part of teaching method, we had to go to various underprivileged communities and offer our teaching of dance to children who had very lit t le. I went to Mannenberg to teach children at a community centre in a very rough and harsh area where there was nothing for children to do. This was such a good way for young dancer to gain some teaching experience that was invaluable working in these disadvantaged communities who had so very lit t le. This is where I developed my interest and love for children in these communities and always knew that one day I would really like to get out into these communities and make a lit t le difference through this magnif icent medium of the dance.

We also had the wonderful and excit ing opportunity of going on two week one night stand tours w ith Dudley Tomlinson and June Hattersley. Some of these towns we performed in were those really small Karoo towns in the Western Cape and the Northern Cape as well as the Eastern Cape. These towns toured and performed in were Ceres, Clanw illiam, Hermanus, Mossel Bay, George, Port Alfred, Queenstown, Poffadder, Packelsdorp, Posmasberg, Keimos, Kakamas, Upington, Okiep, Springbok, Calvinia, Vredenberg, Garries, Beaufort West, King Williams Town, Graaf Reniet, Union Dale, Barkley West, Cradock. We also toured to Sutherland and Sutterheim which were both freezing cold.

We performed in Victoria West and the afternoon we arrived, it was boiling hot. We wanted to get something to drink and went the local Hotel where, upon arrival and entering the Hotel were refused entry due to some of our fellow dancers being coloured. I was so shocked at this that we all left and went to a cafe. This really left a nasty taste in ones mouth and I was so embarrassed for our fellow dancers. I

the f irst few months as f irst year students.

Jasmine Honore, had a vast background of music as she also studied at the College of Music as a student herself while simultaneously training at the UCT Ballet School. She danced w ith the Rambert Ballet where she toured Europe and Ireland. She was a very good Spanish Dance teacher and also taught the History of Dance and Dance theory, teaching methods and anatomy as some of our subjects. She was also in charge of choreography at UCT Ballet School.

Dame Marina Keet was a brilliant Spanish Dance teacher who mounted several productions that were most inspiring indeed for the UCT Summer School Courses each year.

Pamela Chrimes was a real character and an extremely passionate teacher. Her real passion she developed was that of teaching National Dance in which she was a brilliant teacher w ith all her strength and style she imparted on us all as students. She had had a professional career w ith Sadler?s wells in London.

So there was this wealth of incredibly talented professional dance teachers who were all most inspiring on so many levels and all so very different and this is what made this t ime of our lives as young dance students so incredibly excit ing. There was a common goal for all the UCT Ballet School staff who really all worked together as a very good team. They were all working for the same thing at the end of the day and this was for art ist ic excellence on all levels. All our teachers really cared about us as dance students and as young adults and our art ist ic and emotional development as human beings.

Through UCT we had the opportunity of going out to underprivileged communities through the organisation SHAWCO that does incredible work in various communities


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Image: Rodger Bosch

God of the dance in SA! Professor Poole had a brilliant eye for spott ing talent and then nurturing and guiding this talent. He was an excellent producer of ballets and was wonderful in bringing out qualit ies in dancers they never throught they had. Professor Poole would spend hours breaking down all the f iner details of a character one was portraying as a dancer and this was such a wonderful process that gave the dance such a deep understanding of the roles one was learning to dance. Professor Poole was a true art ist in every sense of the word as he was able to portray any character male or female, good or bad, w ith his very expressive facial expressions. Professor Poole could be extremely tough but this either made or broke you as a dancer. If one was strong enough to deal w ith this it really did make one very strong emotionally and physically.

Our days were extremely long start ing at 8:30am in the morning and ending often at 8:00pm in the evenings. Since this was all physical we had to have loads of strength and stamina to sustain this kind of disciplined regime of dance training. Our dance teachers had to be cruel to be kind at the end of the day as this made us what we become eventually and gave us all the tools of the trade in one of the hardest professions in the world.

So many very special lifelong friends were formed when we were students all those years ago and these friendships have continued ever since.

Every year the UCT Ballet School had a production and this was performed at the lovely old and historic Litt le Theatre on the Hiddingh Campus in the Gardens. The productions we did were all full on ballets such as "Coppelia", produced by Professor David Poole, "Sylvia", also produced by Professor David Poole and a lovely ballet, "Zerelma", produced by Pamela Chrimes. We also worked w ith Angelo Gabboto who was the Director of the UCT Opera School in a production of "Orpheus" and worked w ith Opera students in this production which was very different and interesting for us as dance students.

I always felt it was sad that each of the art ist ic disciplines of dance, music and art were not brought together for one large production once a year combing all these arts forms being taught at UCT!

The ult imate goal as a dancer and those that were doing the Performers Course (as it was then) wanted to be able to join the professional ballet company: CAPAB Ballet. As mentioned before audit ions were only held when there were posit ions to be f illed in the company. Most of UCT Ballet students audit ioned when we completed our three year course. Unfortunately for us male dancers in the 70?s the law of the apartheid government stipulated that every male had to complete their National Army Service before gett ing a professional job. This meant that no company in SA was able to employ any white male until they had completed their

remember on this same tour the same thing happened in Aliwal North when we went to the Hot Springs and were not allowed to. As students we found this invasive and wrong and felt so disappoint and disgusted as we were all good friends and did everything together but were now forced into this comprised posit ion that we would not adhere too. I also remember as students going on a public bus and not being able to sit w ith our friends so we would have conversations w ith each other from the top f loor to the bottom floor of the bus. Such a crazy t ime for us all living in this wonderful country, and to survive, one certainly had to have a sense of humour and see this idiotic side of life we all lived through. Thank God this all eventually changed.

As part of our training and understanding, Dudley used to make us all assist w ith the laying of the dance mats and sett ing up of the lighting at the venues where we were performing. This gave us all such an appreciation of what it takes to get a whole production together on the technical side. During these tours, w ith f inancial restraints and to cut costs, the dance students were billeted out to families. Sometimes these were great and very warm and kind families and sometimes not at all! Our teachers kept reminding us that this was all about building character. This was also a great opportunity for us as young dancers to be given roles to

perform and to try us out so to speak for bigger things to come in future.

There was a real link between the UCT Ballet School and the CAPAB Ballet Company and it really was a feeder to the professional ballet company. Audit ions were held every year if there was a posit ion in CAPAB Ballet. There was a hierarchy and ladder to climb once one was privileged enough to have gotten into the ballet company.

Professor David Poole was a force to be reckoned w ith as the Director of the UCT Ballet School as well as the Artist ic Director of CAPAB Ballet. In many ways he thought he was


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Philip Boyd and David Poole

"That unique t ime and era in my life

w ill always be remembered w ith

much happiness and joy that w ill be w ith

me forever..."

years which I did in between my dance career w ith CAPAB Ballet.

Of course today this has all changed, although I often feel doing some Army training and the disciplined environment would not be a bad thing for young men today in this country!

So yes, my t ime and that of many other students at UCT from 1974 ? 1976 were the best years of my life and very happy ones indeed as this was such an informative t ime of our lives and what a unique t ime and

golden era this all was. This was a t ime and period that I w ill always remember w ith much happiness and joy.

The dream of joining CAPAB Ballet happened in January 1979 and what an amazing period of my life this was for twenty three years as a principal dancer working w ith some incredibly talented people.

I would do this all again given the chance, possibly some things slightly differently knowing what I do today.

My three years at UCT Ballet School, were some of the happiest years of my life. That unique t ime and era in my life w ill always be remembered w ith much happiness and joy that w ill be w ith me forever, and it all feels like yesterday. All these wonderful opportunit ies, experiences and successes I have had in my career really moulded me into who I am today. It?s about what we do w ith it in life and w ith being given this gift I?ve have had in my life, and to be able to impart ones knowledge and experiences to others and make a difference to children and young adults lives, is so vitally important to me personally. This all helped me develop what I have done today in creating the organisation Dance for All in offering underprivileged children w ith really good basic dance training, inspiring and nurturing others, no matter where they come from.

It?s all about gift ing people w ith what I can give them today.

National Service. The M ilitary Police had your ID number and you could be arrested if you disobeyed the law of the country at this t ime!

I was sent to Potchefstroom in the Transvaal to 3 Infantry battalion for my basic training. After three months I was transferred to the 11th Commando in Kimberley and by this t ime Professor David Poole had written to the Chief of the defence Force Magnus Malan requesting that I be allowed to be transferred back to Cape Town. This eventually happened and I was transferred to the Castle of Cape Town where I become a two stripped Corporal. Strangely enough, I learnt a lot of my administrative skills as I worked in the Confidential Registry at the Castle. With this transfer back to Cape Town I was able to get leave after each day?s work at the Castle to go to the UCT Ballet School and attend the ballet classes of the children as I needed to get back my training to the level I was before going to the Army.

With my year of the intake into the Army of 1977, PW Botha the, then, Prime M inister of SA decided to lengthen our National Service for another year! This was devastating for us as young adults as we all wanted to get on w ith our respective careers. This was not to be and yet another year had to be completed in the Army to much disappointment and frustration. Once this was completed it was required by law that we had to do 10 Army camps of one month per year for the next 10


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Apartheid. Yes the University fought back as best it could as the former c̀olour blind admissions policy? was eroded away by the then Nationalist

Government. But I discovered 'Colour Blind' did not mean acceptance of people of colour.

Those few non European students who were attending UCT were denied any of the social, sports or other non academic facilit ies that the white students took for

granted. I st ill vividly recall seeing those few students sitt ing together in my class, where both whites and non whites played out the cultural reality of separation, creating a safe distance from that small island of non-whites. As for the white students, rugby, beer, dating, black t ie dances the bioscope interspersed w ith stow ing for exams and writ ing essays were the main interests. The polit ical activism seemed to be the province of the National Union of South African Students, (NUSAS) whose leadership was predominantly Jew ish. Looking back was it indifference? Or a manning of the white ramparts by all of South African Whites. Perhaps a clash of 'cultures' and as I fast determined there were not a few, Afrikaans, English (the rooinecks) the Cape coloured, the Indians, and then the majority, the blacks, who themselves were divided into tribes. It was a bit ironic that as Apartheid was increasingly being implemented the landscape of American race relations was start ing to

of the incredible campus. Few universit ies anywhere could boast such a sett ing. The second was rugby, a game I had never played or even w itnessed, and watching rather large men pummel each other sans pads was a bit intriguing, if not awe inspiring. But I quickly learned that rugby was the defining sport for the white South Africa man, a fundamental part of his ethos. So it was that I played and learned to love the game. But it was my introduction to my room at Smuts Hall that gave me culture shock writ large. Oxbridge, the tradit ions and nuances of the two great Brit ish Universit ies were reflected in Smuts, and in turn Smuts was the repository of the graduates of the elite South African and Zimbabwian

boys? schools, touches of Eaton and Harrow on the Velt. Evening meals required blazer, t ie and academic gown. Rugby stars were cheered and acknowledged by raucous cheers and banging of tables.

Yet looking back, I have a clearer vision of UCT in the context of the t imes. If race was the defining issue in South Africa, and polit ics played out w ith a certain ruthless intensity, UCT seemed isolated from the unfolding calamity of

Those Many Years Ago

Three score years ago I arrived in Cape Town, a Canadian who by good fortune and a supporting professor had secured an exchange student come lectureship to the University of Cape Town. I did not realize it at that moment but I had arrived as South Africa was traveling down a road that would start w ith tragedy but end in triumph. For the moment, however, I was t ired from endless hours of suffering the pains and cramp of economy class seats on South Africa Airlines. Mentally I was not prepared for the culture shock.

Perhaps my init ial introduction to the complexit ies and reality of Africa as I f lew south across the vast vistas of Africa was the profound blackness of the night suddenly ending, as if by some huge magic wand, into the lights of Johannesburg. I also recall thinking as we made the approach w ith the sun piercing the horizon and the huge slag heaps came into view that ' it was just like my school, geography book picture,' and that was comforting; at least there was a bond, however slight, to this land. But it was not the slag heaps of Jo?burg but the soft beauty of Cape Town that was to be my reference point.

The f irst and still vivid memories were

"Mentally I was not prepared for the culture shock"


Peter Silverman

Cape Town city centre, 1950.

University of Cape Town, 1930.

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change. It was the t ime of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the emergence of America?s Mandela, one Martin Luther King Jr., w ith his ' I have a Dream' .

Not long after I arrived (or so it seemed), the summary of the Tomlinson Report was released by the nationalist Government. What surprised me was the line up of the normally divorced-from-polit ics UCT students scrambling to buy a copy. I got the impression that they realized that this was the road South Africa was going to travel down. The idea of racial integration was now dismissed out of hand, it was to be Apartheid promoted and brutally maintained by the whole apparatus of Government. I st ill have a copy of that report, a reminder that rights are easily taken away but grimly hard to regain.

I received a lesson on that subject when I wanted to meet Albie Sachs who was a law student at UCT in 1955. He was already known for his anti-Apartheid stance and involvement in the Defence of Unjust laws Campaign, and a member of the Communist Party. I recall that the meeting had an element of cloak and dagger. I am not sure why, as Sachs was not b̀anned? in 1955, but perhaps people were worried about contamination by association? a naïve Canadian meeting a ' radical' white South African.

More to the point was the opportunity (demonstrating what a Canadian accent can do) to meet w ith the Cape coloured in District Six and blacks in Windermere and Langa. Interestingly on more than one occasion, a couple of my Smuts Hall chums asked if they could tag along, to see, as I termed it, how the other three-quarters live. The result was not a revelation 'on the road to District Six' but it did force my friends to understand the human cost of Apartheid. Once, after a particularly bad w ind-driven rain, bad even for Windermere, which took away a few hundred pandokkie shacks, I asked if some Smuts and Fuller Hall students w ished to volunteer to help rebuild some of the homes. After some metaphorical jumping up and down, I had f ive volunteers. Helping non- Europeans was not high on the students? agenda at that t ime.

It was while visit ing some of UCT coloured students at their homes that I heard the rumors about a mass uprooting and resett lement of the non-Europeans, blacks and coloureds. Too soon the rumors became the reality, under the Nationalist

Group Areas Act and I was w itness to the init ial cultural and race cleansing.

My accent was put to further use when I was appointed to run the ?non-white? summer employment off ice. My job was to f ind jobs for the non-white students at UCT. Of course the fact of r̀ace? hung over the possibilit ies of employment. Certain jobs were assigned to whites, the jobs that were available were generally unskilled and low paying. Regardless, they were jobs and were needed, and on occasion a generally Jew ish employer would pay above the basic rate, and hire on ability rather than colour. For myself it was all part of the learning curve: the continual realization that South Africa was sacrif icing the potential of its human resources on the altar of Apartheid.

As an historian I was very aware that like Hit ler?s assault on the Jews, the Nationalist Government cloaked its Apartheid policy in a blanket of legality. Every administrator, every soldier and police off icer operated w ithin a legal framework which gave excuse to the brutality of the imposit ion of Apartheid. A huge civil and police apparatus was constructed to insure that the policy of Apartheid was carried out w ith dispatch, w ithout let of favour and eff iciently. But I sensed Apartheid at its core was corrupt, and the cost of maintaining it too great to last.

As I put these thoughts on paper I realize that I have been too harsh in some aspects; that there

were many whites who allied themselves w ith the ANC, who passionately worked for a truly democratic South Africa. Many of their names are well known: Neville Rubin, Denis Goldberg, Helen Joseph, Ruth First, and The Black Sash to recognize a few. There were far more Jews than expected, considering the power of the Nationalist Government, and it?s propensity to use a cruel violence against those who actively opposed it, but too few to accelerate the end of Apartheid. There were few Afrikaners protesting Apartheid. They were between the rock of history and the hard place of survival. I was told on more than one occasion that their existence as a Volk was a miracle, somewhat akin to the French Canadians and Irish. I sensed that Apartheid was the last throw of the dice of surviving as all other options had been rejected as possibilit ies.

I end w ith reminiscence two lectures I attended at Jameson Hall. In the f irst instance the speaker was a black UCT student who told the packed Hall what it was like to live as a


1976 Soweto Uprising Protest.

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Image: http://goo.gl/Rtj9md

non-white w ith emphasis on the advance of Apartheid in South Africa. For the largely white audience it was not pleasant listening. At the end I recall a white student saying, apparently in all honesty, "I thought they [the non-whites] were happy." I thought he was making a cynical joke? he wasn?t. Even while whites and non-whites were intertw ined by economics and history, the confluence was devoid of humanity, understanding and compassion.

The second lecture again at Jameson was by a person of incredible courage? Pastor Albert Geyser? a man whose Afrikaaner credentials were by any definit ion impeccable, but opposed to Apartheid, a stance which cost him dearly. His own community disowned him, he was cast out as a traitor, and his personal safety questioned. I never got to meet him personally but I admired his courage. He ended his speech w ith words I have never forgotten:

?It is not?, he said ?that South Africa has taken a moral step backwards. It is that the world has taken a moral step forward regarding the policy of Apartheid."

Catching Up

After graduation Mark joined Arthur Andersen & Co. He spent a total of 16 years w ith them and their successor f irm, Accenture. He became a training consultant. He joined Ernst & Young?s learning and development department and worked for 15 years serving EY and their clients. In 2008 Mark joined one of his long-time clients, Shell, w ith the t it le of 'Learning Advisor' . He has worked on six continents.

Mark and his w ife of 39 years, Talana, have two daughters and three grandsons. They live in Cleveland, Ohio. They enjoy sailboat racing and visit ing South Africa.


The Harvest Moon Regatta : two-day sailboat race in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mark Corson

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Night At The Ball

I grew up in Zimbabwe , where I went to school, and then worked for the Government for 3 years before I moved to Port Elizabeth in 1964. I went on to work for the same firm of Consulting Engineers for nearly 40 years on Roads and Tunnels. I have lived in South Africa ever since, and am now retired in the Southern Cape.

I was a Civil Engineering student from 1957 to 1960. I was resident in Upper D and then Lower D Block in Kopano (Driekoppen, or Belsen as it was then commonly known). A few of my friends were in the Architectural Faculty and the one big social event to crack the nod was to the Annual Architect?s Ball each year.

As I did not have a steady girlfriend at UCT at that stage (1958) and was also a rather ?poor? student, this was not on my social calendar, even though one of my friends was on the Organising Committee. I cannot remember at what t ime of the year this was, but I would guess about March or April. In any case I was in my room at about 22h00 when a group of ?people? came into my room, and before I could say anything, I was stripped down to my jocks and bundled into a ?sack?. I was conscious of being put into a car and driven somewhere.

The next moment that I remember was being t ipped out onto the f loor in the middle of the Jameson Hall, where the Architectural Ball was being held. The entertainment and music was being provided by Cherry Wainer and she was not amused at the interruption. (Cherry Wainer, playing the Hammond Organ, was one of the top South African entertainers at that stage). As I was rather shy in those days, I quietly snuck away and walked back to my residence, I guess still just in my jocks?

A few years later I was asked by one of the students, who was there, why I did not stay and enjoy the evening?

I later heard that one of my fellow students was also ?kidnapped? in his jocks that night and put into a telephone booth (w ithout any money too) outside a Sea Point cinema just as the cinema patrons were coming out.

Guess I was lucky?

Terry Cockcroft

Table Mountain panorama.

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Circa 1955.

Cape Town, Greenpoint, 1950.


EVANS/THREE LIONS/GETTY IMAGES

Image: Damien du Toit

Image: http://goo.gl/5xu4gN


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Thank you to everyone who contributed to this quarters Heritage Society newsletter. We look forward to

hearing more of your thoughts and stories as the year progresses.

Contact Details:René Nolte

UCT Legacy Officer Email: [email protected]

Tel: 027-21-650 4106

International off ices:

United KingdomAngela Edwards ([email protected])

CanadaDiane Stafford ([email protected])

United StatesJohanna Fausto ([email protected])

AustraliaLenore Plummer ([email protected])

Ruth Thornton ([email protected])

uct legacy society · following is a letter from the vc dr max price to the uct community: dear...

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