Smuts Hall
Encyclopedia
Smuts Hall is a men's residence on the upper campus
of the University of Cape Town
. It was named after Field Marshal The Rt. Hon.
Jan Smuts
. It provides housing for around 240 students.
The hall was constructed as part of the first phase of the University of Cape Town's Groote Schuur
Campus. The other buildings included Jameson Hall, the Arts Block, the Mathematics Building and the women's residence Fuller Hall. The group of buildings have been declared national monuments.
It is situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak
on the Rhodes estate.
and Cambridge
Colleges. This has proved to be an extremely successful arrangement. There are a total of 17 flats in the building. The units of ten rooms to a flat, and nineteen in the corner flats (interestingly there is no room no. 13) provided a ready made social unit and all those who have passed through the Residence will recall what the coffee landings meant. Indeed they remain very much "the hub of life".
Solomon is reported to have looked at the plan of the Men's Residence and said "I wish I knew which room Paul [his son] will have, we could put in something special". The following morning it was learned that Solomon had shot himself.
Nothing more is mentioned in the minutes of House Committee meetings until the beginning of 1938 when there was again a call for a name. Again the reward was a free dance ticket to the person suggesting "the name for the House which is ultimately accepted".
There was a lapse until 1941 when several suggestions were made in response to yet another appeal. "Entabeni" and "Ellisona" featured on the list. Others were "Pensakola" (rejected on account of the fact that it sounded too much like "pianola"), "Beattie College" (after the former Vice-Chancellor, Sir Jock Carruthers Beattie
) and "Burleigh" (after Rhodes
' house in England
). "Beattie College" was finally voted in by the men but it was turned down by the University on the grounds that there were at the time surviving prominent members on the University Council who were also concerned with the inauguration of Men's Residence. It was presumed that the matter had been "left in abeyance pending the ultimate destiny of the venerable gentlemen concerned".
In September 1950, it was brought to the attention of the men of the House at a General House Meeting that there was a move in the direction of giving Women's Residence a new name and that Men's Residence might also be involved. "Fuller Hall" ultimately became the new appellation of Women's Residence but the House Meeting in Men's Residence that night in September resolved that they would prefer to retain the name under which they had always gone but declared that "Smuts Hall" would be the most acceptable substitute if the name had to be changed.
The Warden, J.B. Clark, passed on the suggestion to the then Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Dr T.B. Davie. Ouma Smuts, in replying to a letter asking her permission, said that she would be delighted.
On 10 November 1950, the name "Smuts Hall" was formally adopted by the House with the following motion at a General House Meeting: "That this House endorse the decision of the University Council to change the name of the Residence to `Smuts Hall'." The motion was adopted unanimously.
. Very shortly afterwards, Theo le Roux offered a personal reward of one guinea to the man who offered the best accepted design for a crest.
By 1942, the present crest was in circulation and was adopted, the explanation behind its heraldry being rather less imposing than its appearance.
The interpretation that is accepted is the following:
The Lion
rampant represents the same on the wall of the Randall's Hotel (variously known as "Alf's" and the "Pig and Whistle"), popular and most proximate watering hole for generations of students. The green background is the rugby union
fields. The broad stripe is the sober path to the aforementioned establishment and the zig-zag lines in University colours anticipate the mood of the retreat to the Residence!
, the second space tourist and the first African in space. Another notable ex-Smutsman is Neville Isdell, former CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
of the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
. It was named after Field Marshal The Rt. Hon.
The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
. It provides housing for around 240 students.
The hall was constructed as part of the first phase of the University of Cape Town's Groote Schuur
Groote Schuur
Groote Schuur is an estate in Cape Town, South Africa.Cecil Rhodes took out a lease on the house in 1891. He later bought it in 1893, and had it converted and refurbished by the architect Sir Herbert Baker...
Campus. The other buildings included Jameson Hall, the Arts Block, the Mathematics Building and the women's residence Fuller Hall. The group of buildings have been declared national monuments.
It is situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak
Devil's Peak (Cape Town)
Devil's Peak is part of the mountainous backdrop to Cape Town. When looking at Table Mountain from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, or when looking at the standard picture postcard view of the mountain, the skyline is from left to right: the spire of Devil's Peak, the flat mesa of Table Mountain,...
on the Rhodes estate.
Architecture
Solomon had planned long corridors between two rows of rooms. Hawke suggested that this would lend itself to rough play and make control difficult. The result was the design of cloisters giving access to a number of "entries", "staircases" or "flats" modeled on the OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
Colleges. This has proved to be an extremely successful arrangement. There are a total of 17 flats in the building. The units of ten rooms to a flat, and nineteen in the corner flats (interestingly there is no room no. 13) provided a ready made social unit and all those who have passed through the Residence will recall what the coffee landings meant. Indeed they remain very much "the hub of life".
Solomon is reported to have looked at the plan of the Men's Residence and said "I wish I knew which room Paul [his son] will have, we could put in something special". The following morning it was learned that Solomon had shot himself.
Etymology
Soon after opening in March 1928 the names "Matopos" and "New College" were put forward as suggestions but they were rejected. A free dance ticket was offered to the person with the most suitable suggestion. The following year "Nova Tieta", "Riebeeck" and "Matopos" were the choices put before the House. An overwhelming majority accepted "Matopos" although reservations were expressed about the "feeling that might arise out of the name on account of its historical association with Rhodes".Nothing more is mentioned in the minutes of House Committee meetings until the beginning of 1938 when there was again a call for a name. Again the reward was a free dance ticket to the person suggesting "the name for the House which is ultimately accepted".
There was a lapse until 1941 when several suggestions were made in response to yet another appeal. "Entabeni" and "Ellisona" featured on the list. Others were "Pensakola" (rejected on account of the fact that it sounded too much like "pianola"), "Beattie College" (after the former Vice-Chancellor, Sir Jock Carruthers Beattie
John Carruthers Beattie
Sir John Carruthers Beattie was the first principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town from 1918 to 1937. He was born on 21 November 1866 in Waterbeck, Scotland. He graduated from Edinburgh University having studied at Munich, Vienna, Berlin and Glasgow...
) and "Burleigh" (after Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
' house in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
). "Beattie College" was finally voted in by the men but it was turned down by the University on the grounds that there were at the time surviving prominent members on the University Council who were also concerned with the inauguration of Men's Residence. It was presumed that the matter had been "left in abeyance pending the ultimate destiny of the venerable gentlemen concerned".
In September 1950, it was brought to the attention of the men of the House at a General House Meeting that there was a move in the direction of giving Women's Residence a new name and that Men's Residence might also be involved. "Fuller Hall" ultimately became the new appellation of Women's Residence but the House Meeting in Men's Residence that night in September resolved that they would prefer to retain the name under which they had always gone but declared that "Smuts Hall" would be the most acceptable substitute if the name had to be changed.
The Warden, J.B. Clark, passed on the suggestion to the then Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Dr T.B. Davie. Ouma Smuts, in replying to a letter asking her permission, said that she would be delighted.
On 10 November 1950, the name "Smuts Hall" was formally adopted by the House with the following motion at a General House Meeting: "That this House endorse the decision of the University Council to change the name of the Residence to `Smuts Hall'." The motion was adopted unanimously.
House crest
The first design to be accepted was that at the front entrance of the building but its favour was short-lived, probably due to the discovery that it was the arms of the Cape of Good HopeCape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
. Very shortly afterwards, Theo le Roux offered a personal reward of one guinea to the man who offered the best accepted design for a crest.
By 1942, the present crest was in circulation and was adopted, the explanation behind its heraldry being rather less imposing than its appearance.
The interpretation that is accepted is the following:
The Lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
rampant represents the same on the wall of the Randall's Hotel (variously known as "Alf's" and the "Pig and Whistle"), popular and most proximate watering hole for generations of students. The green background is the rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
fields. The broad stripe is the sober path to the aforementioned establishment and the zig-zag lines in University colours anticipate the mood of the retreat to the Residence!
The Smutsmen
The residents of Smuts Hall have come to be known as the "Smutsmen". One famous ex-Smutsman is Mark ShuttleworthMark Shuttleworth
Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and as of 2010, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system...
, the second space tourist and the first African in space. Another notable ex-Smutsman is Neville Isdell, former CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.