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Smuts HallSmuts Hall is a men's residence on the upper campus of the University of Cape Town. It was named after General Jan Smuts. Etymology The doors of the new residence on the Groote Schuur campus were barely open when there was a call to name it. That was in March, 1928. By May, "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 for 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 10th 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 Hope. 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 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! Architecture The architectural contribution of Solomon to the University has been more fully written about elsewhere but since Men’s Residence was so much part of his original plan, a word or two about the beginnings appear to be in order. Writing in 1919, Solomon said "The new university which architecturally is to come into being at Groote Schuur has natural advantages in the beauty of its site, unsurpassed by any similar institutions in the world." The site had been chosen by the South African College at the invitation of Cecil Rhodes and although for years afterwards there were vigorous protests about the carving up of the Groote Schuur Estate, it was held that Rhodes himself refused to entertain the idea of rebuilding De Groote Schuur (after the fire) on the site above the Summer House, despite the better view, because he "meant the site for the University". The style for the buildings of the new university also had to overcome the stipulation in Rhodes’ will that they should be similar or in harmony with De Groote Schuur. One cannot help but wonder what an extraordinary sight a cluster of white, gabled buildings would have presented. In the event Solomon’s designs were accepted as conforming nearly enough in view of the function of the buildings. Solomon arrived in London in February, 1920 and called on Herbert Baker and invited him to act as a consultant. Baker declined the offer because he was in poor health at the time and he was involved with other projects. C.P. Walgate was then invited to South Africa by Solomon to help him with the designs. He agreed but when he arrived in the Cape later that year, he found Solomon a changed man. He had suffered heavily in an influenza epidemic and was behind in his work. The immediate need was to produce scale working drawings and details from Solomon’s plans and sketches. This was done and shortly before they were put before the University for approval, 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 in the Woolsack. Work was held up for a while until two very competent architects, Hawke and McKinlay, were appointed by the University to carry on. The Law Courts and the Archives in Queen Victoria Street are examples of their work. They worked with C.P. Walgate on the plans and certain aspects of Solomon’s original designs were changed. With regard to the general layout of the campus, perhaps the most important change was to Solomon’s straight lines on a curved site. Due to the large amount of earth moving that would have been involved and that in 1920 with labourer, pick, shovel and wheelbarrow, doubt was expressed as to the feasibility of the whole scheme. It was decided to follow the contours and the result was, as we know, a very graceful group of buildings. More specifically with regard to Men’s Residence, 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" modelled on the Oxford and Cambridge Colleges. This has proved to be an extremely successful arrangement. The units of ten rooms to a flat, and rather less than double that number in the corner flats (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" The Smutsmen The residents of Smuts Hall became to be known as the "Smutsmen". One famous ex-Smutsman in the recent years is Mark Shuttleworth, the second space tourist and the first African in space. 2005 House Committee Elections The elections for the 2005 House Committee have generated much controversy. See Also University of Cape Town External Links *Official Webpage
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