Upper Campus Residence

Item

Building Name

Upper Campus Residence

Alternative Title

Smuts Hall

Description

Originally named after Field Marshall Jan C. Smuts in 1950 to commemorate his tenure as Chancellor of UCT (1937-1950). It was opened in 1928 (together with the Women's Residence renamed Fuller hall in 1950) and was known at that time as Men's Residence. Smuts was Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. He led commandos in the second Boer War and led South African armies in occupying German South West Africa during World War I where he was instrumental in the creation of the Royal Air Force (RAF). Trained in Law, although he originally studied the Sciences and Arts, Smuts became state attorney in Pretoria after the war. Here, he and Louis Botha formed the Het Volk Party. By 1907, he was appointed Minister of Education and colonial secretary in the Botha government in the Transvaal Colony. Smuts played an important role in the drafting of the constitution of the League of Nations, forerunner of the United Nations. In 1919, he attended the Paris Peace Conference with Botha and, following Botha's death in August, became Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. In 1921, he merged the Union Party and the South African Party. Smuts lost the next election in 1924 to J.B.M. Hertzog and his National Party. During his time as the political opposition, Smuts made some important contributions to the field of science in his book Holism and Evolution (1926). In 1933, Smuts became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice under Hertzog. Their coalition led to the formation of the United Party in 1934. In 1939, Hertzog and Smuts differed over the war issue and on Hertzog’s defeat in parliament on the motion to remain neutral during the war, Smuts took over as Premier. The general election of May 1948, won by the Herenigde National Party largely supported by the Afrikaner community, decided the future policy of South Africa for the next fifty years. After the election Smuts resigned and Dr. D.F. Malan took over the government. Despite his not always being a popular leader, Smuts was nonetheless a major one and as Chancellor of UCT, it was deemed appropriate naming the new residence after him. Source: Origins of Names of Buildings at the University of Cape Town, Mr M. Musemwa (Department of History UCT, 1993).Cameron, Trewhella. 1994. Jan Smuts: An Illustrated Biography.
Crafford, F.S. 1943. Jan Smuts: A Biography. Kessinger Publishing. http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/general-jan-christiaan-smut.

Address

3 Residence Road,Upper Campus, Rondebosch

Campus

Upper

Latitude

-33.956933

Longitude

18.462197

Building Number

124

Building Code

1240

status

Owned

Item sets

Linked resources

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serviceLocation
Title Alternate label Class
Portrait of J.C. Smuts Building Physical Object
Smuts, J C (1870-1950) Building Physical Object
Urns (2) depicting early residence wardens Building Physical Object
Landscape near Swellendam Building Physical Object
Landscape Scene, Montagu Building Physical Object
Portrait of Prof Danie Visser Building Physical Object
Bunch of Asters in a Jug Building Physical Object
Smuts, J C (1870-1950) Building Physical Object
Landscape of Ruins of Arches and Figures in a Boat Building Physical Object
Pastoral Landscape of Ruins of Buildings and Figures Building Physical Object
Portrait of John File Building Physical Object
Bunch of Flowers Building Physical Object
Portrait of Jan Christiaan Smuts (1870-1950) Building Physical Object
Harbour Scene Building Physical Object